Snapchat Launches Privacy-Focused Developer Platform, Snap Kit

Snapchat may be still reeling from its disastrous redesign, but that hasn't stopped it from trying to woo developers to its platform. Called Snap Kit, the new developer tool offers four different APIs that allows developers and app makers to integrate Snapchat into their services in a variety of ways, while giving users an opportunity to continue using the service even if they are not using the Snapchat app.

Here are some details about the APIs:

• Creative Kit: Integrate stickers, Filters, links, and other highlights into Snapchat camera
• Login Kit: An alternative means to log in to apps with Snapchat accounts
• Bitmoji Kit: Share Bitmoji stickers when messaging on other apps like Tinder
• Story Kit: Embed publicly shared Snapchat Stories into their own apps and services

While there is no doubt that Snap's latest move could give the stumbling company a fresh lease of life, the harder task will be convincing developers to invest in the ecosystem, at the same time protect the privacy of users who trust Snapchat with their data. Which is why Snap Kit's major selling point is privacy: "We believe that privacy is essential to honest self-expression. It's hard to be yourself without a sense of security! That's why Snap Kit was designed to share minimal data — safely, and only with your permission."

☑️ Just the Basics
Snap Kit only shares your Display Name and Bitmoji when logging in
👤 Only Your Data
You don't share any of your friends' data when logging in with Snap Kit
⏳ 90-Day Expiration
Apps are automatically disconnected after 90 days of inactivity

By going to great lengths to assure everyone about its rigorous approach to data protection and avoid unintended misuse, it's hard not to see that Snapchat is trying as much to avoid a Facebook-like scandal. And it's a good thing too, but the flip side is that developers may not be incentivised enough to spend their efforts on a platform that doesn't share any user-identifiable information with them. On the other hand, Snapchat can benefit quite handsomely from this marriage. Just imagine the ads it can target you based on the apps you log in with Snapchat!

Snap however has a different take. In "outsourcing" logins to Snapchat without handing over any social data, the teen-centric ephemeral messaging service hopes developers can rethink their long-term app strategy of becoming their own social networks. "We don't think that value of getting the whole friends list is as important today," Jacob Andreou, Snap's vice president of product, told The Verge. "What we really offer is, by not handing over the friend graph, we don't feel like we're pushing the responsibility onto these applications of becoming their own social networks." Whether it will work is hard to tell.