Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Snapchat: Okay, Fine, We’re Sorry

A week after hack, Snapchat offers a fix and an apology.

It’s never too late to say you’re sorry — or at least Snapchat hopes so.

More than a week after hackers exploited a security hole in the ephemeral-messaging app’s Find Friends service, exposing the account names and partial phone numbers of millions of users, the company finally tucked the S-word into the last sentence of a blog post on Thursday.

“We are sorry for any problems this issue may have caused you and we really appreciate your patience and support,” Team Snapchat said.

Above the buried lede, the company said it had released updates for its iOS and Android apps that patch the Find Friends feature and allow users to opt out of linking their phone number to their username.

Snapchat was warned about the potential exploit months ago and had brushed the concerns aside. Even so, the company had steadfastly refused to apologize for the breach until this morning.

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel even went on “Today” to explain what the company was doing to bolster security and forgot to offer up a mea culpa.

“I believe at the time we thought we had done enough, but in a business like this if you spend your time looking backwards, you’re just gonna kill yourself,” Spiegel said in the interview.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel