Snapchat has introduced new parental controls to give parents more power over their kids’ interaction with the app’s AI chatbot, “MyAI.” Now, parents can monitor their teens’ privacy settings and quickly access the Family Center, which is specifically designed for parental control.
Parents can now find the Family Center directly on their profile or by heading to their settings.
The company faced criticism for launching My AI without age-restricting features, which allowed minors to chat about inappropriate topics like masking the scent of marijuana and setting the mood for sexual activities. With the new parental controls, parents can limit their teenager’s interaction with My AI.
Snapchat claims that the new restriction feature builds on My AI’s existing safeguards, such as protections against harmful or inappropriate responses, temporary usage restrictions for users who misuse the service, and age awareness.
Parents will now have access to their teens’ safety and privacy settings on Snapchat. This new feature will allow parents to check if their teens are sharing their Stories with friends or a select group of users. Additionally, parents can view their teens’ contact settings to see who can contact them on the app. If their teens are sharing their location with friends on the Snap Map, parents can also view this information.
Snapchat says that it worked closely with families and safety experts to create Family Center and continues to incorporate their feedback with updates. Family Center was introduced back in 2022 to protect young users on its platform.
These new parental controls come ahead of CEO Evan Spiegel’s Senate testimony on child safety. The European Commission has also sent RFIs to Snap, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube about their efforts to keep young users safe.
Parents can now find the Family Center directly on their profile or by heading to their settings.
The company faced criticism for launching My AI without age-restricting features, which allowed minors to chat about inappropriate topics like masking the scent of marijuana and setting the mood for sexual activities. With the new parental controls, parents can limit their teenager’s interaction with My AI.
Snapchat claims that the new restriction feature builds on My AI’s existing safeguards, such as protections against harmful or inappropriate responses, temporary usage restrictions for users who misuse the service, and age awareness.
Parents will now have access to their teens’ safety and privacy settings on Snapchat. This new feature will allow parents to check if their teens are sharing their Stories with friends or a select group of users. Additionally, parents can view their teens’ contact settings to see who can contact them on the app. If their teens are sharing their location with friends on the Snap Map, parents can also view this information.
Snapchat says that it worked closely with families and safety experts to create Family Center and continues to incorporate their feedback with updates. Family Center was introduced back in 2022 to protect young users on its platform.
These new parental controls come ahead of CEO Evan Spiegel’s Senate testimony on child safety. The European Commission has also sent RFIs to Snap, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube about their efforts to keep young users safe.