Global Privacy Day: Helping Snapchatters Learn about Online Safety

At Snap, thinking about the privacy and wellbeing of our users drives the way we develop our products. From the outset, Snapchat was designed to recreate the natural feeling of a conversation -- a private communication between close friends that deletes by default and isn’t preserved for eternity. 

Our privacy-centric approach isn’t a talking point for us -- it runs throughout our business. We put new features through an intense privacy review process to make sure they meet our standards. We handle Snapchatters’ information with the same care that we use for ourselves, our family and our friends: we don’t stockpile their private messages and Snaps and Chats delete by default. 

We have always viewed the privacy and safety of our community as connected. Privacy isn’t just about data protection and security -- it’s about personal protection and security too. For example, Snapchat’s privacy-focused architecture makes it harder for strangers to find and contact members of our community. Many of our features are set to private by default, which helps protect Snapchatters from unknowingly sharing information with their friends.   

But beyond this, we believe we have a responsibility to help our community learn about how to protect their privacy and wellbeing when using our products. To date, we have done this through our Privacy Center, which lays out in clear terms how Snapchatters can control their information, what data we collect across each of our products and how it is used. We have also increased our in-app education efforts, such as sending a Mass Chat to Snapchatters reminding them to bolster their account security by using two-factor authentication and creating a series of animated Snaps about our privacy practices.  

In 2021, we will double down on these efforts by launching a more expansive digital literacy campaign for Snapchatters. Today, as we mark Global Privacy Day, we’re rolling out “Safety Snapshot” a new safety and privacy-focused channel on our Discover Platform, produced in partnership with outside experts. Each month, this channel will provide Snapchatters with straightforward tips, starting with an episode going live today that walks Snapchatters through how to better protect their account by verifying their email and phone number. Future episodes will focus on Snapchat’s privacy settings; the importance of two-factor authentication; and how to set strong passwords to protect against phishing. 

In addition, we’re launching a new filter in partnership with the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a leading privacy organization, which includes a swipe-up link to more resources on their website, such as a student privacy communications toolkit.

We will continue to expand on this initiative in the coming months, through additional in-app resources and partnerships to help demystify privacy and safety issues for Snapchatters and their loved ones. Our goal is to find innovative ways to further integrate online safety education in Snapchat, in ways that will resonate with this mobile-first generation. 

To check out the channel, open Snapchat and point your camera at the Snapcode below. Press and hold on the Snapcode on your screen to scan it, then tap 'Open.' Or you can simply search for Safety Snapshot in Snapchat! Don’t forget to subscribe!