Friday, March 10, 2017

Word of the Day: Snapchat

Word of the Day WhatIs.com
Daily updates on the latest technology terms |March 10, 2017
Snapchat

Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to send and receive "self-destructing" photos and videos. Photos and videos taken with the app are called snaps.

Snapchat uses the device's camera to capture snaps and Wi-Fi technology to send them. The app allows the sender to draw or insert text on the snap and determine how many seconds (one to 10) the recipient can view it before the file disappears from the recipient's device. Messages can only be viewed once -- and during the viewing period, the recipient must maintain contact with the device's touchscreen or the snap disappears.

The Snapchat application, which a small team of Stanford University students developed, launched in September 2011 and is available for both Apple iOS and Google Android devices. In May 2013, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint against Snapchat Inc. with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that the company is misleading users by encouraging them to believe that pictures are permanently removed from Snapchat servers within seconds of viewing.

In September 2016, the company behind the Snapchat app changed its name to Snap Inc.

Snapchat Stories

Snapchat Stories are compilations of snaps that create a narrative, as they appear in chronological order. They are comprised of a combination of photos, videos, graphics and illustrations, such as stickers. Each compilation contains snaps that a user has posted to his or her Story over the last 24 hours. Each Snap appears for 24 hours, and the user's friends can view them an unlimited number of times before they expire.

Snapchat Memories

Snapchat Memories is a personalized album of snaps and Stories that a user can download and save within the Snapchat app directly. The ability to reshare these archived snaps and Stories is one of the main benefits of Snapchat Memories.

Snapchat Filters

Snapchat's portrait lenses, also known as animated filters, have become a sensation since their introduction in September 2015. With these features, a user can create a selfie that distorts his or her image. Examples of popular Snapchat Filters include those that transform users into dogs, shoot lasers from their eyes and place a crown of flowers on their heads.

Snapchat privacy concerns

When Snapchat launched, it immediately became popular with younger users because of its feature permitting images to disappear -- presumably, permanently. A revision to Snapchat's privacy policy four years later, however, stated that Snapchat could in theory store, reproduce and distribute any image created in the app. In response to the public's Snapchat privacy concerns, the company noted that users could tweak their individual privacy settings to restrict its reach.

Quote of the Day

"The company formerly known as Snapchat has been rebranded as Snap, Inc., and is entering the hardware market with the release of image-capturing sunglasses called 'Spectacles.'" - Christian Stafford

 

Trending Terms

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Learning Center

Snapchat eyes the hardware market with new video-recording sunglasses
Snap, Inc., the company behind the popular photo and video messaging app Snapchat, is releasing a pair of photo and video-capturing glasses that have some worried about the possible privacy implications of such a device.

CES to CIOs: Watch out for wearable technology
This week's Searchlight finds wearable technology looking and working better than ever. Plus, a tough lesson in how not to use email, the lure of ephemeral messaging and more.

Snapchat hack has users thinking twice
A recent hack into Snapchat, the social media platform for photo sharing, has users thinking twice about giving personal information to these services.

Twitter savvy health IT exec uses wearable tracking device
Twitter savvy healthcare system chief innovation officer uses smart wearable tracking device for fitness and sees wearables as important to health IT.

Book chapter: Social media security policy best practices
The following is an excerpt from chapter 6 Gary Bahadur from the book "Securing the clicks: Network security in the age of social media."

Writing for Business

I'm cleaning up my Facebook account, unfriending people I don't know and the ones I wish I didn't know that have somehow ______ in.
a. snuck
b. sneaked

Answer

 

 

 

Stay In Touch
For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com

 

Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!

 

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