Snapchat was seen as a revelation in the land of social media. It was the primary driver for pictures, videos, and other media. User messages would hang around for a while and then silently vanish.
However, inside the Snapchat app was an internal application named SnapLion, and using this, anyone inside the company could access user data.
It could be for requests from law enforcement or anyone who wished to view any data from users for their enjoyment or benefit.
Because of this intrusion of privacy, many users have decided to delete Snapchat. (Learn how to remove yourself from the internet)
If you are among these people, you can find here exactly how to permanently delete Snapchat or deactivate your account for a while.
What are Privacy Concerns There?
The attraction of Snapchat was to take snaps, chats, and device data and delete it all after a given period.
Such actions gave users a false sense of security, apart from the internal application, access to user data. It is easy to find third-party applications that take screenshots from inside the Snapchat app.
User location data is also another problem because it is transmitted without the user’s knowledge. Besides, once you register to use the app on your smartphone, it starts to access all your contact information.
As a result, Snapchat landed in hot water and was put on probation for 20 years. Snapchat user names and phone numbers fell into the wrong hands, and again, this is another reason users are giving up the service. (Read Amazon Fire Stick Running Slow)
How to Delete Your Snapchat
Deleting Snapchat accounts can be as easy as leaving them deactivated for 30 days.
It appears to be very quick and simple for all your data to vanish from the main user database.
When seeing how to delete your account, you will see it isn’t as clear as it appears. Snapchat does retain information to meet the legal requirements of the business.
Before you see how to delete a Snapchat account, here is a look at their privacy policy. Here is what and how they can use data.
- Information shared by you
- Information obtained by using Snapchat such as location, logs, etc.
- Information obtained by third parties: Advertisers, any users you contact or interact with, and apps that link to the service
Simply put, Snapchat can use any information they store in any way they wish, without the user’s knowledge.
Deleting Snapchat Permanently
To start deleting your Snapchat account or deactivate Snapchat, you first have to head to the accounts page.
You should note, you can’t do this inside the app, and you do have to use a web browser for your account to be permanently deleted.
- Navigate to accounts.snapchat.com in your browser. You may need to complete a check before it takes you to the accounts portal.
- Next, enter your username and password.
- On the following page, click on Delete my Account
- Enter your username and click on login a second time
- Click ‘continue,’ and Snapchat will now deactivate your Snapchat account. Once you reach 30 days, then everything on the database will be deleted.
- You see a message stating your account will deactivate soon. Snapchat sends a confirmation email once they delete your account.
During this deactivation stage, you can’t contact friends. Along with this, none of your chats, story, device data will be available for them to see. It is only once you may decide to reactivate your account that
If for any reason, you choose to start using Snapchat within the given month deactivation period, you will need to enter your Snapchat username rather than regular login details.
Before you delete your settings, friends, snaps, chats, and other things, you can download all your account information.
It is here; you have your final chance to save all your friends, snaps, chats, story, and other personal information you have stored.
To start this phase, you need to provide a valid email address and password to download your snaps, chats, story, device data from the database.
- Log in to your account at accounts.snapchat.com
- Click on my data
- Submit request
- You will receive a confirmation email when your download is ready
You can’t do this after deactivating an account or logging back into your old account.
No matter what you wish to do with your Snapchat, delete your account or deactivate it and start again. Every user ought to make sure their privacy is secure before they commence.
The best way of doing this is to sign up for a VPN service. Such services are ideal because they mask your location. Doing this offers a couple of benefits. For one, Snapchat or any other social platform or online service can see your location based on your IP address. (Learn How To Unsubscribe From All Subreddits)
You can access restricted or blocked content this way, which opens up more online activities.
Besides, any ads targeted at you have no idea where to go. Many are lost in a void in the same way as tracking sites are unsure how to follow you as you browse the internet.
Deleting Snapchat is just the beginning because if you delve deep under the service, you find plenty of areas where you lose your privacy without you knowing.
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No matter what you do online, whether using social platforms, streaming, or other activities where you want to remain anonymous. You will find this is the top VPN; you can select to carry out these duties.
