3 rd Party Snaps, Instagram Music and California Privacy
Snap will let other apps use its features, but not your data
By Lauren Goode from Wired
- “Snap just announced a platform for third-party app developers, called Snap Kit, that lets other apps use Snapchat features, including stickers and Bitmoji. It also turns Snap into an authentication tool app makers can embed in their own apps to let people easily log in—similar to the way many apps let you use your Facebook username and password to gain entry.”
- “Naturally, opening up Snap’s platform to third-party app developers raises questions about exactly how much user data those outside app makers are going to be able to access. Snap says that only display names and Bitmoji avatars are shared when people use Snapchat as a login method, and that additional ‘user-identifiable information, such as demographic information or friends list,’ are not shared with devs.”
- “In a proactive move against old third-party apps keeping their hooks in your Snapchat account even after you’ve stopped using them, Snap will disconnect third-party apps by default if you haven’t used them in 90 days. Also, Snap says it will not use any data for ad targeting purposes.”
Instagram Stories now lets its 400M users add soundtracks
By Josh Constine From Tech Crunch
- “ Thanks to Facebook’s recent deals with record labels, users will be able to choose from thousands of songs from artists including Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Guns N’ Roses. The launch could make Instagram Stories more fun to post and watch in a way that copyrights won’t allow on Snapchat, while giving the app a way to compete with tween favorite Musical.ly.”
- “Snapchat’s growth rate fell to its slowest pace ever last quarter amidst a despised redesign, while Instagram Stories has steadily added unique and popular features like Highlights, Superzoom and resharing of public feed posts. Instagram said last September that it had 500 million total daily users, so it’s likely that a majority of community is now hooked on the Stories format Snapchat invented.”
- “The big question will be whether the ‘thousands’ of songs available through today’s launch will cover what most users want to hear, otherwise they might just be disappointed. With a few enhancements and a widened catalog, Instagram Music could become a powerful way for artists to go viral.”
California legislators just adopted tough new privacy rules targeting Facebook, Google and other tech giants
By Tony Romm from The Washington Post
- “California legislators on Thursday adopted sweeping new rules that restrict the data-harvesting practices of Amazon.com, Facebook, Google and Uber, a move that soon could spur other states and Congress to take aim at the tech industry.”
- “If the rules don’t change, they will grant consumers new rights that include the ability to see the kinds of sources from which companies collect data about them. Businesses could not sell personal data from Web users younger than 16.”
- “But there are many elements of the new law that privacy advocates see as potential trouble spots. For example, California’s rules would prevent tech companies from offering consumers a lower level of service if they chose to opt out of having their data sold to third parties. Yet a tech company or an Internet service provider, such as AT&T or Comcast, could charge a higher fee for consumers who chose to limit sharing of their personal data — though only equal to the ‘value provided by the consumer’s data,’ the rules stipulate.”
Nick Cotton is a project manager based out of Los Angeles, California. He’s got a background in the entertainment industry, and uses his talent at online messaging to extol the virtues of content marketing, interactive fiction and sentences measuring 280 characters or less.
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