When you use these services, you will share some information with us. So we want to be explicit about the information we collect, how we use it, who we provide with this information and the controls we provide to you so that you can access, update and delete your information.
That is why we are writing this privacy policy. That is why we try to write it in a way that is devoid of the legal language that such documents are usually associated with.
You should read the privacy policy in full, but if you only have a few minutes or want to remember something later, you can always take a look at this summary – so you can review some basic information in just a few minutes.
Here are some details on each of these categories.
Information you provide
When you use our services, we collect the information that you provide to us. For example, most of our products require you to set up a Snapchat account, so we need to collect some important details about you such as your name, username, password, email address, phone number and date of birth. We may ask you to provide us with some additional information that will appear on our services, such as your profile picture or your Bitmoji avatar. Other services, such as commercial products, may require you to provide us with a debit or credit card number and account information for the card.
Of course, you will also provide us with any information that you send through our services, such as Snaps and Chat. Keep in mind that users who view your Snaps, your chats, and any other content can always save or copy that content outside of the app. So, the same common sense that applies to the Internet in general also applies to Snapchat, do not send messages or share content that you do not want anyone to save or share.
When you contact customer support or communicate with us in any other way, we will collect the information that you volunteer with or that we need to resolve the issue you are facing.
Information we obtain when you use our services
When you use our services, we collect information about the type of services you used and how you used them. We can, for example, know that you watched a specific Story, watched it for a certain period of time, and submitted Snaps. Here is a further explanation of the types of information we collect when you use our services:
Usage information. We obtain information about your activity through our services. For example, we may obtain information on:
The extent of your interaction with our services, such as which filters you view or place on Snaps, or which stories you see on the Discover screen, whether you use Spectacles or any search queries you submit.
How you communicate with Snapchatters, such as usernames, the date and time you communicate with them, the number of messages you exchange with friends, the friends you message frequently, and your interaction with messages (when you open the message or take a screenshot, for example).
Content information. We collect the content you create on our services, such as personalized stickers and information about the content you create or provide, such as whether the recipient has viewed the content and the metadata that is provided with the content.
Device information. We collect information on and about the devices you use. For example, we collect:
Information about your hardware and software, such as device model, operating system version, device memory, advertising identifiers, unique application identifiers, installed applications, unique device identifiers, browser type, battery level, and time zone;
Information from device sensors such as accelerometers, directional finders, compasses, microphones, and whether or not you have a headset connected to the device;
Information about your connections to the wireless or mobile network, such as the cell phone number, service provider, IP address, and signal strength.
Device phone book. Since Snapchat’s greatest interest is communicating with friends, we may collect information from the phone book on a device with your permission.
Camera and photos. Many of our services require that we collect photos and other information from your device’s camera and photos. For example, you will not be able to send Snaps or download photos from the Camera Roll unless you allow us to access the Camera or Photos.
Location information. We may collect information about your location when you use our services. We may also collect information, with your permission, about your location using accurate methods which include GPS, wireless networks, cell phone towers, Wi-Fi access points and other sensors, such as rotating compasses, accelerometers, and compasses.
Information collected by cookies and other technologies. Like most Internet services and mobile applications, we may use cookies and other technologies, such as web beacons to track and store on the Internet, and unique advertising identifiers to collect information about your activity, browser and device. These technologies may also be used to collect information when interacting with the services we provide through one of our partners, such as commercial advertising features. For example, we may use this aggregate information on other websites to show you ads that are most relevant to you. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually remove or refuse browser cookies through the settings on your browser or device. Keep in mind, that removing or rejecting cookies may affect the availability and functionality of our services. To learn more about how we and our partners use cookies on our services