Snapchat

Snapchat is a new instant messaging app that instead of chatting and sending text messages, gives you the possibility to share pictures and short videos that will self-destruct after 10 seconds of receiving it. This picture sharing app is gaining a remarkable success among the young and, as well as many other services, has its great ideas, but also its risks if not used properly.

The this program creators philosophy is, at least, curious. They argue that this app gives you closer contact to your best friends, because you don't only send pictures, but moments, since like those, the snaps have a fleeting and volatile nature. So, based on this idea this program proposes you to take a quick picture of a great moment with your friends and share it with other friends who can't be there, so they'll enjoy, for 10 seconds    as much, the moment they're missing in almost real time. Up to now, it makes some sense.

The problem is that many teenagers think that this program serves to remove the file sent right after being watched by its receiver, and that if so, you can send pictures of any kind, because they're not going to remain stored on anyone's device. This encourage many inocent kids, and not so younger, to take unnecessary risks and share bold pictures (tu put it somehow) with the believe that their privacy is protected. But nothing is further from reality.

With bad intentions and the proper tools, nothing prevents the picture receiver from taking a screenshot before the file self-destructs. In fact, there are already apps offered in Google Play specially designed to store the this software pictures and videos, so please, try to have some common sense and think twice before you send something you might regret. Of course everyone is free to send the pictures and videos they want to, but at least be aware that your privacy is NOT fully protected by this Snapchat feature and deleting files is NOT an insurance at all, since they can be recovered with the proper tools.

Aside this little sermon, this application has a seamless integration with your phonebook and Facebook and Twitter friends, so it provides you a complete list of all your friends who are also Snapchat users and avoids you having to add manualy each one of them. You can send a picture or a short video to a single user, but also to a bunch of people at once. When they receive your message, they will see a notice pointing the time they have to look at the content once they opened the file, and after the determined time, the picture or video will be deleted following the standard procedure ( the same as when you delete any other file from your device).

Download this program for free to your Android smartphone or tablet to share short-lived moments with your friends and feel them always near. But remember, the picture removing is not secure and your privacy is not more protected than in other messaging apps, so use Snapchat wisely and avoid having a bad time.