I think one of the most inherently evil inventions of mankind is Snapchat.

If you’re not familiar with it....it’s an app that allows you to send pictures and videos to other accounts (similar to Facebook or Instagram), but the images and videos self-delete a few seconds after you view them. There’s no record or trace of the image or video...poof, and it’s gone.

Parents of teens: if this app is on your kid’s phone, MAKE THEM DELETE IT. Nothing good can come out of it!!! Use Facebook or Instagram if they want a social media outlet. It’s downright dangerous.

Snapchat is the absolute bane of my existence as a school administrator, and it can’t possibly serve any good in society. I have had to investigate MULTIPLE reports of cyber bullying, drug use, and MUCH worse on Snapchat, and unfortunately, I can’t substantiate anything because there’s no evidence. You can take a screenshot, but often it doesn’t occur to the kid to do so before it deletes.

EVIL.

Snapchat images aren't actually deleted after they expire. I'm not a forensics guru, but from what I recall from my limited overview of how it works, the file extensions are just changed to something that's not readily accessible.

(Akin to changing the .doc file extension of a word document on your PC to something else, so that Microsoft Word doesn't recognize it as a Word Document any more, but if you change the extension back to .doc, the document is again readable in Word.)

The Snapchat images and other data is still there on the phone, and can still be accessed with the correct software and know-how.

If these issues you're dealing with are criminal matters, get with your local police department. One of their computer forensics guys should be able to help recover the old Snapchat data, though they'll need either consent from the phone's owner (typically the parent) or a search warrant. Someone from your school district's IT department may even be able to help, if the parents are cooperative.

Here's an overview I found with a quick Google: https://en.softonic.com/articl...eted-snapchat-photos

I typically work on these things with a police officer, and while we haven’t had to deal with anything truly life-or-death, we can’t go as deep into the tech side of things as I wish we could.

If you screen shot a picture from snapchat it will notify the sender you took a screen shot. Now snapchat added an option called "my eyes only". You can press and hold the picture and will give you the option to save the picture to a pin code protected folder. This does not notify the sender of the saved picture. Those nudes are out there forever.

Any tool that facilities private communications between two or more parties is so much more of a good thing for people and the world than it is a problem that your concerns are essentially immeasurably irrelevant, as are the FBI's when they can't hack such and such, and so on. A cost of freedom, the simple ability to speak to someone privately. (gasp)

Your blaming of the tool itself is entirely off-base, and - participation / use of Snap Chat and FB/IG are entirely voluntary, and the recipients of those bad messages agreed to allow them. No one, via SnapChat or otherwise, can post crap to your FB/IG unless you let them (other than the ads FB themselves insert, but that's the sole exception).

Your problem is the same problem of most every high school ever - some kids are assholes or worse and some are crafty about it. Blame the kids, not the tool. You can't monitor their whispers, either, nor is there a record of the 10Millionth Your Mom joke or You're So Ugly or Tiny Dick joke said from one locker mate to another before or after gym class.

Your expectations here are off base, your ire misplaced. There *shouldn't* be a record of it, or any similar communication between folks, unless they explicitly want one, and folks in your position ought never have access to it in the first place. You're not working anti terror cases regarding rogue nations and suitcase nukes, it's kids, and typical kid shit.

Find another way to deal with your bad kids, beyond advocating shitty technological ideas / damning one of the few instances of modern communication technology that actually gets it right. Maybe parents and how the let their kids use their phones is the real issue. But one thing is certain, technology isn't the problem now nor has it ever been.

Sorry, it's not personal, it's about privacy and technology, and you're on the wrong side, asking for exactly the opposite of what the world needs. Outlawing SnapChat or private communications wouldn't do squat to stop 99.999999% of typical kid crap, anyway.

What's next, blaming guns, forks, etc? Come on...

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Any tool that facilities private communications between two or more parties is so much more of a good thing for people and the world than it is a problem that your concerns are essentially immeasurably irrelevant, as are the FBI's when they can't hack such and such, and so on. A cost of freedom, the simple ability to speak to someone privately. (gasp)

Your blaming of the tool itself is entirely off-base...

You're wrong.

He's talking about adolescents. NOT adults, but kids.

And he's spot-on. Parents should insist that this shit is not on any of their kids' phones or computers.

When their kids grow up to adulthood then it's no longer the parents' responsibility. Until then, Snapchat is poison.

I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

It it very simple, no phones or texting capable devices allowed at school.
There is no need for them.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

That ^^^^^ and...

Somebody long ago, in pre-Internet days, wrote something to the effect of "Calm down, it's just ones and zeros" in response to somebody getting their shorts all in a knot in a Usenet News forum.

I've never understood the entire "cyber bullying" concept. Just. Turn. It. Off. You can hardly be bullied if you don't see it. It would be like somebody standing on the other side of the country yelling insults at you. Who cares?

It's not Snapchat that's evil. What's evil is people thinking they're mind-melded to their mobile devices.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

It's not Snapchat that's evil. What's evil is people thinking they're mind-melded to their mobile devices.

Yep. Go out sometime to a restaurant or bar and watch people. I see it all the time.
Happened last night when the GF and me went to watch the Buckeyes game. Phones glued to their hands and eyes on their phone when there's a game going on.
See it when we go see a live band also. Great music playing and everyone's got their heads buried in their phone.
My phone stays in the glove box in the car.

quote:

Originally posted by joatmonv:
Yep. Go out sometime to a restaurant or bar and watch people. I see it all the time.
...
My phone stays in the glove box in the car.

*shrug* My phone's with me all the time, except when I'm sleeping, in the shower, doing yard work or working out, because I like having a communications device with me at all times. My wife and I will sometimes mess with our mobile devices while we're waiting for an order at a sit-down restaurant. We also sometimes talk. Sometimes we do neither .

But you're right about some people being glued to them. Can't imagine having the phone out during a live event or a movie.

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Any tool that facilities private communications between two or more parties is so much more of a good thing for people and the world than it is a problem that your concerns are essentially immeasurably irrelevant, as are the FBI's when they can't hack such and such, and so on. A cost of freedom, the simple ability to speak to someone privately. (gasp)

Your blaming of the tool itself is entirely off-base...

You're wrong.

He's talking about adolescents. NOT adults, but kids.

And he's spot-on. Parents should insist that this shit is not on any of their kids' phones or computers.

When their kids grow up to adulthood then it's no longer the parents' responsibility. Until then, Snapchat is poison.

My daughter (16) has Snapchat and all the other social media apps on her phone NUT the rules she has to follow are:

1) My wife and I ave to be "friends" with her on all accounts.

2) She cannot change the password to her phone or Apple ID (Find Mu iPhone)

3) If we text or call her then she MUST answer us within a reasonable amount of time and it has been explained to her that she has a phone for this reason, the rest is added value for her.

I am lucky, so far she has given us zero reason to not trust her.

finally , something more dangerous than a gun

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Any tool that facilities private communications between two or more parties is so much more of a good thing for people and the world than it is a problem that your concerns are essentially immeasurably irrelevant, as are the FBI's when they can't hack such and such, and so on. A cost of freedom, the simple ability to speak to someone privately. (gasp)

Your blaming of the tool itself is entirely off-base...

You're wrong.

He's talking about adolescents. NOT adults, but kids.

And he's spot-on. Parents should insist that this shit is not on any of their kids' phones or computers.

When their kids grow up to adulthood then it's no longer the parents' responsibility. Until then, Snapchat is poison.

Speaking from the Office of General Counsel of a very large public school system, I can assure you that when an app like Snapchat becomes a tool to facilitate any hostile behavior including sexual harassment or worse - distribution of child pornography - in our schools, it is a VERY serious issue and one we are obligated to address.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

It it very simple, no phones or texting capable devices allowed at school.
There is no need for them.

Then you get parents screaming that they want to be able to contact their little daring "in an emergency."
There was a rule that students would lose their phones if we caught With their phone out. Supposedly a parent had to come to school to get the phone back. What happened was you had to get the phone to the office before the kid called mommy. She'd call the front office demanding the phone be given back.if you didn't have the phone to the office, it was your fault. A parent come in to pick up the phone? Oh hell no. The administrator would roll over and give the phone to the kid.
I seriously looked at buying a cellphone blocker.

If you have enough in reference to the phone and Snapchat during an investigation get together with your SROs and have them write a search warrant and dump the phone. If the phone guru knows what he/she is doing you will find what you need.

Phones in the school are a pain in the butt. Had a couple lockdown/possible active shooter situations last year. The middle school, which is attatched by a long hallway and doors, to our local high school had no problems because they had a policy in which phones were in lockers or off. The high school no such rule. We were getting calls, texts, and postings continually and each one got more outrageous. But, we have to check into them all. As soon as it would settle down something else would pop up and start all over again. It came from the parents as well. I told my Lt. if this keeps up we will be chasing Soviet paratroopers around the parking lot like 1984's Red Dawn!!!

Our department talked to the school about the phone situation and their answer was that the students have a right to have their phones. Sorry. I would have to disagree.

I disagree that SnapChat is evil. I.e. guns are evil. You cant have snapchat without a phone. Perhaps smart phones are evil? This is the same "think of the children narrative that is used against gun owners."

If snapchat wasnt there the kids would find a different way.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

It it very simple, no phones or texting capable devices allowed at school.
There is no need for them.

That is not practical. The administrators will be turned into full-time cell phone police. Not even the parents would support such a rule, never mind the students. Cell phones are here to stay.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
That is not practical. The administrators will be turned into full-time cell phone police.

Sad but true. My second year as a SRO, my school decided to implement a "no cell phones in class" and "no backpacks in class" policy. Those lasted about 3 weeks before the administrators decided that it was untenable. The teachers and admins were spending way too much time dealing with phones and backpacks.

And that was nearly 10 years ago, when cell phones were (slightly) less common than now.

Heck, nowadays most of the schools in my area give the kids Chromebooks, complete with instant messaging and video chat abilities through Google apps. So even if the kids don't have their cell phones, they can still harass each other through their school-issued laptops.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I have absolutely ZERO understanding why phones or communication device is allowed at school or in the classroom for any reason.
We got busted for passing paper football notes.

It it very simple, no phones or texting capable devices allowed at school.

There is no need for them.

That is not practical. The administrators will be turned into full-time cell phone police. Not even the parents would support such a rule, never mind the students. Cell phones are here to stay.

It used to be phones would be taken away but that was when phones were free/cheap. Now when you have kids flaunting $500.00 + devices parents would have an unholy fit if teachers took them and then there would be the issue of accused damage.

At some point it has to start with teaching your own kid right from wrong...A really good, albeit tech challenged, friend called me a while back and asked me how much data I use each month knowing I have a teen girl. I told her and she was shocked it was so little...when I asked her how much they use the number was absurd. I sat down with her and told her that her daughter must be streaming a ton of content to eat that much up. Sure enough, she was and when they made her take apps of her phone and monitored her usage the issue cleared up immediately.

It's simple... Your kid doesn't need a phone.

I lived without it when I was that age, so can they. Why does a 16 year old need a smart phone? If your worried about communication, get them a prepaid basic phone. If it's because "everyone else has one" then ok you are surrounded by them so you don't need one, if you need to call use your friends phone.

why do they need one in school? If there is an emergency you call the school and they get them a message, or you go to the school and get them.