Snapchat Makes New Users Solve Puzzle To Keep Away Bots

Snapchat has been in the news quite a lot recently. It was the target of a massive security breach which resulted in usernames and phone numbers of millions of users being compromised. Snapchat took a long time to acknowledge the hack, and even longer to actually apologize for it. Since then it has been working on beefing up defenses. It now makes new users solve a puzzle before they’re granted access, a simple step that shouldn’t take more than a few seconds, but is bound to keep bots looking to harvest information at bay.

Its actually a visual puzzle. Users are shown nine images and they have to pick ones with Snapchat’s ghost mascot. When all images containing a ghost are selected, users simply need to press done and they will be granted access. If the attempt is unsuccessful, they will be prompted to try and try again until they get it right. This step comes after registering for Snapchat by entering an e-mail address, birth date and setting up a password. Its a visually appealing take on the captcha that serves a noble purpose, Snapchat has been heavily criticized recently for not focusing much on security, it needs to take steps like these to safeguard its long and prosperous future.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Hacking, Snapchat