Abstract
The Spectacles wearable smart glasses device from Snapchat records snaps and videos for the Snapchat service. A Spectacles device can sync data with a paired smartphone and upload recorded content to a user’s online account. However, extracting and analyzing data from a Snapchat app is challenging due to the disappearing nature of the media. Very few commercial tools are available to obtain data from Snapchat apps.
This chapter focuses on the extraction and analysis of artifacts from Snapchat and, specifically, Spectacles devices paired with Apple iPhones. A methodology is presented for forensically imaging Apple iPhones before and after critical points in the Spectacles and Snapchat pairing and syncing processes. The forensic images are examined to reveal the effects of each step of the pairing process. Several photos, videos, thumbnails and metadata files originating from Spectacles devices were obtained and tied to specific times, devices and locations. The research provides interesting insights into evidence collection from Spectacles devices paired with Apple iPhones.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
T. Alyahya and F. Kausar, Snapchat analysis to discover digital forensic artifacts on Android smartphones, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 109, pp. 1035–1040, 2017.
M. Anderson, I-TEAM — Ambushed by images: An investigation into online child sexual abuse, WRDW-TV, Atlanta, Georgia (www.wrdw.com/2021/10/07/i-team-ambushed-by-images-an-investigation-into-online-child-sexual-abuse), October 7, 2021.
Apple Developer Program, About Apple File System, Apple, Cupertino, California (developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/file_system/about_apple_file_system), 2021.
Apple Developer Program, File System Basics, Apple, Cupertino, California (developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentattion/FileManagement/Conceptual/FileSystemProgrammingGuide/FileSystemOverview/FileSystemOverview.html), 2021
I. Baggili, J. Oduro, K. Anthony, F. Breitinger and G. McGee, Watch what you wear: Preliminary forensic analysis of smart watches, Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security, pp. 303–311, 2015.
H. bin Azhar, R. Cox and A. Chamberlain, Forensic investigations of popular ephemeral messaging applications on Android and iOS platforms, International Journal on Advances in Security, vol. 13(1-2), pp. 41–53, 2020.
M. Buxton, The pipeline: The Snapchat Spectacles engineer who embraces failure, Yahoo! News (www.yahoo.com/news/pipeline-snapchat-spectacles-engineer-embraces-173500431.html), July 26, 2018.
B. Caddy, Picaboo: How to send naughty photos without getting caught, ShinyShiny (www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/09/how-to-send-naughty-photos-without-getting-caught.html) September 16, 2011.
A. Chamberlain and H. bin Azhar, Comparisons of forensic tools to recover ephemeral data from iOS apps used for cyberbullying, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Cyber-Technologies and Cyber-Systems, pp. 88–93, 2019.
K. Chaykowski, Snapchat leaps into hardware, rebrands as ‘Snap Inc.’, Forbes, September 24, 2016.
J. Colao, The inside story of Snapchat: The world’s hottest app or a \$3 billion disappearing act? Forbes, January 19, 2014.
Europol, Money muling, The Hague, The Netherlands (www.europpol.europa.eu/activities-services/public-awareness-and-prevention-guides/money-muling), December 1, 2021.
Magnet Forensics, Decrypt app data using the iOS Keychain and GrayKey, Herndon, Virginia (support.magnetforensics.com/s/article/Decrypt-app-data-using-the-iOS-Keychain-GrayKey), April 18, 2022.
A. Malley, A Comparison Analysis of Saved Snapchat Video Files on Androids vs. iPhones, M.S. Thesis, Recording Arts Program, College of Arts and Media, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, 2021.
R. Matthews, K. Lovell and M. Sorell, Ghost protocol – Snapchat as a method of surveillance, Digital Investigation, vol. 36(S), article no. 301112, 2021.
S. O’Dea, iPhone users as share of smartphone users in the United States 2014-2021, Statista, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/260811/social-network-penetration-worldwide), 2021.
S. O’Dea, Market share of mobile operating systems worldwide 2012-2021, Statista, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/260811/social-network-penetration-worldwide), 2021.
N. Odom, J. Lindmar, J. Hirt and J. Brunty, Forensic inspection of sensitive user data and artifacts from smartwatch wearable devices, Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 64(6), pp. 1673–1686, 2019.
M. Raji, Digital Forensic Tools and Cloud-Based Machine Learning for Analyzing Crime Data, M.S. Thesis, Department of Information Technology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, 2018.
S. Ray, Snapchat promises crackdown on sale of illicit drugs amid Fentanyl scare, Forbes, October 7, 2021.
Snap, Transparency Report, July 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020, Santa Monica, California (snap.com/en-US/privacy/transparency/2020-12-31), 2021.
Snapchat Support, About Snap Map, Snap, Santa Monica, California (support.snapchat.com/en-US/article/snap-map-about), 2021.
Snapchat Support, Saving and deleting snaps, Santa Monica, California (support.snapchat.com/en-US/a/saving-snaps), 2021.
Snapchat Support, Snap Camera FAQ, Snap, Santa Monica, California (support.snapchat.com/en-US/article/snap-camera-faq), 2021.
Snapchat Support, When does Snapchat delete snaps and chats? Snap, Santa Monica, California (support.snapchat.com/en-US/a/when-are-snaps-chats-deleted), 2021.
Statista, Social network penetration worldwide from 2017 to 2025, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/260811/social-network-penetration-worldwide), 2020.
Statista, Countries with the most Snapchat users 2021, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/315405/snapchat-user-region-distribution), 2021.
Statista, Favorite social networks of U.S. teens 2012-2020, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-usage-of-us-teens-and-young-adults), 2021.
Statista, Snapchat: Number of global users 2018-2024, New York (www.statista.com/statistics/626835/number-of-monthly-active-snapchat-users), 2021.
D. Walnycky, I. Baggili, A. Marrington, J. Moore and F. Breitinger, Network and device forensic analysis of Android social-messaging applications, Digital Investigation, vol. 14(S1), pp. S77–S84, 2015.
C. Wu, C. Vance, R. Boggs and T. Fenger, Forensic analysis of data transience applications in iOS and Android, Poster Presentation, Forensic Science Graduate Program, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia (www.marshall.edu/forensics/files/Wu-Poster.pdf), 2013.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
VanPutte, L., Dorai, G., Clark IV, A., Mock, R., Brunty, J. (2022). Forensic Analysis of the Snapchat iOS App with Spectacles-Synced Artifacts. In: Peterson, G., Shenoi, S. (eds) Advances in Digital Forensics XVIII. DigitalForensics 2022. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 653. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10078-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10078-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-10077-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-10078-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)