PRIVATE MESSAGING APP 
- By SafeSwiss
- In Privacy
SafeSwiss: the Snapchat for Grown-ups
Snapchat seems like a secure, private option, but it doesn't provide the levels of encryption and data protection that SafeSwiss can.
How does Snapchat's encryption compare with ours?
Snapchat has quickly risen to become one of the most prominent messaging apps, thanks mainly to the perceived privacy and security that come from its automatically deleted messages. However, for all its appeal, Snapchat is not as private or as secure as you might like. SafeSwiss offers a real solution for people who want safe, protected data and want better protection than Snapchat offers.
Snapchat's security failures
Snapchat has had a spotty history when it comes to user security. In 2013, the usernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million Snapchat users were stolen and made public on the internet. The following year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission launched a suit against the app, accusing it of misrepresenting its privacy policies and deceiving users about its data collection and security measures, the Infosec Institute reports.
Amnesty International has said Snapchat doesn't do enough to protect its users' privacy.
Even Amnesty International has criticised the app, saying that it doesn't do enough to protect its users' privacy. The human rights organisation has called end-to-end encryption a minimum requirement for technology companies who offer messaging services, and notes that Snapchat does not use this basic level of protection. The organisation gave Snapchat a score of just 26 out of a possible 100 for its use of encryption and transparency about security.
Snapchat's access to your content
Snapchat's main selling point is that its picture and video messages are temporary - once they have been seen by the recipient they disappear forever. However, this isn't quite the case. Snapchat's Terms of Service grant them the "worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, and distribute" any content that you share through the app.
While the company says that this is for operating, developing and improving their service, they can also use your content for promotion. Additionally, the fact that the license is sublicensable, and transferable should be a cause for concern. WhatsApp's announcement last year that it will share users' information with Facebook is an example of how your privacy can be compromised by a company's relationship with other parties.
Snapchat will share your images with law enforcement if requested.Giving up your privacy to governmental agencies
Despite trading on the perceived privacy that the temporary nature of their messages suggests, Snapchat hangs on to your images long enough to send them to law enforcement if requested. The company maintains that messages are deleted from their servers once they have been delivered to the recipient, but if a law enforcement agency sends them a search warrant for undelivered messages that are still on Snapchat's servers, then the contents of these will be (and has been) handed over.
SafeSwiss: A true encrypted messaging option
Because of its technical limitations and unfortunate business choices, Snapchat provides an incomplete security service to its users. While the app can be adult (or at least, the content shared through it can be), it's not a mature option. For real adults who take a responsible attitude towards online security, it's not the way to go.
We keep your communications hidden from everyone but you and the recipient.
SafeSwiss provides a level of data protection and privacy that Snapchat cannot compete against. With our true end-to-end, double-layered encryption, we keep your communications hidden from everyone but you and the recipient. Even we cannot access them, and we cannot hand them over to agencies who request it. Our app also offers a self-destruct feature for messages and data that effectively lets you send temporary messages like Snapchat - but over a far more secure channel.
What you choose to share with friends should be between you and them. Not strangers, the public, the government or even the service provider. Snapchat presents an idea of privacy that it cannot live up to. For superior data protection, choose SafeSwiss. Our free app is available to download for Android, iOS and Windows. Try it today.
