- Since its start in 2011,
Snapchat has been a hugely popular app.
It's a messaging platform where you can send
videos, pictures, and short chats to your friends.
And it's changed a lot over the years.
With over 300 million daily users,
this is one of the most popular social platforms out there.
Although it has been eclipsed by the likes of TikTok,
Discord, and Instagram, it's still going strong.
If you have kids, tweens, or teens,
they might be regular users on Snapchat.
It's an easy way for kids to stay connected with each other.
But there is a dark side
that leaves a lot of parents concerned.
Today on Ask SafeWise, what is Snapchat?
And is it safe for kids and teens?
And what can you do about it?
(Katie meows)
Snapchat is a social media and messaging app
like many out there, but its big draw
is that pictures, videos and texts
that you send to your friends
disappear within a 24 hour period.
Anything you send to someone or they send to you
disappears after that span of time,
except they aren't immune
to screenshots and screen recordings.
Snapchat does tell you
when someone's captured an image or video,
but it can't stop them from uploading something
that you've sent to them.
Along with messaging, Snapchat has added features
to compete with the likes of TikTok
and Discord and Instagram.
The app's Discover feature lets you browse through
videos and clips that others have posted.
There's also a map that tracks your location
and shows you the hotspots where other people post stories.
According to the terms of service,
Snapchat is strictly for ages 13 and up.
So right off the bat, younger kids shouldn't be using it.
While Snapchat doesn't have any parental or age filters,
you can filter content by your interest
like sports teams or music or activities.
That Discovery tab and Stories feature
is where most of the branded
and more mature content will happen.
And since the Discovery and Stories features
collects content from a much wider audience,
your kids are more likely to stumble across
more mature and questionable stuff.
For this video, I downloaded Snapchat
for the first time in years.
From what I saw, the content wasn't
obscene or inappropriate.
It was more toxic than anything.
As far as who your kids talk to and what they talk about,
there's a bit of a false security
behind the whole "burn after reading" philosophy of Snapchat.
According to the app's privacy policy,
content can last anywhere between 24 hours to 31 days
depending on whether it's opened or not.
This stuff might disappear from Snapchat servers
but your account information sticks around,
meaning that your name, your address, your location,
your date of birth, and all of that identifying information
is still saved.
In 2014, Snapchat was hit by hackers
and it's not unbelievable that it could happen again.
And as far as the messages your kids send and receive,
Snapchat has a reporting and blocking feature
like most social networks
but it's up to the users to take action.
We found a collection of horror stories about Snapchat
on Teen Vogue published in 2019.
Stories about kids posting pictures
that they had sent to each other in confidence
were pretty terrifying.
Finally, Snapchat has a space for in-app purchases
where you can buy tokens and merch with your avatar on it.
If you're worried about your kids making purchases
without your knowledge,
they might wanna stay off of Snapchat.
As far as whether or not Snapchat is 100% safe for kids,
I'd say that's really up to you as a parent.
So here's a few things you can do.
Start by arming your kids with some worldwide wisdom.
All of these practices are good for them to know as teens
and will help them into adulthood.
Don't believe everything you see,
whether it's a stranger offering exposure or money
or a product that seems too good to be true.
Not everything online is the real deal.
Be careful what you share.
Obviously this applies to inappropriate content
but it also works for messages and texts.
Anything you share or send to someone
can be screenshot or recorded and used against you later.
Don't accept friend requests from people you don't know.
I still follow this one.
If I don't know why you're adding me or who you are,
we're not connecting.
Catfishing scams have become really popular
in the last few years on dating apps, Instagram, Snapchat
and all social platforms.
Use blocking and reporting if you need to.
It's not snitching if you see something
genuinely dangerous or inappropriate.
And learning how to not feed the trolls is a valuable skill
you'll carry into adulthood.
And finally, just because it's gone from Snapchat
doesn't mean it's gone.
Like I mentioned before,
things can be screenshot and recorded.
And while Snapchat tells you that this is the case,
you can't stop anyone from doing it.
If talking to your kids isn't enough,
there are features in iOS and Android that you can use
to block out apps, limit their screen time,
and monitor how long they spend in a certain app.
Here's what that looks like in iOS for iPhones and iPads.
Go into the settings and turn on Screen Time.
You can set downtime to limit how long they use their phone,
as well as limit content and apps from here.
We've got a few videos and shorts on this topic.
If you wanna check those out, I'll link them above.
So is Snapchat safe?
Well, kind of, it depends on how it's used.
While messages, photos, and videos
are gone on Snapchat servers,
that doesn't mean they're gone forever.
My best advice is to start talking to your kids
before they get a smartphone and start going online.
But it's also smart to monitor their behavior
when they're still young.
We have links in the description below
to our favorite parental control apps,
as well as guides to kids internet safety.
We come out with Ask SafeWise videos like this one
every week, so drop a question below
if you have something that you're curious about.
Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Thanks for watching.
And if you want more safety, head over to SafeWise.com
and you can find reviews
and our lineups of best home security systems,
best wireless cameras, and more.
Stay safe.
(gentle music)