Snapchat has announced its new safety features that aim to protect teens from potential online risks.
The company introduced a new in-app warning feature.
The in-app warning feature will send a pop-up warning to a teen if they add a person with whom they don't share any mutual friends.
Instant messaging application Snapchat has announced its new safety features that aim to protect teens from potential online risks. The new updates will begin to roll out in the coming weeks. The feature includes in-app warnings and stronger friending protections.
The company said in a blogpost on September 7, 2023, that the new features are designed to protect teens from being contacted by people they may not know in real life and to provide a more age-appropriate viewing experience on the platform.
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The company introduced a new in-app warnings feature that will send a pop-up warning to a teen if they add a person with whom they don’t already share mutual friends or the person isn’t in their contacts. This message will urge the teen to carefully consider if they want to be in contact with this person and not to connect with them if it isn’t someone they trust.
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The company already requires a 13-to-17-year-old to have several mutual friends in common with another user before they can show up in Search results or as a friend suggestion. Now, Snapchat is raising this bar to require a greater number of friends in common based on the number of friends a Snapchatter has. With this implementation, the platform aims to reduce the ability for teens to connect with people they may not already be friends with.
Snapchat further mentioned that it is releasing new in-app content that helps explain risks (like catfishing, financial sextortion, taking and sharing explicit images, and more) and shares important resources for Snapchatters, such as hotlines to contact for help. This content will be featured on the Stories platform and surfaced to Snapchatters by relevant Search terms or keywords.
Additionally, the company is releasing new resources for families, including an updated parents guide at parents.snapchat.com that covers the company’s protections for teens, its tools for parents, and a new YouTube explainer series.
“Our commitment to making our platform safer is always on, and we will continue to build on these improvements in the coming months with additional protections for teen Snapchatters and support for parents,” Snapchat said.
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Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
