Snapchat Bans Apps of its Third-Party following 4chan Hack
On Monday Snapchat has announced that it has banned all third-party apps through which users access its service. The ban is imposed after more than 100,000 user images are hacked and leaked in 4chan.Snapchat said this step is taken in a bid to stop such attacks in future.
Snapchat further explained that anyone who will try to access the snapchat through third party software will receive an email, which suggest them to stop and change their password then try to log-in on original app.
Snapchat is popular because it deletes data once the receiver seen the images and messages.But the use of the third party software has been the reason behind the recent cyber attack on its users.
Snapchat already asks Google and Apple to remove any sort of dangerous or offending apps from its stores after the attack on them which saw their more than 100,000 users images leaked on 4chan. Snap chat users used to send around 700Million snaps and videos per day before the 4chan attack. The value of the company is around $10 Billion.
"Using third-party applications to access Snapchat can compromise your account and is a violation of our Terms of Use,"
"If you are using third-party applications to access Snapchat, please change your password and stop using these applications. If you continue to use these apps, we will have to lock your account."
said Snapchat in its support pages.
Dubbed "the Snappening" by users of the chat forum 4chan, in October, a database containing over 100,000 photos and videos sent across Snapchat networks was leaked online. A third-party Snapchat client app was to blame, which was able to steal images after malicious software installation.
In addition to this high-profile attack, the company apologized after 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and matched phone numbers were leaked at the beginning of the year.
Snapchat recently settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that the messaging service misled users over privacy, and collected user information in violation of its own policies. In addition, worries over screenshots being taken of messages and the use of third-party apps that are able to download data before it disappears has shadowed the company in recent times.
Snapchat agreed to revise its privacy policy after talks with the US watchdog and will be monitored by an independent privacy service for the next 20 years.
In a blog post, Snapchat provided an update on these problems, and says that while the firm has 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."
Snapchat further explained that anyone who will try to access the snapchat through third party software will receive an email, which suggest them to stop and change their password then try to log-in on original app.
Snapchat is popular because it deletes data once the receiver seen the images and messages.But the use of the third party software has been the reason behind the recent cyber attack on its users.
Snapchat already asks Google and Apple to remove any sort of dangerous or offending apps from its stores after the attack on them which saw their more than 100,000 users images leaked on 4chan. Snap chat users used to send around 700Million snaps and videos per day before the 4chan attack. The value of the company is around $10 Billion.
"Using third-party applications to access Snapchat can compromise your account and is a violation of our Terms of Use,"
"If you are using third-party applications to access Snapchat, please change your password and stop using these applications. If you continue to use these apps, we will have to lock your account."
said Snapchat in its support pages.
Dubbed "the Snappening" by users of the chat forum 4chan, in October, a database containing over 100,000 photos and videos sent across Snapchat networks was leaked online. A third-party Snapchat client app was to blame, which was able to steal images after malicious software installation.
In addition to this high-profile attack, the company apologized after 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and matched phone numbers were leaked at the beginning of the year.
Snapchat recently settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that the messaging service misled users over privacy, and collected user information in violation of its own policies. In addition, worries over screenshots being taken of messages and the use of third-party apps that are able to download data before it disappears has shadowed the company in recent times.
Snapchat agreed to revise its privacy policy after talks with the US watchdog and will be monitored by an independent privacy service for the next 20 years.
In a blog post, Snapchat provided an update on these problems, and says that while the firm has 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."
