Snapchat is rolling out new parental controls that give parents the ability to limit their teens’ interaction with the app’s AI chatbot, My AI. This update also includes easier access to Family Center, which is the platform’s dedicated space for parental controls.
Key Takeaway
Snapchat has introduced new parental controls that enable parents to restrict their teens from interacting with the app’s AI chatbot, My AI. These controls also provide enhanced visibility into their teens’ safety and privacy settings, along with improved accessibility to Family Center, Snapchat’s dedicated space for parental controls.
Restricting My AI Chatbot
Parents now have the option to prevent My AI, Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot, from engaging in conversations with their teenagers. This feature comes in response to previous criticism regarding the chatbot’s interactions with minors on topics like concealing the smell of marijuana and setting the mood for intimate activities.
Enhanced Safeguards and Visibility
Snapchat asserts that the new restriction feature builds upon existing safeguards for My AI, including protections against inappropriate or harmful responses, temporary usage restrictions for users who misuse the service, and age-awareness.
Additionally, parents can now view their teens’ safety and privacy settings, such as their ability to share Stories and contact settings. They can also monitor whether their teens are sharing their location with friends on the Snap Map.
Improved Accessibility to Family Center
For parents who may be unfamiliar with the app’s parental controls, Snapchat has made Family Center more accessible. It can now be found directly from the user’s profile or within the app’s settings.
These updates come as Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel is set to testify before the Senate on child safety, alongside executives from other major platforms. The expansion of parental controls also follows formal requests for information from the European Commission regarding measures taken by social networks to protect young users.
Furthermore, Snapchat’s efforts align with a broader industry focus on child safety, with Meta recently announcing new limitations to restrict the type of content that teen Instagram and Facebook accounts can access.
