Skip to main content

Snapchat blocks access to all third-party apps in bid to improve security

snapchat blocks access to all third party apps in bid improve security
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Snapchat suffered a nasty surprise back in October when a third-party app that archived images and videos posted to the ephemeral messaging app suffered a security breach that allowed hackers to get their hands on masses of private Snapchat content.

It was a big embarrassment for the startup, even though its own servers were not hit in the attack. Since then, it’s been working on ways to make it more difficult for third-party apps to access its content, which include asking Apple and Google to remove offending software from their app stores.

Recommended Videos

This week, however, Snapchat said it’s now found a way of reliably blocking all third-party apps from accessing the messaging software’s data. In doing so, the LA-based startup hopes to reduce the chances of further difficult incidents down the road, while improving users’ security.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The move appears to be part of an ongoing effort by Snapchat to portray itself as a more serious and responsible enterprise as it continues to attract marketers and investors to its fast-expanding product.

Speaking to Backchannel recently, Snapchat executives admitted the company should’ve been more assertive in cracking down on third-party apps that let users archive content, an action that was in direct conflict with the app’s main feature and consequently violated its terms of service.

“We never wanted third-party apps on our platform,” Snapchat’s Tim Sehn told Backchannel. “We have created a product where it is more critically important than ever before that we control the end user experience. We’ve made commitments to our users.”

Transparency report

News that Snapchat has shored up its security coincided with the publication of details of its first ever transparency report, due out in July. Similar to reports put out by tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google, Snapchat promises to detail government requests received for users’ account information, government demands to remove users’ content, and requests to remove content that violates copyright law.

In a preview of July’s report, Snapchat revealed it received 375 information requests from the U.S. government in connection with 666 accounts from November 1, 2014 through February 28 of this year. Outside of the U.S., it received just 28 requests for 35 accounts.

This week’s developments come at a time of rapid expansion for Snapchat. Besides growing its user base, which most commentators put at between 100 million and 200 million, the company has also increased its team from 35 to 200 in the space of a year, and built out its app with a slew of new features.

The startup continues to attract huge amounts of investment, too, including some $486 million in late 2014, and a reported $200 million just recently, from Chinese Internet giant Alibaba.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Chase’s latest move will help cut fraud, but Zelle users may not like it
Zelle

Chase Bank will be blocking Zelle payments to sellers on social media platforms and messaging apps starting March 23.

The banking company updated its user policy on Monday (via Bleeding Computer) to warn Zelle users that it will delay, decline, and/or block payments made through social media in an effort to protect consumers from online scams and fraud. It wrote that the popular payment is meant to send money to people users know, not other people they meet on social media -- which, unfortunately, includes those selling goods on Instagram and TikTok, among other platforms.

Read more
It’s finally over for Humane’s AI Pin — here’s who can get a refund
The Humane Ai Pin.

Humane has ended sales of the AI Pin, one of the most poorly received gadgets of recent years. It's also ending AI Pin connectivity and services in just 10 days' time, effectively bricking it for those who bought it.

In an announcement on its website on Tuesday, Humane said the changes are coming about after HP offered to acquire its assets. The deal is worth $116 million, according to a Bloomberg report, though Humane has not confirmed this detail. The same news outlet reported last year that Humane was seeking between $750 million to $1 billion from a prospective buyer.

Read more
Pixel 9a just leaked entirely, and it’s a better bargain than the iPhone SE 4
Google Pixel 9a Peony pink leaked image.

Google's Pixel A series has been a template for good affordable phones and has upheld this responsibility consistently -- and much better than the flagship Pixel phones -- since the Pixel 3a's launch almost six years ago. This year, the Pixel 9a could bring some sizable upgrades to the last generation and a sleeker design without breaching the previously attractive price point. The latest leak uncovers the Pixel 9a fully and suggests it might be a more compelling purchase than the soon-to-launch iPhone SE 4.

The Pixel 9a has been generously leaked by WinFuture, revealing the entirety of the upcoming budget phone. That includes digital renders at different angles and in all previously leaked colors.

Read more