Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel.
Snapchat maker Snap Inc. is denying that its CEO, Evan Spiegel, once said the app is "only for rich people" and that he doesn't "want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain."
The quote, which Snap is calling "ridiculous," came from a recently unredacted court complaint by Anthony Pompliano, who served as the company's growth lead for a few weeks in 2015. In the complaint, Pompliano recounts the exchange from a September 2015 meeting he had with Spiegel about the app's international growth plans.
Snapchat's app ratings have taken a hit since Variety and a number of other outlets highlighted the alleged quote from Spiegel last week. A deluge of social media posts and one-star reviews in Google and Apple's app stores feature many users voicing their disapproval.
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A sample of recent one-star reviews Snapchat has gotten in the Google Play Store.
"This is ridiculous," a Snap spokesperson told several Indian news outlets on Sunday. "Obviously, Snapchat is for everyone! It's available worldwide to download for free. Those words were written by a disgruntled former employee. We are grateful for our Snapchat community in India and around the world."
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The scale of anger against India is so high in the Valley that many Kashmiris have installed @Snapchat because its CEO 'insulted' poor India
- جہانگیر علی (@Gaamuk) April 16, 2017I am very poor so uninstalled #snapchat but thanks for entertaining for this many days. @evanspiegel @Snapchat don't mess with India. pic.twitter.com/mlyaMuS9AI
- Shreyas Singh (@Shreyas_singh1) April 15, 2017