Snapchat

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Snapchat

Basic information
Founded	2011
Type	Public
Industry	Social media
Official website	https://snapchat.com

Snapchat is a social media and camera app founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy. In March 2017, Snapchat would become a publicly traded company in the New York stock exchange.

Consumer impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):

• User Freedom
• User Privacy
• Business Model
• Market Control

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Incidents

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Privacy concerns

Snapchat Maps

In June 2017, a new feature called "Maps" was released that showed users where their friends were while using the app. This feature was from the acquisition of the company Zenly. Many feared the feature would be used in stalking and many child safety groups were wary, with one stating "we would encourage users not to share their location, especially with people they don’t know in person".

As of February 2025, users can opt out of the maps feature by disabling location services in their device settings or through the app. This can be done temporarily through "ghost mode," where only Snapchat can see your location rather than your added friends. Users can also restrict what accounts can see their location.

Products

• Bitmoji (2016-): Custom user generated emoji avatars used in Snapchat and images.
• Spectacles (2016-2024): Augmentive Reality (AR) glasses.
  • Spectacles (2016)
  • Spectacles (2021)
  • Spectacles (2024)
• Pixy (2022): In 2024, the device was recalled due to a faulty battery.

External links

• Bitmoji
• Pixy
• Spectacles

See also

• Instagram