Snapchat is tightening security after 4.6 million usernames and passwords were exposed earlier this month. The photo and video sharing service introduced a new “ghost” captcha system where users will be presented with a grid of photos, some featuring the Snapchat ghost mascot which users will have to select.
Snapchat has also patched the API security hole by rate limiting the number of requests from its “Find Friends” feature to once per hour. In addition to the new ghost captcha system, it will be extremely difficult for bots to quickly query Snapchat with a list of possible phone numbers to match with users. This will also make it difficult for spammers to annoy users with scams and spam.
It’ll be interesting to see what other security measures Snapchat will deploy to protect its users in the future. Since the Snapchat hack, I’ve noticed a ton of fake friend requests from users, which has definitely degraded the user experience.
Source: TechCrunch
