Snapchat’s new policies pave the way for third-party search integration
Yesterday (29 March) saw Snapchat update both its T&Cs and privacy policy, including new clauses on third party search results and information gathering.
Noted by Marketing Land, which compared the social channel’s legal documents published on 28 October with the updated conditions, Snapchat’s new privacy policy states that "The services may also contain third-party links and search, [and] include third-party integrations".
This is an update from the previous document, which only made reference to third-party additions such as Pay To Replay. The reworking suggests there may soon be a way for advertisers to drop themselves into the currently basic search platform.
The app has also stated in the Usage Information section of the privacy policy that it collects info on users’ search queries – something it did not, explicitly, used to do. It will now also pick up which filters users view, in addition to those that they go on to use.
The update suggests offering an augmented set of metrics to brands that partner with Snapchat to create bespoke filters, such as Pepsi Max and Cadbury.
Other new policies include a check on pages visited after a user has been on the app, which could be seen as another efficacy measurement to offer partners a collection of users’ device-specific advertising identifiers, and a new way to terminate contracts.
Users will now have to delete their account, rather than delete the app from their smartphone, in order to cut ties with the company.