One of the most popular instant messaging apps among teenagers has introduced a new safety feature. After many years, they have introduced the Family Centre “Parental Control” so parents can keep their eyes on their children’s social media activity. The app requires users to be older than 13, and they cannot submit their age until 18.
Parents can see their childhood friends whom they have communicated with (for the past 7 days), and on top of that, parents can also report their child’s friends. Parents cannot view conversations to protect their privacy; the company confirms more parental control is at work and will debut later.
When parents report anyone, the child will be notified. Snapchat parental controls are rolling out and will be available in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Expansion to other regions might be quite imminent.
How to Enable Parental Controls in the Snapchat Family Centre
To enable this feature, parents and children should be mutual friends and send an invitation to the Family Centre.
- Open Snapchat and search for Maily. Next, there you will find the Family Centre; simply tap on it. Now, click on Continue, and then choose your Kids account.
- After that, click on “Send Invitation.” Once you send that, your kids need to join the Snapchat Family Centre.
- Teenagers can view their parents and how they see them through the Family Centre.
This feature was developed with families and online safety experts. It is designed to consider both parties’ privacy. It does not fully prevent abuse or exploitation, as it maintains the teen’s privacy. Snapchat does not block kids’ friends from sending anything, and who can add them as friends?
“Our goal was to create a set of tools designed to reflect the dynamics of real-world relationships and foster collaboration and trust between parents and teens,” Snap said. Added, “Family Centre is designed to reflect the way that parents engage with their teens in the real world, where parents usually know who their teens are friends with and when they are hanging out, but don’t eavesdrop on their private conversations.” This feature was first announced back in October and was introduced to ensure compliance with European Union laws.