SNAPCHAT users have been flocking to social media to discuss a seemingly creepily feature of the app.
Fans of the social media app have been claiming on Twitter that Snapchat suddenly knows exactly where – and even what time – they were born.
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What have users been saying about Snapchat?
Hundreds took to Twitter to point out that when people check their date of birth in Snapchats settings, where they were born and what time is displayed under “My Astrological Birthday.”
The information has been freaking out app users who have been calling the app’s accuracy “weird” and “really creepy.”
And Snapchatters have been confused as to how the app gathered that information in the first place.
However, the real reason is not as sinister as the fans have been suggesting.
How does Snapchat know where I was born?
Snapchat themselves have explained that users likely put their birthdays into the app when astrological profiles were launched.
A spokesperson said: “The birthdate and time information shown above was actually inputted by the users themselves in order to obtain more specific information, stemming from our latest astrological profiles feature.”
What is the Astrological Birthday feature?
The Astrological Birthday feature is an update which was released by Snapchat in November 2020.
It would generate a 12-page horoscope from the app for users – but only if they had input your time and place of birth.
It seems that users have forgotten they gave this information a year ago, and have now spotted that the app has this information in their settings.
Can I delete this information from Snapchat?
If you have found your birthdate, time, and place stored in Snapchat, and no longer want the app to have that information you have the option to remove it at any time in the app’s settings.
But those whose information is stored won’t be sold to any outside parties so there isn’t much to worry about.
However the app may share your birthday with your friends on the exact day.
A Snapchat spokesperson said: “We take the privacy of personally identifiable information very seriously at Snap, and this more granular birthdate and time information is used only for this astrological profile feature.”
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