Snapchat releases update after breach that exposed user phone numbers, says it's 'sorry'

Snapchat users could be in for a shock. (Snapchat)

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in Los Angeles. Hackers reportedly published 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and phone numbers on a website called snapchatdb.info, which has since been suspended. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 9, 2014: IBM Senior Vice President Mike Rhodin demonstrates a Watson cloud service at IBM Research headquarters in Yorktown Heights, NY. (IBM/Jon Simon)

Snapchat has released an update to its disappearing-photo app following a security breach last week that exposed the phone numbers of millions of users.

And for the first time since the New Year's breach, the company said it's sorry.

"Our team continues to make improvements to the Snapchat service to prevent future attempts to abuse our API," the company wrote in a blog post. "We are sorry for any problems this issue may have caused you and we really appreciate your patience and support."

Snapchat had promised a more secure version of its app following the breach, which allowed hackers to collect the usernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million of its users.

The Los Angeles startup on Thursday released an update to its Android and iPhone apps that it says "improves Find Friends functionality." The feature, which suggests Snapchat connections based on a user's phone contacts, was at the heart of the breach. Users can now also avoid linking their usernames with phone numbers.