So much for Snapchat’s security!
My face when I accidentally hack into someone’s account… but it just happened! What sort of idiots are developing Snapchat? Here’s why you should never, ever use it!
First of all, it all came from my old, demented brain confusing Whatsapp with Snapchat. I’m sorry, but I’m just tired of following a bazillion hip and trendy chat apps, only to disappear in weeks and give room to another one. But the landlord of my newly rented apartment insisted we should keep contact on Whatsapp, and he doesn’t even read emails, despite being the same age as I, so Whatsapp it is. He’s the only contact I have, and the only reason I keep this crap on my phone.
As I had to send him a document from my laptop, I checked if Whatsapp has a web instance. It has, but so does Snapchat, and like I said, I confused the two (hey, I only used either one barely a few times in my whole lifetime). So I went to Snapchat, logged in with my phone number, and to my surprise, Snapchat asked me this:
No, I’m definitely not her, so I clicked Not you.
Snapchat asked me to log in again. I typed my phone number again, and then…
Oops, I realized I forgot my password. (I never had one, but I thought I did.) So I clicked Forgot Password…
Then clicked Phone Number, gave them my phone number again, and a verification code immediately arrived.
Now I was asked to change my password, and ta-da, I was in… someone else’s account! With full access to all of her data!
How was that possible? Simple: she abandoned her phone number, and the provider gave it to me when I bought my phone. Can’t tell how much time passed between the two. I got this number in November 2022, and she apparently opened the Snapchat account in December 2019. Not a very long time, if you ask me.
Luckily for her, I’m not into stalking young girls (that’s my buddy Gabucino), and she didn’t really use Snapchat for much, leaving little data behind. I still found a couple of selfies (she’s cute), her defunct email address, a few IP addresses, clues that she used to work as a cashier at Pepco, and evidence that she downloaded Viber and Aliexpress onto her phone. Based on this, and her preference to mobile games, Snapchat’s AI determined that she’s probably a young adult male. See, that’s why AI will never take our jobs.
I’m sorry, Laura! Of course I requested the deletion of the account. Shame on Snapchat and their security officers though. Another cargo cult company, I presume.
