Sixty minutes. That’s how long it took for a private Snapchat message to travel from Kristen Volpe’s phone to the FBI to the deputies standing in her elementary school hallway. On January 29, 2025, the 22-year-old student teacher at John L. Hensey Elementary in Washington, Illinois, vented to her boyfriend and two roommates — three people total — after a student closed her laptop mid-class and wiped her lesson plan. She referenced shooting the student or the school. She meant it as a frustrated joke. Snapchat’s algorithm didn’t get the humor.
No student reported her. No parent. No coworker. The flag was entirely automated. Snapchat’s policy permits voluntary emergency disclosures to law enforcement — no warrant required — when the platform determines imminent harm exists. The algorithm makes that initial call. Think of it like your Ring doorbell deciding to call 911 on its own, except the doorbell is reading your text messages.
I see no issue, things worked as advertised. The AI flagged things correctly and since Snapchat never made any promises about encryption it’s on anyone to use it at their own discretion. Maybe more stories like this will help create some awareness about online privacy
Idk if you’re being obtuse, but come on lol.
The assumption of privacy is not the fault of most people.
Stop blaming the average person for the privacy damage done by corporate interests and the government.
You’re right… and I agree with your sentiment in principal.
I’m just a bit frustrated because I’ve been trying to explain to people that online privacy is important and meta, snapchat, google, etc. can’t be trusted for over a decade now. I hope these stories getting out are more successful than me getting that point across.
Nah you’re also right, and I’ve been in your position as well and it’s frustrating.
It truly is.