It’s one of the most popular social media apps amongst teenagers and now, Snapchat has launched a brand-new feature to ensure the safety of its young users.
Snapchat gained popularity for many reasons but mainly for allowing users the ability to share photos, videos and messages with no repercussions as they ‘disappear’ after they’ve been watched.
Creating a safe environment for its predominantly young consumers has always been a focus for the team at Snapchat which is set to be reinforced with the introduction of the Snapchat Family Centre.
This new, in-app feature will help parents get more insight into who their teens are friends with on Snapchat, and who they have been communicating with, without revealing any of the substance of those conversations.
Family Centre is designed to reflect the way that parents engage with their teens in the real world, where parents usually know who their teens are friends with and when they are hanging out – but don’t eavesdrop on their private conversations. In the coming weeks, a new feature will be added to Snapchat that will allow parents to easily view new friends their teens have added.
Prof. Amanda Third, Co-Director of Young and Resilient Research Centre says “Tools that allow parents visibility of their teen’s online interactions, while still maintaining teen privacy, can be seen as a positive step forward in helping young people stay safe online.
“Talking to teens about cyber safety can be challenging for parents and carers, and features that can promote conversations within families on this important topic, are welcome. It’s encouraging to see platforms like Snapchat further prioritising teen safety and privacy.”
On Family Centre, parents can also easily and confidentially report any accounts that may be concerning directly to our Trust and Safety teams, which work around the clock to help keep Snapchatters safe. Parents and teens will also be equipped with new resources to help them have constructive and open conversations about online safety.
As everyone’s approach to parenting and privacy is different, Snapchat worked closely with real-life families to get a true understanding of the needs of both parents and teens. They also worked very closely with experts in online safety and wellbeing to incorporate their feedback and insights with the intention of creating a set of tools designed to reflect the dynamics of real-world relationships and foster collaboration and trust between parents and teens.
Features of the Family Centre will be rolled out over the coming months including:
- New content controls for parents
- Ability for teens to notify their parents when they report an account or a piece of content
- Option to choose what content is deemed appropriate
Snapchat Family Centre will roll out across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US today (August 9th) with additional countries added throughout Spring.
To learn more about Family Centre and about how Snapchat is working to keep teens safe on the app, visit the website.
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