Snapchat

Sitting down with your child and exploring their favourite app or game is a great way for you to learn more about what they like to do online.

You can ask them why they like to use an app or play certain games, as well as who they’re talking to and what sorts of things they’re sharing.

You can also read our Net Aware reviews for tips on how to keep kids safe on popular apps, sites and games.

It’s important to check the privacy settings on your child’s Snapchat account to make sure what they’re posting is kept private or shared only with friends.  

We recommend only sharing things with friends and always keeping your location private.  

You can visit Snapchat Support for specific information on privacy settings.  

Your child might receive upsetting or negative things from other users on Snapchat. If this happens, they might want to report or block them. 

Snapchat Support has specific guidance on how to remove and block friends.  

And remember to let your child know that they can always talk to you about worrying things they see online.  

‘Stories’ is Snapchat’s most popular feature and encourages you to share images and videos know as ‘Snaps’ with people who follow you. These ‘Snaps’ are uploaded in a sequence and stay on your account for 24 hours.

You should help your child think about what they’re sharing on the app and who sees it. Compare it to what they would be happy to share offline. Use examples that are easy for them to understand: “You shouldn’t give your number to somebody you don't know on the street. Is somebody online you don't know any different?”

Listen to their answers. And be positive and encouraging.

Remind them that they shouldn’t share private things, such as:
• personal information, like names, other social media accounts or phone numbers
• other people's personal information
• links to join private group chats
• photos of themselves
• photos of their body, such as sexual photos or videos

Remind them that they should only be sharing ‘Snaps’ with people they know and that if anyone private messages them or suggests talking on another messaging platform they should come and tell you.

Explain that you understand the internet is a great place to play, create, learn and connect. But remind them they can talk to you if anything upsets or worries them.

Reassure them that you won’t overreact – you’re just looking out for them.

It’s important to remind your child that they can talk you, another adult they trust, like a teacher, or Childline about anything they see online.

Snapchat has a Spotlight tab where you can explore popular videos posted by other users. The app uses algorithms to determine which videos appear on your feed but you can also search for particular topics. Algorithms are often based on popularity of views and don’t take into account the content of the video or image.

You can’t comment on videos on this page and users can choose to post their video anonymously so people don’t know which account it came from.

Snapchat say that they use moderation tools to ensure inappropriate videos do not get featured. However, there’s no guarantee that this will stop your child from seeing upsetting content.

Snapchat are also encouraging users to post on Spotlight by offering them incentive pay. This might encourage more young people to post their videos publicly.

Make sure to talk to your child about what they’re sharing on Snapchat. Agree rules together for the different features they can use and what to do if they see something which worries or upsets them.