[gaius]

Actually it does attempt to do that - it requires you keep your finger on the screen while viewing so you can't perform whatever the screenshot command is. Which is lame but that's not the point - their selling point is that they do claim the images are transient. I'll wager 90% of their traffic is images people would not want made public, and some of it will be technically illegal.

[7952]

The benefit to the user is that it establishes a social convention. You are unambiguously asking your friend not to share something around. It provides enough technical protection to prevent people sharing in the heat of the moment. In that sense it is like a changing room curtain.

[girvo]

I would take that wager. It's far less focused on nudes and illegal stuff than you would think. Most of it is just silly dumb photos or those that don't warrant being shared forever.

[pbreit]

Not quite. The description on iTunes specifically notes that the receiver can take a screenshot: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8

[StavrosK]

What's the point of that? I just tried it, and I can take a screenshot fine with one finger on the screen.

[wlesieutre]

It used to be that taking a screenshot briefly stopped the touch event, so it could notify the sender when you took a screenshot.

iOS 7 fixed that bug, but added an official way for apps to detect screenshots. I would guess snapchat has just hung on to their old interface out of tradition, since it still works. It just doesn't have anything to do with screenshots anymore.

[StavrosK]

Ah, that makes sense, thank you.

[gaius]

The point of it is to reassure unsophisticated users.

[samolang]

It also attempts to notify the sender if the receiver takes a screenshot of the message.