Our Privacy Principles
At Snap, we make your privacy a priority. We know your trust is earned every time you use Snapchat, or any of our other products — that’s why we treat your information differently than most other tech companies.
We don’t stockpile your private messages and we don’t publicly showcase a timeline of everything you’ve ever posted. Snapchat’s designed so that people can only see the things you want to share, for as long as you want to share them. We believe this makes Snapchat feel less like a permanent record and more like a conversation with friends.
Even though our products are constantly evolving, our privacy principles remain unchanged:
We communicate honestly and openly
When you use Snap products, you share information with us — it’s our responsibility to help you understand how that information is used. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information — you can read the highlights here. If you’re curious about how a certain feature uses your data, Privacy by Product breaks things down a bit more. We also explain how features use data right inside of our apps, and throughout our Support Center. Of course, if you still can’t find what you need, you can always ask!
You choose how to express yourself
We believe that privacy is essential to empowering self-expression. That’s why you’re in control of who you share things with, how you share them, and how long they can be seen. You decide who can see your Story, which friends can see your Bitmoji on the Snap Map, and just how long your Snaps stick around. You can keep things just between you and a friend, or share a moment with the whole world! Learn more.
We design with privacy in mind
New features go through an intense privacy review process — we talk about things, we debate them, and we work hard to build products we’re proud of and that we’ll want to use. After all, we use these products every day, both at work and in our personal lives. We handle your information with the same care that we use for ourselves, our company, our family, and our friends.
You control your information
You have the right to control your information. That’s why we provide easy ways to access and update your information, adjust how much information you share with us, and request that we delete your information — or your account, altogether. You can control most of your privacy settings right in our mobile applications. You can even log in and download your Snapchat information here. If you ever have any specific questions about your data, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Deletion is our default
Snapchat aims to capture the feeling of hanging out with friends in person — that’s why Snaps and Chats are deleted from our servers once they’re opened or expired. After a Snap is deleted, we’ll mainly be able to see the basic details — like when it was sent and who it was sent to. Learn more.
It’s important to keep in mind that other Snapchatters can always take a screenshot, or save things using a third-party app. At the end of the day, it’s best to only share the need-to-know stuff with the people you really trust — just like you would in real life!