By Baree Newton Snapchat has gradually become one of the most utilized social media apps in the world. But what makes the app so unique? You can send photos back and forth with your friends on tons of sites without these pictures being cataloged or saved.
Within the past few weeks, however, Snapchat's popularity has taken a bit of a dive. When a Twitter user put the app's privacy policy on public display, the universe was taken by storm. Okay, not the universe per say, but social media, which qualifies as the world in teenage terms. On October 29th twitter user Kal Penn tweeted a photo of Snapchat’s new policies as a token of warning to his followers. He advised them to read the Snapchat policies before continuing to use the app. The new policy states that the app can (for any reason) take shared content and "access, review, screen, and delete it." The policy’s scariest aspect is that Snapchat can display this shared content in any form it chooses. In the rear of our subconscious, I believe we all know that we have no true liberty or privacy. But when someone openly discusses how specific policies inhibit our rights, an entire bandwagon wakes up from their delusional sleep. Every social media has the ability to be collecting information and selling and using it as they so please. Of course, social media took the “Snapchat scandal” and ran with it, which resulted in several misunderstandings. Snapchats new policy addresses the fact that they collect information about users from third parties, which inclined many users jumping to the conclusion that Snapchat was basically spying on its users. They assumed the app had a book filled with all of the websites, apps and downloads each of its users had ever visited. This is false. Snapchat responded to the misinformed chaos on November 1st. “It’s true that our Terms of Service grant us a broad license to use the content you create—a license that’s common to services like ours. We need that license when it comes to, for example, Snaps submitted to Live Stories, where we have to be able to show those Stories around the world—and even replay them or syndicate them (something we’ve said we could do in previous versions of our Terms and Privacy Policy).” So should you still use Snapchat? Sure - if you are content with the fact that the company can most likely access what you send at all times. But if you are uncomfortable with that, I am positive that there are much more productive ways to spend your time. Either way, just be aware of what you're sending, and who you are sending it to.
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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