Snap Inc, the company which owns the Snapchat app, also has policies to release data to law enforcement if necessary. Again, as Snap Inc is an American company, the police must go through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty process to request information.
The exception is emergency requests where the company believes in good faith that there is an emergency posing a risk of imminent death or serious bodily injury which justifies releasing data. Even if Snap Inc agrees to release some data, the police may only be able to access your “Snaps” or “Chat” content in limited circumstances. This is because once a Snap has been opened by all recipients, it is permanently deleted. If at least 1 recipient doesn’t open the Snap, it only remains on Snap Inc’s servers for up to 30 days and if the Snap has been posted to the user’s “Story”, it will be deleted after 24 hours. Similarly, the police will only be able to access Chat content if you or the recipient have chosen to save it.
