Snapchat Introduces Its First Parental Controls

As social media platforms face increasing scrutiny for exposing young users to potentially harmful content, Snapchat has introduced its first parental controls.

Parents will be able to see who their teenagers are friends with on the app and who they have communicated with in the last seven days, thanks to new tools from the parent company. Parents will be able to report accounts that their kids are friends with. The app won't allow parents to see their children's conversations.

To gain access to the controls, people have to createSnapchat accounts and be friends with their kids, who have to agree to the controls. Parents will be able to see who their children recently became friends with when the company introduces additional features later. Teenagers will be able to let their parents know if they report accounts.

The goal was to create tools that reflected the dynamics of real-world relationships and foster collaboration and trust between parents and teens.

Some young people say the apps have worsened eating disorders and contributed to other mental health problems due to toxic content on their platforms. Teens are able to buy drugs like Fentanyl with the help of the app.

The issues gained traction after a former Facebook employee released internal documents showing that some teenagers felt worse about themselves after using its products. Executives from several social media companies testified in Congress. A group of state attorneys general requested parental controls on their apps.

The effects of social media have been taken care of by other countries. In September, Britain instituted new child safety regulations, which led to platforms such asInstagram introducing its first parental controls. Parents can control how much time their children spend on the app.

A declining business has been a problem for the company. The company reported its slowest-ever quarterly growth last month due to a weak economy.

There are already restrictions on how teenagers can useSnapchat. Teenagers have to be friends in order to message each other on the app. Teenagers are not allowed to change their birth year in the app until they are 18.

In addition to the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, parental controls are also available. Beginning this fall, they will be available in other countries.