Snapchat, the red-hot private messaging service, reeling from a recent hack that exposed 4.6 million phone numbers and usernames, promised an updated app with security fixes. The updated app will allow users to opt out of its "Find Friends" feature that was the main reason for the breach.
In a blog post, the company said it would stem future attempts that caused "abuse" of its services. "We will be releasing an updated version of the Snapchat application that will allow Snapchatters to opt out of appearing in Find Friends after they have verified their phone number. We're also improving rate limiting and other restrictions to address future attempts to abuse our service," read the post.
However, it did not announce when these updates will be available for "Snapchatters."
"We're also improving rate limiting (which would reduce the speed at which anyone can access phone numbers from Snapchat's databases) and other restrictions to address future attempts to abuse our service," the company added.
An anonymous group called Snapchat DB posted the usernames and partially redacted phone numbers of its members on its site snapchatdb.info on New Year's Eve. The breach followed four days after the company brushed off the most recent warning about the vulnerability in its system, saying the threat was "theoretical."
The hacker group said that it had not carried the hack with a malicious intent, instead it was working to raise awareness about the Snapchat's security holes.
Snapchat in its first public statement since the leak also cleared the air of possible leaked "snap," saying no contents of messages were compromised or accessed in the hack.
The disappearing-message service skyrocketed in popularity because the privacy it promises to its users. The app's pictures self-destruct after a period of time. Snapchat's estimated 20 million U.S. adult user base has attracted buyers such as Facebook, which reportedly extended a $3 billion buyout but was turned down by Snapchat's 23-year-old CEO Evan Spiegel.
