// Privacy NEWS // Snapchat's internal tools used to spy on users
Staff members allegedly abused their positions to spy on Snapchat users. Snapchat has internal tools to access consumer data and these same tools have been used inappropriately by employees.
Source
According to an article published by Motherboard, "many" staff members abused their positions and used their privileges to access these tools and spy on users.
One of the programs, called "SnapLion", provides the keys to access user data, have indicated sources to the publication.
SnapLion was initially used to collect user information when a valid law enforcement request or subpoena had been issued. Access has since been extended to several teams, including a service called "Customer Ops", security staff and employees dedicated to fighting intimidation and spam.
Although these tools are essential for technology providers to respond to legitimate requests from authorities and control inappropriate behaviour on their networks, they expose users to abuse. The only solution is to implement an access and request control policy based on the requests received.
Not a first time
In this specific case, two former and one current Snap employees stated that staff members had already used these tools for illegitimate purposes and to spy on users without good reason in the past.
In some cases, photos, videos, position information, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses were available to employees.
The company has recently implemented stricter controls over access to data and takes such abuses seriously. But a few years ago, tools such as SnapLion did not use session analysis technology to find out how and where abuses occurred - making it possible to spy on users.
Snap now implements enough logging to see what information has been accessed by employees, reducing the risk of undetected abuse.
A company spokesperson told Motherboard, "we keep very little user data, and we have robust policies and controls to limit internal access to the data we do have. Unauthorized access of any kind is a clear violation of the company's standards of business conduct and, if detected, results in immediate termination."
Since many lives and identities have now entered the digital space, it can be tempting to abuse one's powers if social network employees have the necessary privileges. In this respect, Snapchat is not alone, as shown by a case in 2018: Facebook had fired a security engineer for spying on women online.
The Guardian said that the engineer had privileged access to user data and considered himself a "professional stalker".
Uber's use of internal tools has also been criticized in the past. The carpool service received a warning from regulators and a small fine in 2016 for using its "Godview" tool to track users and access their race histories without authorization.
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