- Snapchat has introduced a bunch of latest options to shield teenagers from sextortion.
- This consists of enchancment to its blocking perform, higher management over location settings, and security pop-ups that encourage teenagers to be cautious of individuals they meet on the app.
- Users can even be inspired to replace their apps on the earliest.
On Tuesday, Snapchat rolled out a bunch of latest security options to shield teenagers from sextortion and encourage actual friendship on the app. The firm mentioned that these new options embody “expanded in-app warnings, enhanced friending protections, simplified location-sharing, and blocking improvements”
Here’s an entire breakdown of the brand new security options added to Snapchat
Friend Requests
Friend requests shall be altogether prevented. Teens can neither ship nor obtain pal requests from somebody they don’t have mutual associates with or if that consumer has a historical past of accessing Snapchat in areas typically related to scamming exercise.
Protection From Scammers
- The app will warn youngsters towards customers who’ve been blocked or reported by different customers. This transfer will make sure that individuals with a nasty fame can not strategy younger customers.
- A warning popup will seem if a teen is contacted by somebody who just isn’t from their area/nation, which could point out that the particular person is a scammer.
Regular updates
Snapchat already sends reminders to all customers, together with teenagers, to be up-to-date on their safety settings and make certain of which associates they’re sharing their location with. This characteristic will now get an replace as Snapchat will ship these reminders extra typically.
Location sharing
It can also be introducing “simplified-location sharing” which can show you how to simply customise which of your pals can see your location. It mainly creates a single management heart for updating/eradicating their location and managing who can see it.
Enhanced Blocking
Blocking has all the time been an choice on Snapchat. But typically, scammers create new accounts to pester their victims after being blocked.
With these newest updates, as soon as a consumer is blocked, they’ll not ship pal requests from different accounts, so long as they’re created on the identical machine.
What Else Has Snapchat Been Doing These Past Months?
This isn’t the primary time that Snapchat has taken the initiative to safeguard younger customers on the app.
- In November final 12 months, it launched an replace that confirmed an expanded popup to teenagers once they obtain a message from somebody who just isn’t of their contacts or they don’t have a mutual pal with.
- Since the launch of this characteristic, hundreds of thousands of Snapchat customers have collectively completed 12 million blocks.
- Snapchat location sharing is off by default which suggests until you explicitly consent, nobody can examine your location. And even then, it’s simply your pals.
- Other than that, it makes use of signal-based detection to establish and eradicate unhealthy actors earlier than they’ll goal somebody.
- Also, teenagers will not be proven in Quick Add or Search options until they’ve a number of mutual associates with the consumer.
- In March final 12 months, Snapchat launched new parental management options, which allowed dad and mom to limit their kids from viewing ‘sensitive’ or ‘suggestive’ content material.
Last however not least, Snapchat has closely invested in analysis and collaborated with a number of different organizations to curb sextortion and reduce its influence on the victims.
Recently, Instagram additionally introduced comparable options to shield its younger customers from the rising situations of sextortion.
Features included blurring specific media recordsdata on DMs despatched to teenagers, higher reporting instruments together with a helpline quantity, and particular popups for teenagers to warn them towards sending non-public photographs by way of DM.
Social media giants like Meta had earlier confronted EU investigations for not doing sufficient to shield minors on the platform. These new measures from Meta and Snapchat are all the time a welcome transfer, particularly within the face of accelerating crime towards kids.
