Snapchat transparency reports are released twice a year. These reports provide important insight into the volume and nature of governmental requests for Snapchatters' account information and other legal notifications.
Since 2015, our policy has been to notify Snapchatters when we've received legal processing seeking their account information, with exceptions for cases where we are legally prohibited from doing so or when we believe there are exceptional circumstances (such as child exploitation or an imminent risk of death or bodily harm).
At Snap, we support industry-wide efforts to improve content moderation reporting and transparency practices. We recognise that technology platforms facilitate content creation, sharing and retention in vastly different ways. As our platform evolves, so too, will Snap transparency reports, laying the groundwork to publish new categories of information to inform our community in the future.
For more information about how we handle law enforcement data requests, please take a look at our Law Enforcement Guide, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Reporting period
Requests
Account identifiers
Percentage of requests where some data was produced
1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017
5,094
8,528
88%
Subpoena
1,401
2,573
89%
PRTT
23
26
91%
Court order
151
236
82%
Search warrant
3,151
5,221
88%
EDR
356
436
83%
Wiretap order
12
36
100%
Summons
76
151
99%
Reporting period
Emergency requests
Account Identifiers for Emergency Requests
Percentage of emergency requests where some data was produced
Other information requests
Account Identifiers for Other Requests
Percentage of other information requests where some data was produced
1/7/2017 – 31/12/2017
193
206
81%
304
374
0%
Argentina
0
N/A
N/A
5
6
0%
Australia
6
6
33%
14
12
0%
Austria
0
N/A
N/A
0
N/A
N/A
Brazil
0
N/A
N/A
0
N/A
N/A
Canada
74
79
81%
3
2
0%
Denmark
2
2
50%
13
15
0%
France
6
5
50%
61
74
0%
Germany
1
1
100%
23
26
0%
India
0
N/A
N/A
12
15
0%
Ireland
0
N/A
N/A
1
1
0%
Israel
1
1
0%
1
0
0%
Netherlands
2
3
100%
2
2
0%
Norway
3
3
100%
14
20
0%
Poland
2
2
100%
3
1
0%
Spain
0
N/A
N/A
1
1
0%
Sweden
1
1
100%
13
11
0%
Switzerland
4
4
75%
4
8
0%
UAE
0
N/A
N/A
0
N/A
N/A
UK
91
99
77%
134
180
1%
National security
Requests
Account identifiers*
1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017
NSLs and FISA orders/directives
O-249
0–249
Reporting period
Removal requests
Percentage of requests where some content was removed
1 January 2018 – 30 June 2018
3
100%
Saudi Arabia
1
100%
United Arab Emirates
1
100%
Bahrain
1
100%
Note: although we do not formally track when we've removed content that violates our policies after a request has been made by a governmental entity, we believe it is an extremely rare occurrence. When we believe it is necessary to restrict content that is deemed unlawful in a particular country but does not otherwise violate our policies, we seek to restrict access to it geographically when possible, rather than remove it globally.
Reporting period
DMCA takedown notices
Percentage of requests where some content was removed
1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017
48
37.5%
Reporting period
DMCA counter-notices
Percentage of requests where some content was reinstated
1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017
0
N/A
* “Account Identifiers” reflects the number of identifiers (e.g. username, email address, phone number) specified by law enforcement in legal processing when requesting user information. Some legal processing may include more than one identifier. In some instances, multiple identifiers may identify a single account. In instances where a single identifier is specified in multiple requests, each instance is included.