Snapchat’s short-lived messages are the app’s claim to fame, but in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commision, the company was forced to admit that your snaps won’t always “disappear forever” as promised. Under the new agreement, Snapchat will be forced beef up its privacy efforts in an initiative that will be monitored by independent experts for the next 20 years.
What happens on the Internet stays on the Internet. That truth was laid bare on Thursday, when Snapchat, the popular mobile messaging service, agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that messages sent through the company’s app did not disappear as easily as promised. Snapchat has built its service on a pitch that has always seemed almost too good to be true: that people can send any photo or video to friends and have it vanish without a trace. That promise has appealed to millions of people, particularly younger Internet users seeking refuge from nosy parents, school administrators and potential employers.
