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Snapchat Denies Allegations After Former Employee Accuses Its CEO Of Calling India A 'Poor Country'

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel also allegedly called it an app only for rich people.
Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Snapchat has rubbished the allegations made by a former employee that CEO Evan Spiegel called it an app only for rich people and described India as a poor country that he did not want to expand into.

According to Anthony Pompliano, an ex-employee of Snapchat who has sued the company, CEO Spiegel had called it an app "only for rich people" in 2015. "I don't want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain," CEO Spiegel had said at a user growth meeting in 2015, according to Pompliano.

HuffPost India reached out to the company for a response on the issue.

"This is ridiculous. Obviously, Snapchat is for everyone! It's available worldwide to download for free," a Snap Inc spokesperson told HuffPost India through email.

However, the company didn't provide specific answers to HuffPost India's questions regarding the comment and how it sees India as a market. "Those were the words of a disgruntled former employee. We are grateful for our Snapchat community in India and around the world," said the spokesperson.

The company also denied the allegation made by Pompliano on faking the users numbers to lure the investors.

"Snap did not give investors misstated user metrics back in 2015; nor did Snap employees commit any of the panoply of alleged bad acts that litter Pompliano's complaint. Snap will demonstrate as much at the appropriate time in the appropriate forum," Snap Inc said in a notice filed in the court.

The company emphasized that Speigel had been supportive the Indian start-up system while talking at a summit in 2015.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.