In today’s onlife world, social media platforms have become an integral part of our daily lives, and one platform that has gained immense popularity among teenagers is Snapchat. As a parent, it’s natural to be curious and perhaps concerned about your child’s online activities. This guide aims to provide you with a quick understanding of Snapchat, its features, potential risks, and how you can help your child navigate this platform in a safer way.
*** IMPORTANT NOTE ***
It’s important to understand that Snapchat isn’t limited to phone access; it can also be used on a laptop, computer, or any device with a browser. By visiting Snapchat.com and logging into your account, you can access Snapchat from these devices as well.
What is Snapchat?
Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app that allows users to send and receive photos, videos, and messages, referred to as “Snaps.” One of its unique features is that Snaps once sent have a time limit, usually ranging from 1 – 10 seconds, after which they disappear from the recipient’s device once they have been opened. Additionally, Snapchat offers Stories, which are collections of photos and videos that can be viewed by friends for 24 hours. There is no doubt that Snapchat has become one of the primary ways that youth communicate with their peers.
Key Features:
Snaps: Users can take photos or record short videos and add filters, stickers, captions, and drawings before sending them to friends.
Filters: Snapchat filters offer a whimsical array of animations, sounds, images, and other embellishments that can be applied to your face. The app boasts an extensive collection of lenses crafted by fellow users, accessible to all. From playful bunny ears and quirky facial hair to transforming into a dog, shark, or even a hotdog, there’s no shortage of imaginative options.
Stories: Users can create a chronological collection of Snaps that can be viewed by selected friends for 24 hours.
Chat: Snapchat has a messaging feature that allows users to send text messages, photos, and videos directly to friends. These messages can also disappear after being viewed.
Discover: This feature showcases content from various publishers, including news articles, entertainment, and more.
Snap Map: Users can share their location with friends on a map, allowing them to see where their friends are and what they’re up to.
Snapchat’s “My AI”: In early 2023, there is a new feature that has been added to Snapchat Plus called “My AI,” which is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT that parents and caregivers should be aware of. We have written a whole article on this new development that you can find in our references a the end of this article (1)
Snapchat+: This is Snapchat’s subscription service ($3.99us per month) which provides the user with custom app icons, story re-watch count, a special badge, the ability to pin a #1 friend, the ability to use Snapchat on a web browser, and the ability to see the general direction friends have traveled if they have location sharing turned on.
Safety Concerns:
According to Snapchat’s terms of service, users must be 13 years to own an account. A user has to enter their birth date to create an account, but there’s no age verification, so it’s easy for kids under 13 to sign up.
As a parent, it’s important to mentor and guide your child about online safety, and Snapchat is no exception. Like any other social media platform, comes with its own set of safety concerns. While it can be a fun and creative way for individuals to connect and share moments, it’s important to be aware of potential risks. Here are some safety concerns associated with Snapchat:
Privacy Settings: Snapchat’s default settings may not always prioritize user privacy. It’s crucial to adjust privacy settings to control who can view your child’s content, send them messages, and see their location. Encourage your child to set their account to private and only accept friend requests from people they know in real life.
Location Sharing: When Snap Maps is not configured correctly, it can potentially reveal a user’s location to any follower, leading to privacy concerns. This underscores the critical importance of teenagers limiting their communication to trusted close friends and family members. It’s essential for them to opt for an appropriate Snap Maps setting to mitigate risks, a feature known as Ghost Mode. Here’s a video to help guide you and your teen to configure Ghost Mode
Inappropriate Content: Snapchat’s Discover section can contain content from various publishers, including news, entertainment, and advertisements. Some of this content is adult-oriented and would not be suitable for younger users. Talk to your child about what kind of content is appropriate and guide them on how to report and avoid inappropriate content.
Screenshotting and Saving: While Snaps are intended to vanish once they’ve been seen, recipients retain the ability to capture screenshots or employ alternative techniques to preserve them. This could result in the inadvertent distribution of personal or potentially embarrassing material. Snapchat does include a function that notifies the sender when a recipient takes a screenshot of a sent Snap. Although this feature is beneficial, it’s important to acknowledge that the recipient now possesses a copy of the shared picture or video, which Snapchat cannot delete.
Cyberbullying and Harassment: Like most social media platforms, Snapchat users can be vulnerable to cyberbullying, harassment, and trolling. Teach your child how to recognize and handle such situations, including reporting and blocking users. To block others on Snapchat:
- Click the profile circle in the upper left corner.
- Thumb down to “My Friends.”
- When you find the person’s name you want to block, simply swipe across their name on Apple devices or, on Android phones, press and hold the person’s name, then press “Edit” and then “Block” or “Delete”.
Stranger Contacts: Snapchat’s openness to adding friends and connections can expose your child to people they don’t know in real life. Discuss the importance of not accepting friend requests from strangers and the potential risks associated with interacting with people they’ve never met.
In-App Purchases: Snapchat offers various in-app purchases, such as filters, lenses, and stickers. Make sure your child understands the implications of spending money within the app and that they seek your permission before making any purchases.
Explicit Content Sharing: Some users may share explicit or inappropriate content on Snapchat. It’s important to educate your child about the potential consequences of sharing or receiving such content and the legal implications if they are underage.
Time Management: Snapchat, with its engaging features, can sometimes lead to excessive screen use. Discuss healthy screen time habits and encourage your child to balance their online activities with offline pursuits.
My Eyes Only: Is Snapchat’s native secret photo vault that is built into the app to save any snaps in a hidden location. To access this vault a user needs to enter a PIN code to access.
Family Center
Family Center allows parents to have a discreet avenue to report any accounts that raise concerns directly to Snapchat’s dedicated Trust and Safety teams.(2)
During the development of the Family Center, Snapchat collaborated closely with families to comprehend the distinct needs of parents and teenagers, acknowledging that parenting styles and privacy preferences vary. Snapchat also sought counsel from experts in online safety and wellbeing, incorporating their valuable insights and feedback. Their objective was to establish a toolkit that emulates the intricacies of real-life relationships, fostering a sense of teamwork and confidence between parents and teenagers, including allowing parents to conveniently view new friends that their teenagers have added.
Family Center has also integrated Content Controls. This empowers parents to exercise more influence over the kind of content their teenagers encounter on Snapchat. Additionally, teenagers now can inform their parents when they report an account or a piece of content to Snapchat.
Five Weaknesses to Family Center Controls:
#1 Family Center does not let you peek into the content of the messages sent on Snapchat. Although the new feature allows you to see the approximate time your teen messaged someone during the past week, an exact timestamp isn’t provided.
#2 For the Family Center to function, it’s necessary for your child to mutually accept the parents via a Family Center invitation before you can include your child in the family center.
#3 If a teenager aims to elude the supervision of the Family Center, they can establish a secondary, confidential account unbeknownst to their parents, which will remain undetected by the Family Center’s monitoring.
#4 Teens can leave Family Center at any time by navigating to the menu and selecting “Leave Family Center”. It should be noted that if the teen does leave, the parent will receive a message update and push notification that they have done so.
#5 In order to utilize the Family Center, parents are required to set up their own Snapchat account on their mobile device. It’s important to note that this step grants Snapchat access to your device, which might raise privacy concerns for certain parents.
Privacy Concerns:
Upon reading Snapchat’s privacy policy (3), we came across a couple of important points:
1. Although in their advertising Snapchat implies that a picture posted will be permanently deleted after ten seconds, they clearly state, “Although we attempt to delete image data as soon as possible after the message is transmitted, we cannot guarantee that the message data will be deleted in every case. Consequently, we are not able to guarantee that your messaging data will be deleted in all instances. Messages, therefore, are sent at the risk of the user.” So much for the picture being permanently deleted after ten seconds!
2. Snapchat appears to have taken reasonable steps to encrypt their data, but in their Privacy Policy under they state,“As part of the effort to keep your data protected, all contact information and voice data transmitted through the Snapchat application is encrypted with an SSL connection using AES-128 bit encryption between your mobile device and the Snapchat servers. There are a number of risks in transmitting any kind of data over the public Internet and under no circumstances should you use the Snapchat service to transmit confidential or privileged information of any sort.” Again, this emphasizes the learning point that no matter what your privacy settings, or service encryption, it is always wise to understand that no matter what you do on-line consider it to be public, permanent, and searchable.
3. Under the App Rating, the vendor has advised, “Rated 12+ for the following, infrequent/mild sexual content or nudity, infrequent/mild alcohol, tobacco or drug use or references to infrequent/mild mature/suggestive themes infrequent/mild profanity or crude humor.”
Point #3 is a concern given that the app can be used by young individuals (and adults as well) to “sometimes” share questionable images, such as sexts, under the assumption that these pictures will vanish within 10 seconds. However, Point #1, as mentioned earlier, contradicts this notion. It’s a recognized fact that many users do not thoroughly read an app’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Furthermore, there’s the issue of screen-capturing images before they disappear. Despite the app’s promise to alert users about such captures, it doesn’t prevent the act itself. This raises the question – what comes next? The reality remains that the image has been captured and can potentially be shared again. Additionally, there is also a possibility of taking a photo of the screen using an external digital camera, further compounding the potential for redistribution.
What If My Child Lied About Their Age When They Created An Account?
Given that Snapchat will filter content and functions based on age, some youth will lie about their age so that there are no filtering restrictions. The birthday is established during account sign-up, but can also be changed afterwards:
- On the main, camera screen, click the profile circle in the upper, left corner.
- From the profile screen, click the gear in the upper, right corner.
- Click “Birthday.”
- Edit the birthday by clicking on the date, selecting a new one, and selecting “Continue.” Note, you can change the birthday 5 times before receiving a warning that “this is the last time you can change the birthday.” Since some content is selected by Snapchat based on the birthday, locking in the correct birthday by changing it 5 times intentionally might be something a protective parent might do.
Final Thoughts:
Snapchat is constantly evolving, so staying informed about its features and updates is essential. Consider installing the app yourself, even if you don’t plan to use it extensively, so you can better understand how it works and how your child might be using it.
Snapchat can be a fun and creative platform for sharing moments with friends, but it’s crucial for both parents and children to be aware of potential risks and practice responsible online digital literacy. By maintaining open communication, setting privacy preferences, and staying informed, you can help your child enjoy their Snapchat experience while staying safer in the digital world.
In today’s digital age, where social media has seamlessly integrated into our lives, Snapchat has risen as a prominent platform, especially among teenagers. We hope this guide has provided valuable insights into the world of Snapchat, offering you a quick and better understanding of its features and potential risks. As parents, your concerns and curiosity about your child’s online interactions are natural. By equipping yourselves with knowledge about Snapchat’s unique attributes, such as Snaps’ fleeting nature, whimsical filters, and engaging Stories, you’re better prepared to initiate conversations with your children about its responsible usage.
Here’s a GREAT video overview of Snapchat:
UPDATE Sept 2023:
In a bid to enhance the safety of young users on Snapchat, the company has introduced some new features aimed at reducing interactions with unfamiliar individuals and removing inappropriate content .
- Friend request safeguards will mandate that individuals between the ages of 13 and 17 must share several mutual friends before appearing in each other’s online searches and friend recommendations. An in-app alert will appear when a teenager receives a friend request from an individual who lacks mutual contacts, and
- Snapchat is introducing a system for addressing accounts that promote age-inappropriate content. In this new reporting feature, users can report questionable content, and those who repeatedly violate guidelines will face account bans.
- Previously, some users could bypass Snapchat’s detection system by using special characters in their profiles. For instance, profiles with names like “noods” could lead to explicit content. Snapchat has now improved its Abusive Language Detection system to handle character variants, making it harder to trick the system.
- Snapchat is now actively detecting and removing sexually explicit content in Public Stories. They’ve also restricted the ability to include links in public profiles to official partners and advertisers only. This prevents users, including minors, from easily accessing external sites with inappropriate content.
- Snapchat has removed a quarter of its publishers who violated the rules, including those brought to their attention. They’ve also implemented a “strike system” to deter users from repeatedly posting content that violates their Terms of Service.
- Snapchat will now provide in-app resources related to sexual exploitation and abuse. These resources will appear when users search for specific terms, ensuring that users seeking help are directed to the right information rather than explicit content.
- Snapchat will release multiple Safety Snapshot episodes addressing sexual abuse and exploitation. They will also create a dedicated page with resources and support for understanding and addressing sexual risks and harms.
Some thoughts:
- Yes, this is a step forward for child protection for sure, especially when it comes to issues such as sextortion where predators will use Snapchat as their “primary” platform for first contact! However, it does not deal with the fact that those who want to prey upon our kids are often someone who the child either know, love, or trust.
- If a potential predator connected with the youth on a different platform first, like Instagram, and then invites the youth to join their Snapchat account (something known as “off platforming”) it will be the youth who connects first on Snapchat thus the person who will get the alert will be the predator who will just ignore the alert and add the youth.
- We see younger teens likely not heeding the alert given their want for followers – hope we are wrong on this thought
- It will be interesting to see what Snapchat defines as “age inappropriate content” There have been times where we have reported content that is clearly inappropriate for a youth, and Snapchat replied that it did not violate their terms of service.
- Lastly, these new features only apply to those between 13yrs – 17yrs. What if the youth has lied about their age on Snapchat to say that they are older given that there is no age verification process on Snapchat. Yes – teens are doing this so that they have full access to all the features that Snapchat offers.
Again, these new features are a definite good step forward to help reduce some of the risks on Snapchat, but once again don’t fall into a false sense of confidence given some of the above-noted concerns that we have voiced in this posting.
Update June 2024:
In the fast-evolving onlife world of social media, understanding how platforms use your information is crucial, especially when it comes to their increased use of artificial intelligence (AI). Snapchat, a popular app among teens and adults alike, has introduced an AI feature called My AI, an advanced chatbot designed to enhance a user’s experience. However, unknown to many users, it’s important to know that My AI’s responses are informed by the entire history of your Snapchat activity. Here’s a closer look at how it works and what you need to be aware of as parents and teens. https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/snapchat-and-my-ai-how-your-data-shapes-artificial-intelligence-app-responses/
Update July 1st 2024:
Snapchat has introduced a set of new features aimed at boosting user safety, with a special emphasis on shielding teens from online threats including sextortion. These updates include various safety enhancements to their platform, and while these changes signify considerable progress in keeping users safer, it is crucial for parents, caregivers, and youth to thoroughly understand these changes and recognize areas where safety concerns may still be present. https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/new-safety-features-on-snapchat-some-positive-thoughts-remaining-concerns-for-parents/
Update Oct 1st 2024:
Snapchat’s New “Footsteps” Feature – Cool For Adult, Not Something We Recommend For Youth & Teens
Snapchat is launching a new “Footsteps” feature for all iOS users, previously available only to Snapchat+ subscribers. This feature on Snapchat lets you track where you have been and plots it into SnapMaps. It provides real-time mapping of a user’s location and detailed location history for past travel.
At first, Footsteps will use your saved Snaps from Memories to show your past travels. As Snapchat stated, “The first time you use Footsteps, we’ll use your Memories that have a location attached to them to backfill your Footsteps, so you have something to start with. This is a one-time thing, so after that, we’ll no longer use any new Memories to add to your Footsteps.” – creepy! After that, snapchat will use real-time location data to track your movement. Footsteps only works if you have location sharing enabled, and will not work in Ghost Mode, which hides your location.
Footsteps will show a user stats like how many countries you’ve visited or what percentage of your city you’ve explored. These numbers are based on Snaps you’ve saved, so frequent users will get more accurate results.
Snapchat states that only you can see your “Footsteps” but given that this is a new feature we will see. It is also important to know that Snapchat will also be able to see your footsteps, so from a privacy standpoint how will they be using this data as a company.
Two reasons why we don’t like this feature from a safety standpoint:
1/ It will reveal your frequent travel spots within your city, making it easier for others to predict where you might be and potentially encounter you in person. If someone gains access to your phone or Snapchat account, they could view this information
2/ It can be used for targeted marketing – remember nothing is every free when it comes to these apps!
Although this feature maybe a cool option for adults who do a lot of travelling and want to share their travel journey with friends or journal their travel for themselves, this is not an option we would recommend that youth and teens opt into!
So how do we prevent Footsteps in Snapchat?
#1: Use Ghost Mode
We always recommend youth to operate Snapchat in “Ghost Mode” so that others can’t see where you are located. When in Ghost mode, Footsteps will not work.
To turn on Ghost Mode in Snapchat, follow these steps:
- Open Snapchat and swipe down on the camera screen to access the Snap Map.
- On the Snap Map screen, tap the gear icon in the top right corner to open the Settings.
- In the settings, you’ll see the option to toggle Ghost Mode on. When you enable Ghost Mode, your location will no longer be visible to friends on the Snap Map.
- You can choose how long to stay in Ghost Mode, we recommend the “Until turned off” (permanent Ghost Mode) option!
Once Ghost Mode is active, a ghost icon will appear next to your Bitmoji on the Snap Map, indicating that your location is hidden.
This is a great feature to maintain privacy and avoid sharing your real-time location with others.
#2 How to turn off Footsteps or clear Footsteps data:
- Open your Profile and tap the gear icon in upper right of your screen to access “Settings”.
- Scroll down to the “Account Actions” section and select “Map”.
- To turn off Footsteps, toggle off “Save new Footsteps as my location updates on the map”.
- To clear your Footsteps data, tap “Clear Footsteps History”.
While Snapchat’s new Footsteps feature may seem like a fun way to track your travel history and stats, it raises significant privacy and safety concerns—especially for younger users. By tracking and mapping real-time movements, this feature could unintentionally expose frequent travel patterns, making it easier for others to predict where you might be, and increasing the potential for both privacy breaches and targeted marketing.
Although Footsteps might appeal to adult travelers wanting to document their journeys, we recommend that teens and youth opt out of this feature for their safety. Enabling Ghost Mode and taking steps to disable or clear Footsteps data can provide better protection against these risks. It’s crucial to remain aware of the privacy implications behind seemingly cool features and prioritize safety, particularly for younger users navigating the digital world.
After all, when it comes to social media, nothing is ever truly free.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
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