snap inc. terms of service: what happens to what you share?

SNAP INC. TERMS OF SERVICEW H A T H A P P E N S T O W H A T Y O U S H A R E ?

WHAT IS SNAP INC.?

Snap Inc. describes itself simply as “a camera company”.

“We believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live

and communicate.

Our products empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have

fun together.”(Snap Inc. 2016)

SNAP INC. OWNS

Snapchata photo and video messaging app

Spectaclessunglasses with an inbuilt camera that connect to

Snapchat via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi

This presentation will focus on the terms of service and privacy policy of Snap Inc.’s photo messaging app,

Snapchat

WHAT IS SNAPCHAT?

Snapchat is a photo and video messaging app that allows users to send and receive images that are

viewable for between 1 and 10 seconds.

Users may also upload content to their ‘story’ where the images are viewable for a 24 hour period.

Since launching in 2011 Snapchat now has over 150 million daily active users.

The average user spends 25 – 30 minutes on Snapchat everyday.

(Novellino, 2016)

TERMS OF USE

WHO CAN USE SNAPCHAT?

You may not create an account or use Snapchat if you are under the age of 13.

The terms of use also state that you may not create an account or use Snapchat if you are barred from doing so

under US law or any other jurisdiction.(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

HOWEVER…

Snap Inc. does not require you to verify your ‘real’ identity in order to use Snapchat.

You do not have to use your real name or date of birth when creating an account and verifying your mobile

number is optional.(Snapchat Support, 2016)

WHO OWNS CONTENT?

For all services excluding Live, Local or crowd sourced services:

“…you grant Snap Inc. a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store,

use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, and distribute that content.”

(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

WHO OWNS CONTENT?

For Live, Local or crowd sourced services:

“…you also grant us a perpetual license to create derivative works from, promote, exhibit, broadcast, syndicate,

sublicense, publicly perform, and publicly display content submitted to Live, Local, or any other crowd-sourced

Services in any form and in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).”

(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

IN OTHER WORDS…

Once you upload content to Snapchat you automatically grant Snap Inc. the right to use that content however

and whenever they desire.

They are under no obligation to pay you for reusing this content and you hand over the right to any future

copyright claims against Snap Inc.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES

“Snap Inc. honors the requirements set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”

Snap Inc. attempts to remove any material reported to be in breach of copyright law and will terminate the

accounts of users with repeated copyright infringements.(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

FORBIDDEN CONTENTThere is some content that may not be shared on

Snapchat. This includes content which:

• violates or infringes someone else’s rights of publicity, privacy, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property right.

• bullies, harasses, or intimidates.• defames.• spams or solicits users.(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

FILTERING

Snap Inc. may access your account in order to review your content at any time and for any reason. The also reserve the right to delete content at any time and for

any reason.

However, they take no responsibility for the content uploaded to Snapchat.

(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

THIS MEANS…

Your images may be deleted at any time by Snap Inc. without notice, whether they are in breach of the Terms

of Service or not.

Also,

You are fully responsible for all content uploaded to Snapchat, with any potential liability falling on the

individual user.

TERMINATION OF SERVICES

In addition to deleting content, Snap Inc. reserves the right to terminate your account at any time, for any

reason, without notice.

They may also impose limits on your use of Snapchat, and may reclaim your username at any time for any

reason.(Snap Inc. Terms of Service, 2016)

PRIVACY POLICY

INFORMATION COLLECTED BY SNAPCHAT

Snap Inc. collects information about Snapchat users. This includes:

“Information you choose to give us.Information we get when you use our services.

Information we get from third parties.”(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDETo create a Snapchat account, you are required to

provide the following information:

• a unique username• a password• an email address• a phone number• your date of birth(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

WHEN USING SNAPCHATSnap Inc. collects the following information when you use

Snapchat:

• usage information and content information• device information and device phonebook• camera and photos• location information• information collected by cookies and other technologies• log information(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

THIRD PARTIES

Snap Inc. may collect information provided by other users about you, from other companies owned by

Snap Inc., or any other third party sources.(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

HOW INFORMATION IS USED…Snap Inc. may use the information they collect in various

ways:

• to develop products and services• communicate with users• monitor and analyse trends• personalise services• enhance safety and security• verify user identity and prevent fraud(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

… AND SHAREDSnap Inc. may share this information with:

• other Snapchatters• the general public• affiliates• third parties• in aggregate or after de-identification(Snapchat Privacy Policy, 2016)

THIS MEANS…Snapchat has access to much more information about

you than what you personally provide them with.

The information and content you provide, as well as the information they collect about your usage should not

be considered private.

By using the application you give Snapchat the right to share any information collected with anyone they

desire.

SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED?

(Amnesty International, 2016)

“Although it has a strong policy commitment towards privacy, in practice it does not do enough to protect

its users’ privacy.

It does not deploy end-to-end encryption and needs to do more to inform users about how the company is

tackling threats to their rights…”(Amnesty International, 2016)

Snapchat’s ‘self-deleting’ images can provide users with a false sense of security.

If you are strongly concerned about your online privacy, you may want to reconsider creating a Snapchat

account.

If you do choose to use Snapchat, do so under the assumption that your content can be shared and

viewed by anyone, at anytime.

REFERENCES• Amnesty International. (2016). “How private are your favourite messaging apps?”. Accessed from,

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/10/which-messaging-apps-best-protect-your-privacy/

• Novellino, T. (2016). “Snapchat errr Snap Inc. exec shares stats with advertising industry”. New York Business Journal. Accessed from, http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2016/09/26/snapchat-snap-inc-exec-shares-stats-advertisers.html

• Snap Inc. (2016). “Privacy Policy”. Accessed from, https://www.snapchat.com/l/en-gb/privacy/

• Snap Inc. (2016). “Snap Inc.”. Accessed from, https://www.snap.com/en-US/

• Snap Inc. (2016). “Terms of Service” Accessed from, https://www.snap.com/en-US/terms/

• Snapchat Support. (2016). “Getting Started”. Accessed from, https://support.snapchat.com/en-GB/article/getting-started1