Snapp!
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Persian. (December 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, Transportation |
| Founded | February 28, 2014 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | , |
| Services |
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Number of employees | 3,500 |
| Parent | Snapp Group |
| Website | snapp |
Snapp! (Persian: اسنپ!) is an Iranian vehicle for hire company, headquartered in Tehran that launched in February 2014. Users can request a ride via the iOS, Android, or web application, by indicating their location and destination.[1] The price of the trip is set beforehand, to eliminate bargaining. Snapp! commissions drivers upon completing a background check, and showing a valid driver's license and insurance before hiring them.
Funding and Operations
[edit]The company launched in 2014 as Taxi Yaab and experienced rapid growth in the first three years.[2]
In October 2016, the company received a $20 million investment in a Series A round led by MTN Group, a South African multinational corporation.[3] According to a 2017 interview with Shahram Shahkar, the former CEO of the company, Snapp! employs more than 300,000 active drivers and more than 500 other personnel at that time.[4] Snapp rebranded itself and changed its logo in 2019.[5]
As of 2019, Snapp! in Tehran was larger than Uber in any city.[6] As of December 2020, Snapp! had 85% of Iran's market share with operations in 34 cities. Via its 3 million drivers, it provided 2.5 million rides per day and is credited with a major shift in how Iranians use taxis.[2][7]
Products
[edit]In order to evade sanctions and appear on the app store, Snapp! had to disguise itself as a music app.[2] Similar to other companies such as Uber, Lyft, Snapp! features other options including: Snapp Taxi, Snapp Bike (for motorcycles), Snapp Box (for parcels) and Snapp Club (a loyalty program).[8][9]
Subsidiaries
[edit]Initially, Iran Internet Group was supposedly the holding company behind Snapp!.[10] IIG also held other companies such as Bamilo and ZoodFood. Later on, it renamed or shut down some of these services in favor of expanding Snapp! from a transportation-focused company to a more general tech company. Because of this, the ZoodFood service was renamed to Snapp! Food[11] and the online retail store known as Bamilo was shut down and redirected to the Snapp! Market website.
Controversies
[edit]Snapp! was sued by TAPSI in an anti trust lawsuit which was dismissed by council of competition.[12]
Reports emerged in 2022 that locally operated platforms such as Snapp! were used to collect and share user data with authorities, who then used geolocation data to identify and, in some cases, arrest protesters and activists. [13] For example, geolocation data from Snapfood, a food-delivery application, was used by security agencies to arrest a photographer in October 2022.[14]
Ridehailing
[edit]In May 2024 carpooling was added to the app.[15]
Hack
[edit]On December 31, 2023, the database of Snap Food, the largest online food delivery platform in Iran, which is a subsidiary of Snapp, was hacked by the IR Leaks hacker group, and the information of 20 million users was stolen.[16][17][18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Snapp About Us". Snapp.
- ^ a b c "How Iran's biggest taxi app survived U.S. sanctions and app ban". 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Bayrasli, Elmira. "With a €20 million Series A Snapp opens up ride-sharing in Iran". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "مصاحبه شهرام شاهکار با دیجیاتو". Digiato. 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ "نگاهی به لوگو و هویت گرافیکی جدید اسنپ". www.injast.net (in Persian). 13 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ^ Odeh, Layan (2019-04-01). "Iran's Uber Hits 2 Million Rides-a-Day Amid Growth Spurt". Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Kamali Dehghan, Saeed (2017-07-31). "Snapp: how Tehran's answer to Uber is changing how people travel, and live". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "how to get a discount from Snapp?". afkarnews (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ^ "Snapp, Iran's First Unicorn Startup?". 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "Companies". Iran Internet Group. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020.
- ^ "«اسنپفود» نام جدید زودفود". Mehr News Agency. 15 August 2017.
- ^ "دیجیاتو". دیجیاتو (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Freedom on the Net 2023: Iran". Freedom House. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "The arrest of photographer and editor Nik Yousefi because of the cooperation of Snapfoods with security agencies". VOA Persian. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ https://sahebkhabar.ir/news/66892059/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AC%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%BE-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B4-%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9%DB%8C
- ^ "Police confirms hackers stole data from Iran's largest online food delivery service". en.irna.ir. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ^ "Giant Iranian Online Food Ordering Platform Hacked - Iran Front Page". ifpnews.com. 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ^ "Security Breach Hits Iran's Largest Food Delivery App". Iran International. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-01-01.