70 Total
22 High severity
37 Medium severity
11 Low severity

Key Facts · in the document’s own words

What does Snapchat receive from advertisers, app developers, publishers, and other third parties?
“This includes linked third-party service data (information we get when you link your Snapchat account to another service), data from advertisers (information from advertisers, app developers, publishers, and other third parties to help target or measure the performance of ads)”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
Snapchat receives data from advertisers, app developers, publishers, and other third parties to help target or measure the performance of ads.
When are Snapchat's systems designed to delete Chats?
“For example, if you store something in Memories, we will keep it as long as you need it, but when you Chat with a friend, our systems are designed to delete Chats you send within 24 hours after your friend reads it (unless you've changed your default settings or decide to save it).”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
Snapchat's systems are designed to delete Chats within 24 hours after the recipient reads them, unless the user has changed default settings or decided to save the Chat.
Does Snapchat use content of images, videos, or audio posted to show related content?
“Content information includes information based on the content of the image, video, or audio — so if you post a Spotlight of a basketball game, we may use that information to show you more content on Spotlight about basketball.”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
Snapchat uses information based on the content of images, videos, or audio you post to show you more content related to the subjects identified in that content.
What may Snapchat infer across its services?
“if you watch barista content on Spotlight, talk to My AI about your favorite espresso machine, or save a lot of coffee-related Snaps in your Memories, we may highlight coffee shops on the Snap Map...”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
Snapchat may infer your interests across its services—including Spotlight, My AI, and Memories—and use those inferences to surface related content in other parts of the app, such as the Snap Map.
What information does Snapchat share with a parent or guardian when Family Center is enabled?
“When you have enabled Family Center, we share information about the connected teen account to the parent or guardian to provide insight about how the account is used, for example, who your Friends are on Snapchat...”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
When Family Center is enabled, Snapchat shares information about a connected teen account—including who the teen's Friends are on Snapchat—with the parent or guardian.
How long does Snapchat keep user information?
“we keep information as long as you tell us to, and otherwise as long as we need it to provide our Services, or as required by law.”
Version CA-V-006633, captured Sept. 11, 2026 · live source ↗
Our reading, not the document’s words
Snapchat keeps user information as long as the user directs, otherwise as long as needed to provide its Services, or as required by law.
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Summary

This policy explains what information Snapchat collects about you, how it uses that information to personalize your experience and show you ads, and how long it keeps your data. Snapchat receives data about you from outside companies—not just what you share directly—and uses your activity across different parts of the app to build a picture of your interests. Your private messages to friends are not used for ads or personalization, and you can delete your account and some—but not all—of your information within the app.

Analysis

This document establishes how Snapchat collects, uses, retains, and shares personal information across its Services. Snapchat collects data not only directly from users but also from advertisers, app developers, publishers, and other third parties for ad targeting and measurement. It uses information drawn from posted media content, cross-service activity inferences, and automated tagging to personalize user experiences, while explicitly carving out private communications from personalization and ad targeting. Retention is governed by user instruction, operational need, and legal obligation, with Chat deletion designed—but not guaranteed—to occur within 24 hours of being read. Users hold limited deletion rights covering some, but not all, in-app information, and personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the user's residence.

What this means for you

Snapchat analyzes the content of images, videos, and audio you post, combines your activity across Spotlight, My AI, Memories, and other features to infer your interests, and uses data from third parties such as advertisers and publishers to target ads to you. Conversations you have with My AI are used to improve Snapchat's AI systems. Your private communications to friends are explicitly excluded from personalization and ad targeting. Chats are designed to delete within 24 hours of being read, but this does not apply if you or your friend have changed default settings or saved the Chat. You can delete your account and certain in-app content—including content in Memories, content shared with My AI, and Spotlight submissions—directly within the Services.

Institutional Analysis
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Which mapped governance frameworks each document engages, tied to the specific provisions that engage them.

4 important changes detected

8 versions captured · Latest change detected by ConductAtlas: October 2026

October 2, 2026

unknown
What changed Snapchat changed the text of its Snapchat Privacy Policy.
View full change record →
What changed Snapchat changed the text of its Snapchat Privacy Policy, which now states its date as September 21, 2026.
View full change record →

August 19, 2026 low

Snapchat restructured its privacy policy landing page in an update detected on August 19, 2026, with an effective date of September 21, 2026. The change removed 32 sentences of explanatory …

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August 5, 2026 low

In an update detected on August 5, 2026, Snapchat reorganized its privacy policy navigation and structure, introducing a new policy hub that groups privacy, safety, transparency, and policy resources under …

View change record →
Featured, High severity

Complete Provision Index

Every distinct legal provision identified in this document. Featured provisions appear above with analysis.

70 provisions
10 featured
10 clause types
22 high severity
AI / Automated Decision-Making 1 1 high
Policy Changes 1
Targeting and Audience Restrictions 1
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Mapped Governance Frameworks

BIPA
Illinois, USA
View official text ↗
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
View official text ↗
COPPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
View official text ↗
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
View official text ↗
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
View official text ↗
GDPR
European Union
View official text ↗
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
View official text ↗
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
View official text ↗
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
View official text ↗
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
View official text ↗
VPPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Archival ProvenanceSource & Archival Record
This version captured September 11, 2026 00:23 UTC
Last successful capture October 8, 2026 00:21 UTC
Date stated by the document September 21, 2026 (as printed in this version)
Capture Method Automated scheduled archival capture
Document ID CA-D-000102
Version ID CA-V-006633
SHA-256 (extracted text, extractor v5) db560701ca29b8d8e1f97f449401dfffafba45265fd1404fa0962ece45889247
Archived bytes SHA-256 (anchor) ecd3d6bba9f141493aec4448251ad542a6cbfbb0f3db5009a1490957254dc5a2
✓ Snapshot stored ✓ Archived bytes anchored (verified Sept. 11, 2026)

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