By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
Snap Chat is a smart phone app that promises that any photos or videos sent over its airwaves are deleted within seconds, but is that really possible?
"I think it's a very dangerous app," said Deb Hale, a tech analyst at Catalyst Solutions.
But not everybody thinks so. SnapChat processes over 30 million images every day. And many of its senders expect their images to be gone forever once their picture is seen.
But the recipient can "screen grab" an image sent to them and save it to their phone or what would happen if the applications servers are hacked?
"These applications are not magical. It's not just 'poof' it's out there and 'poof' it's gone. There are servers in between that have to manage those images and they have to manage the movement of those images," said Deb Hale.
It's no surprise young people are using this app to send sexually explicit messages, or sexts, which is a crime.
Sioux City Crime Prevention Officer Chad Sheehan said, "There's Iowa law on child pornography and sexually explicit images of anyone under the age of 18 and it's illegal to send those."
Sheehan says the FBI and Department Of Criminal Investigation are constantly prowling for offenders.
And for parents, he says to keep electronic devices in your home's common areas, and tell your child not to delete text messages.
"With the technology of the Android and the smart phones and stuff like that, look at the apps and see what they are. You just have to make yourself knowledgeable about what's out there," said Sheehan.
