Following Snapchat’s update to its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy last week, it’s felt the need to reassure users in a blog post addressing the “confusion about the update.”
Some people got scared.
Part of the problem seems to stem from the language used. According to the policy, Snapchat can “reproduce” your content in “any and all media,” which has riled and worried more than a few. Snapchat says it needs the “broad” license for things like snap submissions to Live Stories, but that’s the only clear example it offers.
Snapchat has also updated sections on in-app purchases ,following its rollout of $0.99 Snap replays. Real names are visible on the service—to make it easier for friends to find you—but there are ways to modify that (and other) info, according to the blog posting.
The language issue is ironic, because Snapchat said one of the main reasons behind the policy update was to make it easier to understand, so that it would “read the way people actually talk.”
Read the new @Snapchat privacy/legal policies before deciding whether to click yes. Scary stuff in there, kids. pic.twitter.com/RvXMk1JPdn
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) October 29, 2015
In any case, Snapchat is now reassuring users (emphasis ours):
We want to be crystal clear: The Snaps and Chats you send your friends remain as private today as they were before the update. Our Privacy Policy continues to say—as it did before—that those messages “are automatically deleted from our servers once we detect that they have been viewed or have expired.” Of course, a recipient can always screenshot or save your Snaps or Chats. But the important point is that Snapchat is not—and never has been—stockpiling your private Snaps or Chats. And because we continue to delete them from our servers as soon as they’re read, we could not—and do not—share them with advertisers or business partners.
Snapchat added that while its content license is broad, it’s “common to services like ours.” Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to decide if they feel comfortable using the service.
The same goes for services like Facebook and Instagram, which have also had to do a lot to reassure users on the privacy front.
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