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. (1) 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.
The Positive Changes
Enhanced In-App Warnings:
Snapchat has expanded its in-app warnings to alert teens when they receive messages from people who are not mutual friends or contacts. These warnings will now include alerts for messages from users who have been reported or blocked by others or those messaging from outside the user’s general region. This update aims to prevent scammers from contacting teens by displaying options to report or block the sender or continue the conversation.
Stronger Friend Request Protections:
To enhance teen safety, Snapchat will now restrict their visibility in “Quick Add” and “Search” unless they have several mutual friends with the person searching. Friend requests from users without shared connections and those who frequently use Snapchat in regions notorious for scamming will be blocked. This policy applies to both incoming and outgoing friend requests, making it more challenging for scammers to target teens. Snapchat mentions that these changes are part of their continuous efforts to combat the increasing occurrence of sophisticated sextortion scams.
Simplified Location-Sharing Options:
Snapchat is making its location-sharing options more straightforward and introducing new reminders for account security and privacy settings. Users will now get regular prompts to check their account security and privacy settings, including who can view their location. The updated location-sharing features let users see exactly which friends can see their location, update their settings, and remove their location from the map. Location sharing on Snap Map continues to be off by default, requiring users to opt in, and there is no option to share locations with anyone other than friends.
Improved Blocking Features:
Snapchat is enhancing its blocking tools to help prevent bullying and harassment. When a user is blocked, any friend requests sent from accounts created on the same device will also be blocked.
Some Remaining Concerns and Questions
While these updates are a positive safety step, we have a few remaining questions and concerns:
- Impact on Younger Teens
Although these changes may be effective for older teens, they might have little effect on younger teens and those under the age of 13 who lack critical thinking and are more impulse-driven. Despite Snapchat’s age requirement of 13 years, there is no effective age verification on Snapchat, and it’s a reality that pre-teens will often lie about their age to join the platform.
- Circumventing Location Restrictions with VPNs:
Online predators often use virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their true location, appearing to be from regions not flagged as scamming areas. This could allow them to potentially bypass Snapchat’s new location-based protections. Also, what if the threat is someone who the child knows, loves, or trusts and who lives in the same region as the targeted child especially when it comes to online digital peer aggression (bullying).
- Domino Effect of Friend Acceptance:
Predators often target youth to accept them as a friends on another platform first, and then ask the youth to add them on their Snapchat. This can lead to a domino effect where other youth also accept them, believing the individual to be trustworthy. This younger group of users often aims to increase their friend count, which can expose them to risks especially if they have lied about their age.
While we believe these updated changes are a step in the right direction to help reduce risk, parents and caregivers must understand that Snapchat and other social media platforms popular with youth will still be targeted and exploited by predators for criminal activities, including sextortion.
Snapchat is just a tool, and like any tool, it can be used for good or bad. Keeping our children safe online requires more than just software updates – it demands active and informed parenting as the keystone. (2)(3) Encourage open conversations with your children about their online activities, monitor their social media usage appropriately, and educate them about the risks of interacting with others online, whether they know them or not.
NOTE – In 2022, Snap introduced the “Family Center” to help parents and caregivers monitor their teens’ activity on the platform. (4) This initiative was launched in response to the regulatory pressure on social networks to protect minors. However, in comments made to the US Senate by Snapchat in March 2024, only about 200,000 parents are utilizing its parental supervision controls.
If your child does fall victim to a sextortion on Snapchat or any other social media platform, don’t forget to implement our “10-Step Emergency Protocol To Sextortion” immediately (5)
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
References:
1/ https://values.snap.com/news/new-features-to-help-protect-our-community
3/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/a-transformational-approach-to-parenting-in-todays-onlife-world/
4/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/a-parents-quick-guide-to-snapchat/
