14 DAY TRIAL // Following last month’s security breach of a third-party service, Snapchat decided to inform users if their account has been found to be associated with unauthorized apps.
The measure aims to protect the end-user from unfortunate events that may result in exposing private photos that are otherwise deleted through normal use of the Snapchat service.
Third-party apps should not have access to Snapchat accounts
The company promised better protection for its users since October, and in a blog post on Wednesday, it reassured users of its security stance as far as third-party apps piggybacking on their efforts are concerned.
“We’ve enjoyed some of the ways that developers have tried to make Snapchat better. Unfortunately, some developers build services that trick Snapchatters and compromise their accounts,” the post reads.
To counteract the illegal activity and ensure the security of its users’ content, the company decided to issue alerts whenever other apps are used with the service.
Oftentimes, such software needs access to the account of the user in order to fulfill its functionality. As such, the notification of a possible risk is also accompanied by the recommendation to change the log in password and to stop using the unauthorized app.
Apps not created by Snapchat are unauthorized to use the service
Back in October, the server of Snapsaved.com was accessed without authorization and content belonging to Snapchatters was taken and leaked online; the incident was quickly dubbed The Snappening.
At first, it was rumored that a 13GB database of images and videos had been stolen from the compromised web server; later, evidence surfaced that it was a much smaller collection, and it contained mostly pics of clothed users.
Snapchat is designed as a service for sharing media content on a temporary basis, with the video or image being immediately destroyed after it has been viewed by the recipient.
However, there are third-party services, such as Snapsaved.com, that can permanently store the received content, offering users the possibility to review it at a later time.
This is possible by accessing the Snapchat API (application programming interface), which is used in developing apps for the Snapchat platform.
For security reasons, the company does not make the API public and restricts access to the private one it uses for its own services.
In a blog post following the breach incident, the company said that it still needed time make sure that developing for its platform was done right. “Until then, that means any application that isn’t ours but claims to offer Snapchat services violates our Terms of Use and can’t be trusted.”