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Do you love Snapchat? Its funky filters and self-destructing messages are a lot of fun. But even with those fun features, you need protection and want your data to be secure.
So, how does Snapchat keep your data safe? Does it use encryption? Or does Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging provide a false sense of security?
Encryption Is Not the Same as Ephemeral (And Vice Versa)
At first glance, encryption and ephemeral might seem like fancy ways of saying the same thing—that your data is kept private. However, these concepts are quite distinct.
Encryption scrambles your data (texts, pictures, videos, voice notes, etc.) so only authorized parties can understand it. It transforms them into a coded format that looks unintelligible, a mess of numbers, letters, and symbols that resemble digital gibberish.
End-to-end encryptionmeans the scrambling process happens on your device before it is transmitted and only unscrambles once it reaches the authorized recipient’s device at the other end. This is because the decryption key needed to decrypt the data exists only on your devices at either end of the conversation.
So, no one can intercept it and read your private chatter—not hackers, the government, or even the companies that built the messaging apps.
Now, ephemeral messaging isn’t about concealing or masking the content of your communications. Instead, it’s about ensuring that whatever you send—texts, images, etc.—vanishes into thin air moments after they’re opened for reading or viewing. So, your conversations are off the record and out of permanent storage at the recipient’s end.
Now that we understand the difference between encryption and ephemeral messaging, let’s see how Snapchat puts these concepts into practice to keep your Snapchat data safe and secure.
How Does Snapchat Use Encryption?
Snapchat doesn’t say if it uses encryption to protect your messages in any way. However,according to NordVPN, Snapchat uses end-to-end encryption to protect the photos and videos (Snaps) you share. Only you and the person you’re sending the Snap to can view it. Snapchat itself or any third party can’t peek into your Snaps.
However, this encryption does not cover text messages and interactions in chats. Those are protected byTransport Layer Security (TLS)while they’re on their way from your phone to Snapchat’s servers. That’s good, but not the best.
TLS is a security protocol that all apps, websites, and services use. It stops hackers from stealing your data. However, once your messages reach Snapchat’s servers, they might be stored or read by Snapchat or the government. And they might have a reason to, especially if you post something sketchy or illegal.
We don’t know for sure, but that seemed to be the case with Aditya Verma, who, asper the BBC, sent a Snapchat message to his friends joking about blowing up a plane.
The message was sent to a private Snapchat group and read: “On my way to blow up the plane. I’m a member of the Taliban”. Even though it was supposed to be a private message, Verma’s message was picked up by UK security services, who flagged it to Spanish authorities while the easyJet plane was still in the air.
This also somewhat aligns withSnapchat’s privacy policy, which states that …
In any case, keep your private messages away from Snapchat just to be certain!
So, Is Your Snapchat Data Secure?
You might wonder if your Snaps (and other messages) are safe from snooping or hacking. Well, your Snaps are more secure (encrypted) than your texts, but they’re not foolproof.
Even though Snaps are supposed to disappear after someone sees them, the person you send them to can:
So don’t assume your Snaps really vanish without a trace. The recipient can save and share them if they want to.
Snapchat has also experienced data breaches and security incidents over the years, like the 2014 security breach wherehackers leaked 4.6 million Snapchat usernamesand phone numbers.
The most recent was in 2019, when Snapchat employees abused an internal tool, SnapLion, to access user data like locations, messages, and phone numbers. While that was long ago, there is no guarantee that a similar event will not happen again.
So, in light of all these, you should be careful about what you send and who you send it to on Snapchat. Never assume your Snaps will be gone forever or that they will be seen only by the intended recipient. We also have a guide withtips to beef up your security and privacy on Snapchat.
As with all things in the digital world, there’s no such thing as 100% privacy and security. So, always think before you Snap and be aware of your digital footprint.
