Santa Monica, California – Snapchat has addressed rumors that the app knows users' exact date and time of birth without their consent or knowledge.

Word has been spreading around TikTok and Twitter that Snapchat knows your birthdate down to the exact hour despite you never having provided it, but the company has now put the matter to rest.

As it turns out, Astrological Profiles, a feature that rolled out in November 2020, is to blame for Snapchat's knowledge of this information.

Rather than the app somehow combing through the data on your phone, Snapchat told The Verge that users likely put their birthdays into the app when astrological profiles were launched.

"The birthdate and time information shown above was actually inputted by the users themselves in order to obtain more specific information, stemming from our latest astrological profiles feature," Snapchat said.

When users created their accounts with Snapchat, they had to provide their birthday as a part of the sign-up process. Those who chose to set up an astrological profile were required to provide a birthplace and birth time in order for Snapchat to create an accurate astrological reading,

Those whose information is stored won't be sold to any outside parties, either. At most, the app would share your birthday with your friends on the exact day.

"We take the privacy of personally identifiable information very seriously at Snap, and this more granular birthdate and time information is used only for this astrological profile feature," Snapchat told The Verge.

If you don't recall setting up an astrological profile but have found your birthdate, time, and place stored in Snapchat, you have the option to remove it at any time in the app's settings.