Does Apple know Snapchat and Instagram still tap into your contacts after giving no contacts access?

Your friends have your phone number & email in their contacts app. If some of your friends choose to share their contacts with Snapchat & Instagram, these companies can build a social graph. Relationships are bi-directional: if your friend knows you, you know your friend.

It only takes a small percentage of users to share their contacts to build a nearly complete social graph. These companies use the social graph to suggest recommended users to you when you sign up. They use the email, phone number, full name, username, etc that you enter during the signup to match your new account with the information they already have in the social graph.

SniperHusky_1 wrote:

I mean I just signed up recently, didn’t give access to my contacts and it still knew a LOT of my friends and acquaintances. It even suggested a friend of a family member who I’ve never even met. So it definitely gets more info than I’m allowing it to…

Signed up to what?

Your friend suggestions is information they have been able to gather about your internet activities. If you signed up for Instagram, then you should know that Meta has all your Facebook data as well and your personal information is being sold among the Social Media platforms from other companies as well. The information not only comes from what you provide, but also from those you follow and that follow you.

The bottom line is the information did not come from your Contacts in this case if you chose not to share that with the app. It is likely they have your contacts if you have ever shared them with another social media app and already have more than enough information to make those friend suggestions.

You are the product being sold. That is why it is free to use their service and they make billions in revenue. It is their business to know everything about you and they are very good at it, even if you did not allow Contacts to be shared in this case.

It is not being done from your contacts. The friend suggestions are coming from the algorithms used based on your searches on their platform and by people you are following and those that are following you. If you are using SnapChat or Instagram, you should be concerned about your privacy as every detail about the information you provide and the post you make is being sold to advertisers to profit off of everything you do on their platform. You have voluntarily given up your privacy by using the platform, it is not Apple that is giving them your information from your device, you are doing that all on your own. They know more about you than you realize.

Your contacts are not being accessed. You are being shown people to follow based on your account, your Facebook friends, social media contacts, etc.

Yep, all true! The contacts from your device is only a small piece in the puzzle, they have your information with or without it.

I mean I just signed up recently, didn’t give access to my contacts and it still knew a LOT of my friends and acquaintances. It even suggested a friend of a family member who I’ve never even met. So it definitely gets more info than I’m allowing it to…