In response to a massive security breach that leaked over four million Snapchat phone numbers, the company on Thursday released an update that allows users of its mobile app to opt-out of the Find Friends feature, which links your phone number to your Snapchat username.
“Our team continues to make improvements to the Snapchat service to prevent future attempts to abuse our API,” Snapchat said in a blog post. “We are sorry for any problems this issue may have caused you and we really appreciate your patience and support.”
Snapchat was alerted to the potential hack in August and again in December, but refused to respond to the concerns or update the application to deter potential database breaches. After an anonymous hacker published the phone numbers of millions of users earlier this month, Snapchat responded—without an apology—by saying the company would fix the Find Friends feature that was allegedly optional in the first place.
Snapchat, led by 23-year-old founder Evan Spiegel, caught some flack for its nonchalant response and lack of apology. Thursday’s blog post includes the words “we are sorry,” but doesn’t say the application has taken any further security measures beyond updating the Find Friends feature.
The company also says it is making improvements to the service to prevent future attempts to abuse its API. It’s about time.
Image via Madeleine Weiss for ReadWrite.