Children should be able to enjoy Snapchat more secure now. After an announcement made last October, the famous application has just officially launched its parental control system.
Launched under pressure from news and users, the feature should only concern children authorized to use the application.
New protective measure after the Facebook Papers
Indeed, Snapchat recalls that its “Family Center” is aimed at parents and adolescents aged 13 to 18, since its application is not intended to be used by younger children.
The launch follows increased pressure in recent years from users demanding better protection for minors on social media. Last year, the “Facebook Papers”, these documents published by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, pointed the finger at these networks, highlighting the toxic impact they could have on the youngest. In the United States, representatives of the largest companies in the sector, including Snapchat, have been called to testify before Congress.
Since then, each brand has set to work on its own. Instagram, for example, implemented its own solution last June. In France, the National Assembly has also taken the lead by voting for the mandatory pre-installation of a parental control function on connected screens.
Monitor your child’s associations, not their words
Snapchat’s Family Center will be able to tell parents who their children are exchanging messages with, without saying more about the content of their conversations.
Snap claims to want “ replicate the dynamics of real-world relationships and foster trust between parents and teens “. In this case, this system should look like parents monitoring their child’s frequentation, but without being interested in all of what he says.
The child and parent accounts must first be connected to Family Center. Parents will then have access to their child’s entire friends list, as well as a list of accounts the child has interacted with in the past seven days. If necessary, the accounts indicated can be directly reported.
The company is expected to add additional features in the coming weeks. A future update will bring new control capabilities and the ability for teens to let their parents know when they report an account or content.
To download
- The mini games
- Ephemeral messages
Snapchat is fun to use and fun. If this application wants to promise a certain anonymity, we must not forget that the company keeps user data, and that a simple screenshot cancels the expiry of the photo.
Snapchat is fun to use and fun. If this application wants to promise a certain anonymity, we must not forget that the company keeps user data, and that a simple screenshot cancels the expiry of the photo.
Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch
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