Parents have cautioned their teens about posting inappropriate photos of themselves online, advising that once such shots hit the Internet, they’re there forever. Then came Snapchat, which promised users that any photos sent through its service would be deleted forever just moments after they were opened.

Yeah, about that…

Those self-destructing pictures actually can be saved via third-party services, and now it appears that at least one such service might’ve been hacked, meaning anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 pictures may have been—or soon will be—leaked online. It’s been dubbed “The Snappening” on 4chan, the board/organization thought to be behind the hack.

Half of Snapchat’s users are between the ages of 13 and 17, and it’s suspected that many use the social network for sexting. (Newsweek)

Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Check out his entertainment blog at Patheos.com/blogs/watchinggod; follow him on Twitter.