Snapchat Memories: A New Privacy Concern
Snapchat just got a little more permanent!
If you are wondering if your tween or teen is a snapchatter, chances are the answer is yes. A recent survey from the research firm Piper Jaffray indicates that Snapchat has overtaken the #1 spot for preferred social networking site for teens. One of the reasons for the surge in popularity is the premise that there is a lack of permanency to Snapchat. Teens are starting to grasp the concept that Instagram posts and Twitter tweets can affect their future, and therefore are turning more frequently to Snapchat which allows them to operate under the assumption that things shouldn’t, and won’t, live forever in the online world.
As the current #1, Snapchat must continually work to add features that appeal to their audience. It appears that the leader, who has cashed in on the ‘lack of permanency’ philosophy, is moving towards the storage of these images. They are in the process of adding a new feature that allows the user to save snaps (images) and Snapchat Stories (series of images) within Snapchat. This new feature, called ‘Memories’,will allow the snaps, or memories, to be reused in a later Snapchat story or sent to a friend at a future date.
What is interesting about this new feature is how these images will be saved and backed up by Snapchat. Here is how Snapchat explains it in their announcement of Memories feature:
Memories is backed up by Snapchat. We won’t backup any photos or videos from your Camera Roll, unless you use one to make a new Story or add it to My Eyes Only. In that case, we’ll back up only the photo or video that you used.
Our teens’ images that are stored as Memories will live on forever in a more permanent way than previously thought. This new feature can be an opportunity to communicate how all images are public once they are shared on a social media site. Privacy does not exist in the online world and certainly not in the Snapchat community. When I asked my teen, who is a heavy user of Snapchat, why he likes it so much, his response was simply ‘because it is fun’. Sure. It is fun. But let’s just ensure that they understand the appropriate behavior, responsibility, and risks that come along with all social media.
