In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission fined Snapchat for failing to disclose that the company collected, stored, and transmitted geolocation data. Users may not be aware of the sort of data that Snapchat can store, however. Many of Snapchat's 186 million users turn to the app in part of the ephemerality of videos and photos users send to one another. SnapLion provides "the keys to the kingdom," one of the former employees who described the abuse of accessing user data said. The existence of this tool has not been previously reported. Security staff also have access, according to the current employee. An internal Snap email obtained by Motherboard says a department called "Customer Ops" has access to SnapLion. Snap's "Spam and Abuse" team has access, according to one of the former employees, and a current employee suggested the tool is used to combat bullying or harassment on the platform by other users. Both of the sources said SnapLion is a play on words with the common acronym for law enforcement officer LEO, with one of them adding it is a reference to the cartoon character Leo the Lion. The tool was originally used to gather information on users in response to valid law enforcement requests, such as a court order or subpoena, two former employees said. One of the internal tools that can access user data is called SnapLion, according to multiple sources and the emails. But, without proper protections in place, those same people may abuse it to spy on users' private information or profiles. Motherboard granted multiple sources in this story anonymity to speak candidly about internal Snap processes.Īlthough Snap has introduced strict access controls to user data and takes abuse and user privacy very seriously according to several sources, the news highlights something that many users may forget: behind the products we use everyday there are people with access to highly sensitive customer data, who need it to perform essential work on the service.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |