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r/NoStupidQuestions•6 mo. ago

TheresJustNoMoney

Why does Snapchat need to notify the other user when one of them takes a screenshot of the chat or starts a screen video recording?

I have a burner phone; I could take a picture of my main phone's screen with said burner or film video of my main phone's screen with it. And Snapchat has no idea how to handle THAT possibility.

Why does the other user need to be notified of the screenshot or video recording in the first place? What other chats don't notify them of such actions?

 

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[–]GFrohman 2 points 5 months ago 

The intention behind snapchat is that the messages, pictures, and videos sent there are fleeting and auto-delete after being seen. Screenshotting them defeats the whole point of using the app.

You're right that it's easily circumvented through certain screen recording apps or simply taking a picture with another device, but they still notify users when it happens to put at least a small barrier to make it harder to do.

Just text people if you want to keep a record of the conversation.

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[–]BeneficentWandererI am the walrus. 2 points 5 months ago 

Because the whole premise of the app was that you have some level of privacy through your messages deleting themselves, so discouraging people from screenshotting messages is in their best interest. Doing otherwise would go against their very premise.

Sure you can bypass it, but as you can with everything. You need to draw the line somewhere, and most people won’t bother using two phones just to take a photo of a message.

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[–][deleted] 2 points 5 months ago 

The original point of Snapchat was that it was supposed to be disappearing messages, that was the differentiating feature of it

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[–]TheresJustNoMoney[S] 1 point 5 months ago 

That's why I don't like to use Snapchat. I like for all my communications to be preserved. Same reason why I record calls, and I'm from a 1-party consent state.

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[–]re_nub 1 point 5 months ago 

Because it's programmed that way.

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[–]TheresJustNoMoney[S] 1 point 5 months ago 

Why did Snapchat's Developers choose to program it that way in the first place?

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[–]re_nub 2 points 5 months ago 

So users would know if someone screenshots or records their messages/videos.

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[–]TheresJustNoMoney[S] 1 point 5 months ago 

Glad my sister doesn't use Snapchat anymore. I unnerved her when I took screenshots. I don't like Snapchat anyway because I would appreciate being able to preserve all of my communications for prosperity. Same reason why I also record calls. (My state is a 1-party consent state.)

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