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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 15 November 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).

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.

United States criminal legal requests
Requests for user information in accordance with US legal processing

Reporting period

Requests

Account identifiers

Percentage of requests where some data was produced

1 January 2017–30 June 2017

3,726

6,434

82%

Subpoena

1,058

2,264

72%

PRTT

23

26

83%

Court order

159

238

79%

Search warrant

2,239

3,611

86%

EDR

234

278

78%

Wiretap order

12

36

100%

United States national security requests
Requests for user information pursuant to national security legal processing.

National security

Requests

Account identifiers*

NSLs and FISA orders/directives

O-249

0–249

International government information requests
Requests for user information from government entities outside the United States

Reporting period

Emergency requests

Account Identifiers for Emergency Requests

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 January 2017–30 June 2017

123

142

68%

205

281

0%

Argentina

0

N/A

N/A

1

1

0%

Australia

4

9

25%

7

20

0%

Austria

0

N/A

N/A

4

4

0%

Brazil

0

N/A

N/A

4

5

0%

Canada

37

36

78%

1

1

0%

Denmark

0

N/A

N/A

2

2

0%

France

15

17

67%

40

67

0%

Germany

0

N/A

N/A

25

28

0%

India

0

N/A

N/A

15

15

0%

Ireland

1

1

100%

1

1

0%

Israel

1

1

100%

1

1

0%

Netherlands

1

2

100%

1

1

0%

Norway

2

2

50%

3

3

0%

Poland

3

3

33%

3

3

0%

Spain

0

N/A

N/A

1

1

0%

Sweden

3

3

67%

9

11

0%

Switzerland

2

2

50%

0

N/A

N/A

United Arab Emirates

1

8

100%

0

N/A

N/A

United Kingdom

53

58

66%

87

117

0%

Governmental content removal requests
This category identifies demands by a government entity to remove content that would otherwise be permissible under our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.

Reporting period

Removal requests

Percentage of requests where some content was removed

January 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017

0

N/A

Copyrighted content takedown notices (DMCA)
This category reflects any valid takedown notices we've received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Reporting period

DMCA takedown notices

Percentage of requests where some content was removed

1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017

50

40%

Reporting period

DMCA counter-notices

Percentage of requests where some content was reinstated

1 January 2017–30 June 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.