According to a news report, a number of Snapchat employees abused some of the company’s tools to spy on users of the service. Staff used their tools to access user data, including: location information, photos, videos saved in their accounts, and personal information, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Four former employees and a current Snapchat employee were quoted as saying that one of the tools used in espionage was called SnapLion, originally used to gather information about users at the request of law enforcement or court orders.
Snapapat spokesman said in a statement “We retain a bit of user data and we have strong policies and controls to limit internal access to our existing data including data contained in tools designed to support law enforcement. Unauthorized access of any kind is a clear violation of the company’s standards of conduct and if discovered, its punishment is immediate termination. “
