Here's How Cops Get Your Snapchat History
Ephemerality machine and $800 million on-again-off-again moral panic generator Snapchat sees some heavy stuff. The casual pics you send (or receive) might be just the evidence police are looking for—so Snapchat put together this handy manual for requesting your data.
The good news: a blurry picture of your genitalia with a sombrero drawn across it is probably out of reach, according to this "Law Enforcement Guide" produced by Snapchat. "If an image or video has not been viewed, it remains on the Snapchat serve for 30 days, and then it is removed." The company has recently opened up about this policy, but the manual is details other facets of your account that can be offered up well after the 30 day snap period:
That's all expected—except for the snap log, which would provide a pretty vivid map of everyone you snap with (a medium that already has some very certain connotations), and enough personal information to identify you. There's also no indication of why (or if, really) that log is concretely capped at 200 snaps, or if it could potentially extend further back.
Now of course, Snapchat says it only provides this information on an as-needed basis, complying with the Electronic Privacy Act, and as the result of formal requests. Facebook says the same thing. But unlike Facebook, we have no idea how often Snapchat has been asked to disclose user information, and how often it's gone through with it. All we have is the manual, which you can read in full below.