The mobile app SnapChat, where users can send photos to friends, is all the rage because after a set amount of viewing time the photo supposedly vanishes forever.

The app is becoming more and more popular each day, with people sending nearly the same amount of photos as people do on Instagram.

When I heard about the app, I thought it was pointless. The world does not need another app that encourages people to take pictures of everything and anything.

Users can find friends on Facebook and Twitter and take a photo of anything to send to a friend. The sender then can choose a certain amount of time, be it one second or 10, for the photo to be viewed by the receiver. Once the receiver opens the photo, they will see it for however many seconds and then both the sender and receiver never see it again.

Apparently there are concerns that this app is not just for sending silly photos of yourself to your friends, but also makes it easier for people to “sext.”

“Sexting” is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos in a text message and is a big concern among parental groups. The criticism is that people will use the app to send explicit photos since the photos can only be viewed for a set time before they disappear, so there is essentially no risk.

Andrew S. Avitt / Daily Vidette Photographer: SnapChat, the new craze of smart phone applications, allows users to send images to one another that will disappear forever after a set amount of time, usually only a few seconds.

But a lot of people are missing the big problem with it: users can take screenshots on their phone when they open the photo, rendering the app almost completely useless.

Their website does mention this little caveat, and it takes a few fingers to be able to capture the photo since users have to hold down a button the entire time they are viewing a photo.

The app will notify the sender if a screenshot was taken, but it is easy to miss the message. People may not be aware that screenshots can be taken, and this message would be too little too late if someone sent something explicit.

The app does have a couple of redeeming qualities even though it is not fool proof. Users can put text and doodle on the photos they are sending. SnapChat also claims that it is up to 10 times faster than regular MMS texts.

The app is also trying to promote taking fun photos in the moment instead of manufacturing a scene that everyone tries to look good in, which is understandable, but not a big enough reason for me to care about this app.

Also, I would have to take the time to add friends to the app, as opposed to just sending a photo in an MMS message.

I give them a gold star for creativity, but ultimately I will not be using this app because, in my eyes, it is pointless. But I am sure people will have their fun with this app until the next one comes along.