Snapchat

How Snapchat works

Snapchat is a social media app that lets users send photos, videos and messages called ‘snaps’ that are deleted once they have been viewed by the recipient.

Snapchat is largely based around sharing photos, but users can also:

send videos and text messages
use filters and effects on photos and videos
put up stories that last for 24 hours, and share with some or all of their friends
make calls and video calls to other users

The disappearing messages feature has made Snapchat popular with young people, as conversations feel more private on the app.

Minimum age requirements

Users must be at least 13 years old to create a Snapchat account. Users aged between 13 and 17 are given teen accounts. These accounts have safety and privacy settings enabled by default. They also become less restrictive as the user gets older, with 16 and 17 year olds being allowed to post public stories, a feature disabled for users younger than 16 years of age.

Snapchat does not have any age verification and relies solely on the user being honest about their birthdate when creating their account. It is important that your child enters their real birthdate, otherwise they will miss out on the safety benefits of a teen account.

Features

Best Friends list

Shows which friends a user contacts most on Snapchat.

Bitmoji

A personalised avatar that is used as a profile picture and can be sent as an emoji in chats.

Chat

Users can send text messages in the chat, without having to take a snap.

Family Centre

An in-app suite of parental controls, allowing you to monitor activity and set safety controls on your child’s Snapchat.

Filter

Digital effects that are added to photos and videos to change how they look.

Ghost Mode

Allows users to hide their location from others, removing all live location features from the app.

Lenses

Lenses use augmented reality to add props and backgrounds to snaps.

Memories

Users can save snaps, which they can then visit later in their memories archive.

My AI

An AI chatbot in the app that users can interact with and ask questions.

My eyes only

A section where you can save snaps that you want to keep private. A password is required to access them.

Snap

A photo or video message sent on the app.

Snap Maps

Users can share their location in real time, with their location being shown on a map. This feature is disabled by default. Once enabled, users can choose who they share their location with.

Snap Token

A virtual currency, which can be purchased using real money. It can be used to purchase filters, accessories for your Bitmoji, or be gifted to creators.

Snapchat +

A paid subscription service offered by Snapchat. Users get access to exclusive app themes, special filters and early access to new features.

Snapstreak

A Snapstreak shows how many consecutive days 2 users have sent messages to each other. A streak begins after 3 days of sending at least one message per day.

Spotlight

A feed on the app that highlights popular videos and photos from public profiles.

Story

Snaps that are shared publicly with friends, that disappear after 24 hours.

What Snapchat offers

Staying connected

Snapchat is a way for young people stay in touch with their friends.

Creativity

Users can express themselves on Snapchat and create fun and creative snaps using the range of design features on the app including:

drawing and customisation tools
filters
stickers

Safety features

Snapchat’s Family Centre allows you to monitor your child’s activity and set safety controls on their Snapchat. Additionally, all accounts belonging to users aged under 18 years old will automatically have safety controls applied. While some young people might not enjoy having their parents set controls on their Snapchat, this will keep them safe and ultimately make their experience on Snapchat more enjoyable.

Managing risks

Contact with other users

Private chats are not moderated on Snapchat, meaning users could send abusive messages or inappropriate content in one-on-one chats and group chats.

If your child enters an age above 17 years old while setting up their account, they can receive messages from people they don’t have saved as a contact on Snapchat, further exposing them to inappropriate messages.

There are things you can do to tackle inappropriate contact from strangers.

Review privacy settings

Inside the privacy settings, you can set it so only Snapchat friends can send messages to the account, reducing the risk of strangers sharing inappropriate messages. Snapchat friends could still send this content though.

Use Family Centre

If you have linked your Snapchat to your child’s using Family Centre, you can see who your child is friends with and who they have messaged in the last 7 days. You will be unable to see the content of the messages, but if your child tells you they have been receiving messages that make them uncomfortable, you will be able to see who sent it and discuss reporting them together.

Collect evidence

Snapchat’s disappearing messages feature can make it hard to collect evidence of bullying, grooming or inappropriate content. If your child receives anything that they may wish to report in future, encourage them to screenshot it before it disappears.

Report and block

Explore the report and block functions on Snapchat with your child, so that they can report and block anyone who sends them inappropriate content. This will prevent further contact and make it less likely they send these messages to others in future.

Have conversations

Regularly talking about your child’s online life, like you would their offline life, will keep you informed and make it more likely that your child tells you about any inappropriate content they receive. Explain to them that they should never add anyone they don’t know in real life as a friend.

Contact the authorities

If you suspect someone is messaging your child in hopes of grooming them or causing them harm, inform the authorities. Collect evidence before you do this.

Oversharing

Snapchat’s disappearing messages feature can encourage young people to overshare more than they would on other social media platforms . Knowing the message will be deleted immediately after it is viewed can encourage them to send riskier messages that they would usually post. However, these messages can be screenshotted and kept forever, nullifying the disappearing messages feature.

Consider the following steps to prevent oversharing.

Adjust privacy settings

Turning on Ghost Mode in the privacy settings will prevent others from viewing your child’s live location. In these settings you can also edit who can view your child’s story and who can contact them, ensuring only friends see their content.

Talk about sharing safely

Explain to your child that they should not share personal information or images with anyone that they do not know and trust in real life. Emphasise the fact that although Snapchat messages disappear, people can still screenshot the messages and share them with others. Discussing their digital life regularly will help you learn if they have overshared.

Excessive use

It can be difficult for young people to manage their use of Snapchat. The app has multiple features designed to keep users regularly opening the app, such as Snapstreaks. Snapstreaks reward users for sending daily messages and disappear if a user misses a single day.

There are several things you can do to decrease the risk of excessive usage.

Set time limits

In the device settings of Android phones and iPhones, you can set time limits on how long your child uses an app each day. Placing time restrictions on Snapchat will prevent your child from spending excessive amounts of time on the platform.

Turn off notifications

Switching off Snapchat notifications will mean your child is not alerted to every new message and story, reducing the chance of them being distracted from other activities by the app.

Set boundaries

Agreeing with your child that they should not use Snapchat at certain times of the day will reduce the amount of time they spend on the app and create social media-free zones.

Have conversations about social pressure

Young people might feel like they need to respond to their friends immediately, and that they must maintain Snapstreaks by using the app every day. Encourage your child to question the importance of Snapstreaks and explain to them that true friends will understand if they do not reply to messages instantly.

Settings to protect your child

By adjusting the privacy settings on their Snapchat account and setting up Snapchat Family Centre, you can make your child’s experience on the app a safer one.

Set up Family Centre

Setting up Family Centre gives you the ability to monitor your child’s activity on the app and place controls such as limiting content and disabling AI.

To do this:

download Snapchat and create an account or login to your account
select Add Friends and search for your child’s username to add them
select the gear icon in the top right corner to access Settings
under Privacy Control, select Family Centre, select your child’s name and select Send invitation
ask your child to add you as a friend on their device and accept the invitation.
You can now access Family Centre on your device and begin managing your child’s Snapchat experience.

Customise who can contact your child and view their stories

You can change your child’s privacy settings so that only friends can message and view their stories on Snapchat. This reduces the risk of strangers trying to contact them through the app.

Manage who can message

On your child’s device, go to their profile and select the gear icon in the top right corner to open Settings.
Scroll to Privacy Control and select Contact Me.
Select Friends.

Manage who can view stories

Access Settings on your child’s device.
Under Privacy Control, select View My Story.
Select Friends Only.

You can also block individual contacts by selecting Custom.

Review blocking and reporting tools

If your child receives unwanted contact, they can block and report the user to prevent further contact. Your child can report and block accounts themselves, or you can confidentially report through the Family Centre.

Report or block through child’s account

Go to the profile of the user you wish to block.
Select the 3 horizontal dots in the top right corner and select Manage Friendship.
Select Report to report the user for violating community guidelines or Block to prevent further contact from this user.

Report through Family Centre

On your device, go to Settings then select Family Centre.
Find the profile you wish to report by looking through recent conversations or by selecting View Friends.
Select the flag icon next to the profile you wish to report to begin reporting them.

Turn off location

You can hide your child’s location from the Snap Map by activating Ghost Mode. This protects your child’s privacy and safety, while still allowing them to use the rest of the Snapchat offer.