Snapchat’s “Find Friends” feature was involved in 4.6 million leaked phone numbers and usernames on New Years Day. The company fixed this problem Jan 9, 2014 by letting users now opt out of linking their phone number with their username.
This fix was accompanied by an apology by Team Snapchat on their blog.
Our team continues to make improvements to the Snapchat service to prevent future attempts to abuse our API. We are sorry for any problems this issue may have caused you and we really appreciate your patience and support.
Users wishing to opt out can find this option under Settings > Mobile # in the Snapchat app.
The update also now requires users to have their phone number verified before they are allowed to use the “Find Friends” feature.
