At Snap, we believe we have a responsibility to make a positive impact on society through the products we create, the content we deliver, and the ways we give back to the communities we serve. The Society section of our report describes our continued efforts in 2023 to prioritize responsible design principles and empower Snapchatters to take meaningful action through our platform, as well as our efforts to contribute to the greater good through strategic partnerships, philanthropy, and volunteering.
Society
Privacy by Design
Snap’s Privacy by Design program involves a cross-functional team of designers, data scientists, engineers, product managers, attorneys, and privacy engineers. Guided by our Privacy Principles and Privacy Policy, as well as applicable laws and regulatory standards, this team reviews new apps, features, services, and functionalities that handle personal data, and identifies ways to minimize our collection of data and narrowly tailor its use.
We work with an independent assessor to conduct a biennial audit of Snap’s Privacy Program. Additionally, we release Transparency Reports twice a year, providing insight into the volume and nature of governmental requests for Snapchatters’ account information and other legal notifications.
Security by Design
We bring an engineering-first mindset to security with a keen focus on eliminating vulnerabilities and simplifying security challenges through automation. We build resilient, scalable infrastructure and developer tools that enable Snapchat and our enterprise apps to run securely, with integrated security controls and automated tooling, such as static and dynamic code analysis tools and third-party code vulnerability checkers.
We provide our workforce with resources to unlock a security mindset from the outset. Part of this includes offering security assurance and review services to our developers, engineers, and vendors to enable a product that is designed to uphold our security, privacy, and safety principles. Our detection and response function drives continuous visibility across external and internal threats, complemented by threat intelligence and proactive security testing to strengthen our defenses.
Inclusion by Design
We prioritize building equity of experience for all Snapchatters. To make this goal a reality, we aim to evolve product development systems that are rooted in empathy, backed by research, and able to yield measurable impact. An inclusive process includes tools and principles that account for the lived experiences of the Snapchatters we serve globally and follows our core Inclusion by Design principles for product development at Snap: Increase Inclusion, Build with Empathy, and Take Smart Risks.
Safety by Design
Safety at Snap starts with Safety by Design, which is about putting Snapchatters’ well-being first as we develop new products and features. We have zero tolerance for illegal and potentially harmful content or behavior on Snapchat, as stated in our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
In 2023, we launched a series of new in-app short-form videos educating teens and young adults about a number of online sexual risks that span all platforms and services and also held the first in-person meeting of our reconstituted Safety Advisory Board (SAB). Additionally, our global in-house Law Enforcement Operations team maintained typical response times for legal processes in non-emergency situations despite an 18% increase in volume from 2022. Further, we expanded our transparency reports to cover new transparency reporting requirements under new regulations, including the EU Digital Services Act and California AB 587. To enhance our safety reporting, we have introduced new features including chat text reporting and additional reporting categories. New safeguards include expanded in-app warnings, enhanced friending protections, simplified location sharing, and improvements in blocking.
Community and Giving
Snap Philanthropy remains focused on three philanthropic impact areas: Access to Education, Mentorship and Career Pathways, and Community Well-being.
In 2023, we delivered a record year of impact, in which we focused efforts on strengthening our most impactful partnerships and signature programs, expanding our menu of volunteer initiatives and team-based service events, and investing in partnerships to expand our global impact.
Expanding Access to Education
We invest in educational programs that engage students from under-resourced communities in the cities where Snap has offices. Our team members serve as volunteer curriculum consultants, speakers, project advisors, and much more.
In 2023, we launched our inaugural Lens Lab in London, expanding access to AR education for students from under-represented backgrounds and under-resourced communities. We also hosted the sixth year of the Snap Academies, our nine-week, paid summer educational programs for 60 community college students in Engineering, Design, Storytelling, and Lens (Augmented Reality).
Download the 2024 CitizenSnap Report
We recount our efforts, our shortcomings, and offer a way forward.