Transparency Report
January 1, 2018 – June 30, 2018
Released: November 28, 2018
Updated: November 28, 2018
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 November 15, 2015, our policy has been to notify Snapchatters when we receive legal process seeking their account information, with exceptions for cases where we are legally prohibited from doing so, or when we believe there are exceptional circumstances (like child exploitation or an imminent risk of death or bodily injury).
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 pursuant to U.S. legal process.
Category | Requests | Account Identifiers | Percentage of requests where some data was produced |
---|---|---|---|
Total | 7,235 | 12,308 | 85% |
Subpoena | 1,944 | 4,103 | 82% |
PRTT | 68 | 97 | 96% |
Court Order | 219 | 441 | 85% |
Search Warrant | 4,241 | 6,766 | 88% |
EDR | 755 | 885 | 77% |
Wiretap Order | 8 | 16 | 100% |
Summons | 73 | 337 | 89% |
International Government Information Requests
Requests for User Information from government entities outside the United States.
Country | Emergency Requests | Account Identifiers for Emergency Requests | Percentage of emergency requests where some data was produced for Emergency Requests Percentage of emergency requests where some data was produced | Other Information Requests | Account Identifiers for Other Requests | Percentage of other information request where some data was produced |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 211 | 247 | 67% | 424 | 669 | 1% |
Argentina | 0 | 0 | N/A | 3 | 5 | 0% |
Australia | 1 | 1 | 100% | 8 | 10 | 0% |
Austria | 0 | 0 | N/A | 3 | 6 | 0% |
Brazil | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2 | 5 | 0% |
Canada | 65 | 72 | 75% | 5 | 5 | 0% |
Denmark | 2 | 2 | 50% | 16 | 23 | 0% |
France | 23 | 30 | 65% | 89 | 108 | 0% |
Germany | 0 | 0 | N/A | 48 | 69 | 0% |
Iceland | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2 | 2 | 0% |
India | 0 | 0 | N/A | 15 | 21 | 0% |
Ireland | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Israel | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Lithuania | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0% |
Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0% |
Netherlands | 1 | 5 | 0% | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Norway | 2 | 1 | 0% | 13 | 71 | 0% |
Oman | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0% |
Pakistan | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0% |
Paraguay | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 4 | 0% |
Poland | 1 | 1 | 0% | 2 | 3 | 0% |
Singapore | 1 | 1 | 0% | 4 | 4 | 0% |
Spain | 0 | 0 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 0% |
Sweden | 1 | 2 | 0% | 20 | 38 | 0% |
Switzerland | 4 | 6 | 100% | 4 | 5 | 25% |
UK | 106 | 122 | 63% | 175 | 244 | 2% |
Ukraine | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 29 | 0% |
United States National Security Requests
Requests for User Information pursuant to national security legal process.
National Security | Requests | Account Identifiers* |
---|---|---|
NSLs and FISA Orders/Directives | O-249 | 0-249 |
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, 2018 - June 30, 2018 | 0 | N/A |
Note: Although we do not formally track when we remove content that violates our policies when 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.
Copyrighted Content Takedown Notices (DMCA)
This category reflects any valid takedown notices we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
DMCA Takedown Notices | Percentage of requests where some content was removed |
---|---|
43 | 70% |
DMCA Counter-Notices | Percentage of requests where some content was reinstated |
---|---|
0 | N/A |
* “Account Identifiers” reflects the number of identifiers (e.g. username, email address, phone number, etc.) specified by law enforcement in legal process when requesting user information. Some legal process 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.
Transparency Report Archives
- July 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
- January 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021
- July 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020
- January 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020
- July 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019
- January 1, 2019 - June 30, 2019
- July 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018
- January 1, 2018 - June 30, 2018
- July 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017
- January 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017
- July 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016
- January 1, 2016 - June 30, 2016
- July 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015
- January 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015
- November 1, 2014 - February 28, 2015