Users of Snapchat that thought they were safe from leaks are in for a painful realization. It has been announced that images and chat logs from the app have been saved for years through a third party, and that hackers have announced on 4Chan that they are building a database for a massive leak.
The saved Snapchats appear to have been placed on a third party server of some kind, and is being curated into a searchable database. It is not yet known where the data was taken from, but they believe it was a Danish service called SnapSaved. It allowed users to sign up to save Snapchats that would otherwise be deleted after opening.
A couple of months ago, SnapSaved disappeared without any explanation. It is believed that it might have been a front for the hackers who have over the years collected 13GB of data, including the intact usernames of where the chats and images came from.
Recently, messages started showing up on 4Chan boards promising something major on the horizon, with little teasers about what it could be. Now we know: that data will be released, and already they are making a searchable database that will allow users to search via username to find anything that was done through the service.
Nude photos are a major part of the leak, unsurprisingly. They also include underage photos of teenage and preteen users who had downloaded the app thinking the messages would be immediately deleted once they were seen.
This is the third hack related to Snapchat since 2013. Others included the leak of millions of user’s phone numbers, and another sent pictures of fruit smoothies to thousands of members as part of a prank. But this is definitely the most disturbing of all.
Snapchat is admitting that this leak is legitimate, though they claim no responsibility. According to them, there was no breach in their servers, and this was completely on the end of whatever third party will ultimately be found to be the culprit.
This follows on the tail end of the continuing celebrity nude photo scandal. But with the majority of images being of teens within the average demographic of 13 – 17, it is certainly much worst.
Source: Business Insider
