If you're a frequent Snapchatter like myself, you're probably well aware that Snapchat can't stop you or anyone else from taking a screenshot of a photo received. Instead, they notify the sender that a screenshot was taken—a greatly appreciated fair warning when impetuous photographs are involved.
However, there is a loophole to this.
New Screenshot Workings in iOS 7
Apple has adjusted the way screenshots are handled in the new iOS 7 for iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches. Released concurrently with the second beta of iOS 7, Apple released a note stating, "Active touches are no longer canceled when the user takes a screenshot."
So What Does This Mean for Snapchat?
Well, it simply means that you can secretly save Snapchats that are sent to you—without the sender even knowing.
Currently, Snapchat determines when a screenshot is taken by detecting the screenshot while you're actually touching the screen to view the image. The new iOS 7 screenshot process completely nullifies the app's most important privacy feature, because it cancels out the touch gesture, but still takes a screenshot of the picture before going back to the Snapchat menu.
Testing It Out in iOS 6 First
Before I tested out the loophole, I sent a Snapchat to someone running iOS 6 on their iPhone 5, who then took a snapshot of the picture. Almost instantly, I was notified that they took a snapshot of my picture—just as I'm accustomed to.
After seeing that the screenshot detection was fully functional in iOS 6, I had someone send me a Snapchat on my iOS 7 device.
Testing the Loophole Out in iOS 7
Once I received it, I took a snapshot (picture below; left) of what the other person sent me, and on their iPhone (picture below; right), it just says I opened the picture, but didn't take a screenshot.
Snapchat will presumably work around this new issue and come up with a solution before iOS 7 comes out to the public. Snapchat’s popularity hinges on privacy (although that may seem redundant), so photographs that exist forever—without notification—may deter users from sending pictures.
But until then, there's finally a way to snapshot those Snapchat pics without the other person knowing. So, enjoy it while it lasts.
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