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New App Bypasses Snapchat Screenshot Notifications; Snapchat Details Law Enforcement Requests

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Released over the weekend, new app SnapHack is designed to allow users to save snapshots and videos sent via Snapchat without giving the sender a notification (via The Los Angeles Times). Snapchat photos are meant to be ephemeral, disappearing from servers and devices within seconds after viewing, with Snapchat providing notifications if a photo or video is saved.

SnapHack bypasses Snapchat's screenshot notification mechanism by culling unread photos and videos from Snapchat's servers. The app asks users to log in with their Snapchat credentials, where it is able to secretly save unread photos and videos to the camera roll. Content that has already been opened within the app cannot be saved via SnapHack, and logging into SnapHack logs users out of Snapchat.

snaphack.jpg
Log into SnapHack with your Snapchat credentials and it will download any images and videos that you haven't yet opened in Snapchat.

When you get a Snapchat notification or see that you have new snaps, simply open SnapHack first, pull down to refresh, and it will grab your new snaps.
Click to expand...
Earlier this year, capturing screenshots of Snapchat photos and videos was also possible during early betas of iOS 7, which disabled the app's screenshot detection methods. Apple later implemented a new screenshot detection API, allowing Snapchat to function unhindered. Though Snapchat has declined to comment on the SnapHack app, given Apple's direct support of Snapchat, it's unlikely that SnapHack will be permitted to remain in the App Store for long.

In other Snapchat news, the company today posted a disclosure on its website detailing its content storage policies. While Snapchat does not store content that has been opened, it does store unopened images and videos, which can be retrieved.

According to Snapchat, it has received and provided unopened content for approximately one dozen warrants since May of 2013, and has been required to preserve content while investigations are ongoing.
So what is a circumstance when we might manually retrieve a Snap, assuming it is still unopened? For example, there are times when we, like other electronic communication service providers, are permitted and sometimes compelled by law to access and disclose information.

Since May 2013, about a dozen of the search warrants we've received have resulted in us producing unopened Snaps to law enforcement. That's out of 350 million Snaps sent every day.
Click to expand...
The company also notes that images added to the new Stories feature are deleted after 24 hours, but can be viewed during that time for content violations, unlike standard Snaps.

SnapHack is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for $0.99. [Direct Link]

Snapchat is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: New App Bypasses Snapchat Screenshot Notifications; Snapchat Details Law Enforcement Requests
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/14/new-app-bypasses-snapchat-screenshot-notifications-snapchat-details-law-enforcement-requests/
C

cameronjpu

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2007
1,367
78
Smart hack, but it will be very easy for the company to close this hole by requiring login only from their signed app.
 
C

Col Ronson

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2008
619
2
correct me if im wrong but cant you already screencap in iOS7 without sending notifications? seeing how iOS7 doesn't cancel any screencommands while u screencap?
 
5

5t3f4n

macrumors regular
Aug 1, 2011
207
17
Col Ronson said:
correct me if im wrong but cant you already screencap in iOS7 without sending notifications? seeing how iOS7 doesn't cancel any screencommands while u screencap?
Click to expand...

You're both right and wrong.
That was the case when iOS 7 beta was first released, but they have since added a new API for it.
 
hazelgreene

hazelgreene

macrumors newbie
Mar 31, 2009
24
3
There are already apps like this in the App Store. Snap Save for Snapchat is one of them. It's exactly the same thing.
 
Casiotone

Casiotone

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2008
825
111
I still don't understand the deal with Snapchat, but there are plenty of programs that can display airplay mirroring video from iOS devices on Windows/Mac which makes it trivial to capture anything on the device screen without alerting the app.
 
B

burnout8488

macrumors 6502a
May 8, 2011
575
79
Endwell, NY
Is it just me, or is this app totally worthless anyway?

The main purpose of the app is just to be a time-waster, right? (Serious question)
 
R

ryanasimov

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2007
311
291
News stories like this make me feel so, so out of touch. I've heard of Snapchat but the idea that someone would write an app to exploit it is bewildering.
 
WhackyNinja

WhackyNinja

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2012
1,840
437
Kissimmee, FL
"Snapchat is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free."

Snapchat is for Android too...unless you meant iPhone-only and not iPad then yes. It is for the iPhone only.
 
E

ERIC273

macrumors 6502
Mar 31, 2009
357
0
NJ
WhackyNinja said:
"Snapchat is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free."

Snapchat is for Android too...unless you meant iPhone-only and not iPad then yes. It is for the iPhone only.
Click to expand...

You can download Snapchat for iPad aswell as android devices.
 
Z

Zaqfalcon

macrumors 6502
Mar 22, 2010
361
138
burnout8488 said:
Is it just me, or is this app totally worthless anyway?

The main purpose of the app is just to be a time-waster, right? (Serious question)
Click to expand...

I don't get it either; I think it's just for naked selfie sexting.

Tsk. Kids today, don't know they're born.
 
jclo

jclo

Managing Editor
Staff member
Dec 7, 2012
1,971
4,305
ERIC273 said:
You can download Snapchat for iPad aswell as android devices.
Click to expand...

It means that Snapchat is optimized for the iPhone, not that it is only available on the Apple platform. You can download it on the iPad, yes, but it's an iPhone app.
 
kas23

kas23

macrumors 603
Oct 28, 2007
5,629
288
ryanasimov said:
News stories like this make me feel so, so out of touch. I've heard of Snapchat but the idea that someone would write an app to exploit it is bewildering.
Click to expand...

I have absolutely no idea what this article is talking about. It's like written in Greek to me and I feel I'm pretty well-versed in stuff like this. The only reason why this could possibly be Apple-related is MacRumors is being paid to advertise for this app. Otherwise, I have no idea why this is on MRs.
 
9

9000

macrumors 6502a
Sep 29, 2013
519
0
Hyrule
Hah, these things always make me laugh. Not as funny as Hacking with Friends, the jailbreak package that lets you play anything in Words with Friends or Hanging with Friends. That is, you can play "asxxxxbc", and it'll let you use it.
 
coder12

coder12

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2010
512
3
burnout8488 said:
Is it just me, or is this app totally worthless anyway?

The main purpose of the app is just to be a time-waster, right? (Serious question)
Click to expand...

Yup, you're correct. It's just an app where you can do something goofy (or... naughty...?) and sent it to others for fun.

My pride and joy was a video of me getting into a clothes dryer.

On another note, haven't we also been able to do this with other apps like Snap Save for a while now?
 
BC2009

BC2009

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2009
2,237
1,393
Reading this story and realizing how little I care about SnapChat and SnapHack makes me want to yell "Get off my lawn!"

Seriously, though only reason I am grateful for this article is that I know to disallow my kids from having this app on their devices.
 
cyclotron451

cyclotron451

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2005
220
1
Europe
talking to a teacher at a school near Milano, Italy

This science teacher said that his class of kids (15-17yrs old) no longer communicate using facebook or MSN chat
but send each other (1->1 or 1->n) ten second video clips using a variety of apps that I'd never heard of, including Viber & SnapChat.

Snapchat presumably is part of the next/current wave of infomedia exploitation, as humanity seeks to express themselves,
I think that my personal ICT comms waves are: UUCP eMail, BITNET, Msg/DECphone on Vax, dial-up ICQ, SMS, POP eMail, Webmail, Skype(pre-NSA), FaceTime, iMessage, WhatsApp...

tho' obviously I'm missing out my HF, 144, 432 & 4U1ITU EME periods of narrowcasting. I'm currently testing WSPR mode HF tx from a RaspberryPi, (based on NASA below noiselevel protocols - whole earth mesh networking) - SnapChat et al still have some way to go
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
autrefois said:
No one else finds it worrying that Apple apparently approved SnapHack in the first place? It's not exactly like they were hiding the fact that this is a hack...
Click to expand...

I suppose the app does exactly what the user of the app wants it to do. It doesn't circumvent any security; the user of the app types in his credentials and sees pictures that were sent to him or her.

Maybe it doesn't do what the sender of the message wanted, but so what? It does what the receiver wants. Sure, it spoils peoples fun they can have with Snapchat, but what point in Apple's store guidelines are they violating?
 
OldSchoolMacGuy

OldSchoolMacGuy

Suspended
Jul 10, 2008
4,197
9,050
Lots of people that are clueless about Snapchat in this thread. For millions of people, it's an app that you can convince your girlfriend or female friend, to send you naughty pictures because as far as they're concerned, they disappear after a couple seconds. This thread sounds like all the people that went on about how they don't understand Twitter or Facebook some years ago.

There is already a FAR more popular app that does the same thing. Snap Save is one of the more popular apps in the App Store.
 
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