Snapchat Becca McMullin

What It Is? Snapchat is a messaging app used to send photos and videos to friends These are known as “Snaps” Users can also add text or drawings to Snaps After being sent, photos cannot be viewed again

History Snapchat was created by Evan Spiegel Stanford University Student Presented idea as final project in a Product Design Class Launched in September 2011 for iPhone Android version was released November 2012

Revenue Snapchat does not currently generate any money The application is free and there are no ads in the app The company runs on donations and investors Because it does not create any revenue, it is difficult to say how the company will grow and survive in the future

How To Use It Click the large circular button to take a picture The list button in the bottom right corner takes you to your contacts list The cube in the bottom left corner brings up the users past history of Snaps sent and received The camera button in the upper right corner switches the camera view

How To Use It Select how long the snap will be seen (1-10 seconds) Save the picture you’ve just taken Create your “Story” Draw on your picture Send

The Users Mainly 13-23 year olds As of June 2013, 18.6% of all iPhone owners use Snapchat Ranked as the 9th most popular iPhone app in terms of usage 80% of Snapchat users are in the US

Controversies - Ownership February 2013: A former classmate of Spiegel claims the idea for Snapchat was stolen from him Claims he came up with the concept for the app and designed the logo Snapchat denies claims Outcome of case has yet to be decided

Controversies - Privacy Video Sent snaps can be screen-capped by friends Images may not necessarily disappear after sending them May 2013: Reports that Snapchat photos do not actually disappear Some claim that photos can be retrieved by people with certain technical knowledge Because of this, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint against the company for misleading customers Snapchat claims that is keeps a log of the last 200 snaps, but no actual content is stored or used

Controversies – Inappropriate Usage Snapchat used for sexting Parents worry that teens are abusing the app and sending inappropriate photos Snapchat has taken steps to make the application “not sexting-friendly,” but cannot control what users snap Snapchat team publicly stated that they do not condone any inappropriate usage of the app

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapchat http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/jul/17/snapchat-app-growth-iphone-us http://allthingsd.com/20121029/fast-growing-photo-messaging-app-snapchat-launches-on-android/ http://support.snapchat.com/