Snapchat is bringing a first batch of parental controls to users in India — a few months after its debut in the US and some other markets — to help parents and guardians understand key overseas market insights about how their teens are using the social networking app.
The in-app tool, called Family Center, allows parents and guardians to see who their teens are friends with on the social app and who they’ve messaged in the past seven days. (They can’t see the exact content of those posts.) It also provides the ability to report security issues and potential abuse to Snap’s Trust and Safety team for review.
Parents and guardians must install the Snapchat app on their devices and link their accounts to those of their teens using an opt-in invite process to use the new feature. Once the accounts are linked, the tool can be accessed with all of its controls, either through the Snapchat app’s profile settings or by searching for “family” or “family center” from the app’s search function.
Snapchat’s Family Center
The parental controls are especially available to parents and guardians whose teens are between the ages of 13 and 18, as Snapchat is not intended to be used by younger people.
Snap first announced the arrival of parental controls in October last year and introduced them in the US in August. That was followed by the launch of similar features launched by competing social networking platforms, including Meta’s Instagram and TikTok. However, Snap’s offering is not that extensive. It doesn’t allow parents and guardians to restrict their teens to using the app after a certain time frame, for example, a feature that Instagram and TikTok both offer.
The company, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is also not addressing concerns about inappropriate behavior, such as sexting, on its platform with the new tool. The app’s ephemeral messages open the app to abuse and abuse.
Snapchat has introduced some additional measures over the years, such as requiring teens to have mutual friends before they can start chatting. the app also does not allow teens to have public profiles.
Snap said it is partnering with local nonprofits FXB India Suraksha and CyberPeace Foundation to launch its Family Center feature in India. It will also work closely with both organizations to add new parental controls, the company said.
Snapchat shares insights with parents and guardians through the Family Center
In the coming months, Snap said it plans to bring new features to Family Center, including new content controls for parents. Teens can also notify their parents when they report an account or piece of content on the platform.
“Snapchat is a central communication tool for so many young Indians, and as our community continues to grow, we know that parents and caregivers want additional ways to keep their teens safe. Our new in-app Family Center tool will help parents better understand who their teens are friends with on Snapchat to foster positive conversations about online safety while respecting teens’ privacy and autonomy,” said Uthara Ganesh, Public Policy Head, India, Snap, in a prepared statement.
Snap also launches bullying prevention and mental health campaigns worldwide to celebrate World Mental Health Day and Bullying Prevention Month. The company in India said it is partnering with nonprofit Sangath for these campaigns.
India is a key market for Snap, where it has amassed more than 109 million monthly active users, according to market research firm Sensor Tower. In August, Snap introduced its premium offering, Snapchat+, to the South Asian market.