Is Snapchat safe for teenagers? As a parent of teenagers, you may be worried about your child’s privacy and security when using Snapchat. The following is written by MiniTool Software Co., Ltd. and will answer your questions and help you resolve your concerns.

The popularity of Snapchat has also raised concerns about its security. Is Snapchat safe? Snapchat has approximately 300 million daily active users, which is extremely popular among users under the age of 16 (such as those aged 15, 14 or 13). This makes many parents worry about their children's privacy.

Some controversies related to teenage privacy

There are some controversies involving the privacy of Snapchat users and the mental health of teenagers.

1. "Snap Map" Privacy Issues

Snapchat has a feature released in June 2017 that broadcasts the user's location on the map. This feature raises concerns about privacy and security. The feature asks the user if he wants his location to be displayed on the map with an opt-in message, but it reportedly does not explain the consequences of doing so, including that the app updates the user's location on the map every time the app opens, not just when actively capturing snapshots, which may help trackers.

The map can be enlarged to display detailed geographic information such as streets and addresses, which has led many well-known media publications to issue safety warnings to children, adolescents, and even adults who do not know the actual behavior of this feature.

In response to this concern, Snapchat said users can use the program's "ghost mode" or select friends they wish to share with. Additionally, despite the increase in ads on Snapchat, it does not intend to serve ads on Snap Map Stories.

2. Date access abuse to monitor users

In May 2019, it was reported that several Snapchat employees used an internal tool called SnapLion, which was originally designed to collect data based on the requirements of law enforcement, to monitor users.

3. Revenge porn

During the lockdown imposed in 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19 in France, Snapchat became the center of spreading revenge on pornography in underage girls. In 2020, a U.S. woman sued Snapchat for its function that enabled her alleged rapist and her friends to hide evidence of rape.

In particular, the lawsuit alleges that rapists were able to send photos and videos of involuntary, porn victims due to the way Snapchat is designed, constructed, marked and maintained, and law enforcement cannot verify that they do so.

Given the potential privacy risks of using Snapchat, many parents are concerned about their children’s privacy security. Fortunately, Snapchat only allows users at least 13 years of age to acquire and use its features.

Is Snapchat safe for children?

Allows users aged 13 or older to create Snapchat accounts. However, for users aged 13 to 18, they need permission from their parents to use Snapchat. For users under the age of 13, they can use SnapKidz to take photos, draw, and create titles. However, SnapKidz does not allow its users to send or receive photos to others.

Although Snapchat's Terms of Service stipulates that the age limit is 13 years old and that the user needs to provide a date of birth to create a Snapchat account, there is no age verification. That is, users under the age of 13 (e.g., 12, 11, 10, or even 9) can still access Snapchat by providing a false date of birth. This is not good.

How safe is Snapchat?

This is a topic on Quora. For the answer, some say Snapchat is safe, while others claim Snapchat is unsafe. Let's look at their arguments.

Causes of Snapchat's insecurity

A user on Quora said many apps save snapshots sent to you by others without notifying others. They not only save screenshots, but also the entire video. Regarding the report, once you can't always prove who sent the content, even if the person appears in the photo.

However, for receiving content, there are only people on your list that you allow. Additionally, if the other party keeps sending you something you don't want to see, you can block the other party.

Another user claims nothing is secure when connected to the internet, and Snapchat is no exception.

Some people doubt Snapchat's special features (messages and images uploaded to Snapchat are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to their recipients). They think Snapchat actually stores these messages and photos in a large archive file that Snapchat can use in the future. Therefore, they warn users not to send inappropriate images on Snapchat, such as nude, drag, sex, etc.

Reasons for Snapchat security

A user on Quora believes Snapchat is private and secure. He mentioned that if you are critical of the security issues of these legitimate applications, you shouldn't use anything, or even the internet, because nothing on the internet is completely safe. Even if the program is safe, it can be attacked by online viruses or malware and makes it a medium for viruses to attack other applications.

Therefore, another user mentioned that Snapchat and other forms of social media are absolutely safe as long as some precautions are taken. For adolescents and children, they should only interact with people they know under the supervision of their parents. For adults, they can adjust their privacy settings and avoid features like Snap Maps.

Additionally, one user mentioned using a third-party locker app to help you use Snapchat safely.

How to use Snapchat safely?

Here are some actions you can take to help you use Snapchat more safely.

• Adjust your privacy settings to enable two-factor authentication and use the "View only" feature.
• Control who can see your story.
• Only friends are allowed to contact you.
• Hide yourself from quick additions.
• Keep Snapchat updated.
• Don't upload images or send messages that you really want to keep confidential.
• Do not share your username or Snapcode publicly.
• Do not add random users.
• Use Snapchat with firewalls, antivirus software, and other tools such as application lockers.

Summarize

Is Snapchat a secure application? Overall, yes. However, if you use it without caution and add any judgement friends, you may put yourself in a dangerous environment and expose your privacy. All in all, whether the application is safe is mainly up to you.

Please read also:

• Can you use filters in Snapchat video calls? Yes or no?
• [3 Ways] How to view/read/view old Snapchat messages?
• 7 ways: Fix "Abnormal issues, please try Snapchat"

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