The beauty of Snapchat is that the photos only last for a few seconds, unless your friend decides to screenshot them.
Even then, you get a notification, so can know exactly which photos of you are owned by someone else.
However, now, the app has changed its terms and conditions so it owns every single photo taken using the app.
Not only this, but if you use it, you’re consenting to the app doing whatever it likes with your photographs.
Not only that, but the privacy policy also states that by sharing your content on the service, you are also granting Snapchat permission to use your name, likeness and voice anywhere in the world, with no restrictions, on all media and distribution channels, forever.
This means that the photos people take, thinking they are temporary and private, could appear on Snapchat’s promotional material, on its website or even its social media accounts.
Snapchat has faced controversy before, as it claimed that all the photos sent on the device were automatically deleted from its servers.
This lead to a rise in ‘sexting’, where people would send risque images to one another using the app.
People who did this felt confident that the photos would self-destruct.
However, Snapchat admitted to the FTC that in fact the images are never actually truly deleted from a user’s device, and it is actually possible to recover the images.
The app hasn’t suffered from the scandals, however. It is valued at a reported $16 billion (£10 billion).
Evan Spiegel, the co-founder and chief executive of Snapchat, has spoken about what he thinks the app should be used for.
He said: “Historically photographs have been used to save really important memories, major life moments, but today, with the advent of the mobile phone and the connected camera, pictures are being used for talking.
“Now photographs are really used for talking, that’s why people are taking and sending so many photos on Snapchat.”
