In this guide:
What is Snapchat?
Snapchat is a communication service popular among teens and adults. Users can take photos, record videos, add text or drawings (called Snaps) and send them to Friends.
Snaps disappear after the recipients view it, or within 24 hours (for a Story or Chat). Snapchat automatically deletes the Snap from its servers unless the users save the content.
Typically, users cannot retrieve opened Snaps from the app’s servers. However, parents and teens should report concerns and issues to Snapchat. In these cases, the platform can preserve relevant data for law enforcement. However, the ability to preserve data also depends on the user’s activity and privacy settings.
Snapchat is available for both Android and iOS users and is free to download. However, there is a premium subscription to the app also available for purchase called Snapchat+.
What is the minimum age?
Like many other social networks and messaging apps, the minimum age to use Snapchat is 13. Additionally, users under 18 must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to use the app. Parents can set up Family Centre to help monitor their teens’ safety on the app.
Research shows that children under 13 use the service, despite the age requirement. However, Snapchat says it removes any accounts that belong to an underage user.
Children who use social media underage face additional online risks. Until they reach the age minimum, consider these alternatives suitable for under-13s.
How does it work?
It was initially a private photo-sharing app. However, the app features now include short videos, video chat, messaging, photo storage, generative AI and more.
Each Snap is temporary and only available for 24 hours unless you delete it or set a different limit. You can also add different filters, lenses, emojis and text to your Snap. Additionally, you can create a group chat to talk with friends or message individual friends.
As well as the above, Snapchat has a ‘Stories’ and ‘Spotlight’ area.
- The Stories feature – works as a newsfeed featuring content from news publishers and well-known people. Some use this feature to meet new people.
- The Spotlight feature – working like TikTok, Spotlight is a dedicated tab in Snapchat for promoting short viral videos. The Spotlight feature uses an algorithm to recommend the ‘most engaging’ posts to watch based a user’s interests.
To register, users must download the app to their device. Then they must enter their date of birth and create and username and password.
Snapchat also asks users for their mobile phone number. This is an optional step to help with account recovery. However, you can use email instead if you prefer.
Is Snapchat safe for teens?
If your teen uses Snapchat, it’s important to understand both the potential risks and benefits. It’s also important to consider your individual child’s maturity, online experience and critical thinking skills.
Snapchat risks
Similar to other social media platforms, common risks on Snapchat include:
- contact from potentially harmful strangers
- seeing inappropriate content
- endless scrolling (or ‘doom scrolling’)
- bullying, harassment or hate from both friends and strangers
- disappearing messages, which can make it hard to collect evidence in cases of bullying or similar behaviours.
Snapchat has its own Community Guidelines to help users stay safe. Inappropriate content, bullying and other such issues go against these guidelines. However, if your child does see something upsetting, they should report it in-app.
See other ways to stay safe on Snapchat with our step-by-step guide.
Snapchat benefits
Social media is a large part of teens’ lives, and apps like Snapchat can help support important aspects. Some benefits include:
- a variety of ways to connect with friends
- creative tools to have fun with friends such as different filters, AI and more
- messaging features to help some teens develop social skills or find connection with others. This is especially beneficial for children who may struggle to communicate offline
- a creative outlet to show off their personality and interests
Does Snapchat have privacy or safety features?
Snapchat has a range of privacy and safety features to help keep users under 18 safe. These include standard reporting and blocking features as well as the ability to turn off location. However, Snapchat has additional features that can also support its users.
See our step-by-step guide to learn about Snapchat’s safety features.
Supporting mental health
Here For You is a mental health feature that provides proactive in-app support to Snapchatters. It supports those experiencing mental health or emotional crises as well as those who want to learn more.
Here For You appears in search results on the app when users search for certain key words.
Learn more about Snapchat’s mental health support.
Teaching online safety
Safety Snapshot is a digital literacy programme by Snapchat. Its purpose is to educate users about data, privacy, security and online safety issues.
Learn more about Safety Snapshot.
Supporting safer interaction
Teens use Snapchat to stay in touch with friends via images and text. To encourage safe interactions with people they know, Snapchat uses the following features.
- In-app warnings. This feature sends a pop-up warning to teens if someone tries to add them as a friend when they don’t share mutual contacts.
- Limits on friend suggestions. Users aged 13-17 must have multiple contacts in common with someone to appear as suggested friends or see suggestions.
- Chat restrictions. Users can only contact others directly after both have added each other as friends.
Limits on inappropriate content
Snapchat’s Community Guidelines prohibit illegal and harmful content. Additionally, they have a zero-tolerance policy for users committing these harms.
Snapchat uses a Strike System to immediately remove inappropriate content that they detect or receive reports on. Repeat offenders will receive an account ban.
Take a look at our Snapchat privacy parental controls for info on how to enable certain settings.
What is Family Centre on Snapchat?
Snapchat’s Family Centre is an in-app suite of parental controls. It helps parents and carers engage with their teens’ digital life. Monitoring who your teen talks to or setting content controls help prompt important conversations about online safety.
Family Centre gives parents insight into who their teen spends time with, while still respecting their privacy. On Family Centre, parents can report any concerns directly to the Trust and Safety team.
To set up Family Centre, parents must have their own device with Snapchat installed as well as their own Snapchat account. See how to set up Family Centre here.
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How Snapchat uses AI
Snapchat offers users the option to engage with an artificial intelligence tool called My AI. It appears in users’ contact lists automatically. Unlike other contacts, users cannot delete My AI unless you have Snapchat+, Snapchat’s premium subscription option.
My AI works like any other chatbot, allowing users to have conversations with AI. Like ChatGPT, it can also provide more detailed answers like the solution to a Maths problem. With any AI tool, it’s important that children understand appropriate and inappropriate ways to use it.
What data does My AI collect?
Like ChatGPT, My AI collects data from conversations users have with it. With location enabled, My AI can use that to help answer questions users ask it. If you share content like written messages or Snaps, My AI keeps that data as well. This helps it ‘learn’ facts about users to better answer questions.
According to the Snapchat’s Help Centre, users should avoid sharing confidential or sensitive information with My AI. Additionally, it is against the rules to ask My AI to generate harmful content. This includes content which promotes violence, self-harm, human trafficking or any content that goes against the Community Guidelines.
How do I delete data from My AI?
If your teen regularly uses My AI, get into the habit of routinely deleting their data. You can do this by going to their account Privacy Controls in their Settings, selecting ‘Clear Data’ and then choosing ‘Clear My AI Data.’
Additionally, make sure you talk to your teen about what is okay to share with artificial intelligence.
What are AI Snaps?
AI Snaps (formerly Dreams) is a tool available through Snapchat’s Memories. It uses images that you supply to create AI-generated ones.
When uploading your image, you must agree to let others, including Snap, use your likeness to create new AI Snaps. You can customise your settings for this and delete your images at any time. See how here.