Kids love Snapchat — the gamified features, playful filters, and augmented reality effects make communicating and sharing moments with friends more fun. But is Snapchat, with its disappearing messages and limited-time Stories, safe for kids? Find out more about Snapchat’s security features and discover how good digital hygiene and strong online security software can keep your kids safer online.
Snapchat is a social media app that allows users to exchange text messages, pictures, and videos. The app’s main draw is that most messages quickly disappear after they’ve been viewed. It’s free to download, though it has a paid subscription version called Snapchat+.
Snapchat does its best to ensure the app is safe for kids, and you can make it even safer by modifying its privacy settings, turning on parental controls, and having an open conversation with your child about digital safety.
But despite the app’s efforts, some of its popular features may be abused, putting young users at risk. Concerns have been raised that many of Snapchat's features, like disappearing messages, location sharing, and the ease of adding strangers as friends may increase kids’ exposure to cyberbullying, online predators, and disturbing content.
While no social media platform is risk-free, Snapchat may be safer than apps like Monkey, where chatting with strangers is the whole point.
Snapchat's minimum age requirement is 13, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which restricts certain apps and websites from collecting data on children who are any younger.
Snapchat requires users to provide their birth date when they sign up, but it doesn’t verify this information. Children under 13 can easily sign up for Snapchat using a fake birthdate.
The dangers young Snapchat users may face include exposure to inappropriate content, risks of cyberbullying, social engineering, poor mental health, poor body image, and potential privacy concerns. Moreover, like all social media, Snapchat can be addictive and could greatly increase your teen’s screentime if you’re not careful.
Here’s a closer look at the dangers Snapchat can pose:
Snapchat may be popular with kids, but it’s not a kid-only app; adult or suggestive content can potentially appear in their Snapchat feed. Teens can also view inappropriate content by following specific accounts or through the Snap Map feature, which shows Snapchat Stories posted by users around the world.
While Snapchat leverages a combination of AI and human moderation to ensure public content remains safe, studies focusing on self-harm content show that the platform has sometimes failed to take down dangerous posts. However, you can limit your teen’s exposure to sensitive Snapchat content in their feeds using parental controls.
Parents should also be aware that Snapchat’s disappearing messages could allow teens to share inappropriate content among themselves. Even with parental controls enabled, you cannot see what your teen shares in private snaps and messages.
Strangers may be able to connect with kids on Snapchat using Quick Add, a feature that suggests friends who are in your wider social network or who subscribe to similar content. While users can choose not to show up in Quick Add, concerns that this feature makes it too easy for predators to contact minors have led to lawsuits. And allegations have included that strangers can befriend teens on Snapchat and subject them to social engineering, sextortion, or worse.
Cyberbullying can happen on any platform, especially with features like group chats and stories, which can be used to bully or exclude others. There are worries that Snapchat's disappearing messages may be conducive to cyberbullying, as harmful content vanishes almost immediately after being viewed. Although Snapchat encourages users to report cyberbullying, teens may hesitate to alert authorities for fear of facing more teasing.
Snapchat’s disappearing messages can also make users feel too comfortable oversharing personal information online, thinking that their chats will be deleted. But other users can take screenshots of what your teen shares. While Snapchat sends notifications when this happens, third-party screen-recording apps can bypass this safeguard.
Additionally, Snapchat collects user data, including contact information and usage patterns, which might raise concerns about how that information is used or shared.
Snapchat's Snap Map feature lets users share their real-time location, which can pose privacy and safety risks. Without strict privacy controls, concerns have been raised that location sharing could expose kids to strangers, making them vulnerable to stalking or harassment. Disabling location sharing by using Ghost Mode or limiting location sharing to close friends can help reduce these risks.
Snapchat's interactive and gamified features, like Snapstreaks, may lead to excessive screen time. Users earn a flame emoji for snapping daily, which can pressure kids to maintain streaks, distracting them from schoolwork and face-to-face interactions. Constant notifications can also encourage frequent app checking.
Screen time isn’t inherently bad for pre-teens and teens — in fact, having too little could have a negative impact. But excessive screen time can lead to anxiety, depression, shorter attention spans, poor physical health, and academic underachievement. Parents should carefully manage screen time, and parental control settings can help with this.
Heavy use of video, augmented reality filters, and real-time location sharing can drain phone batteries. Snapchat also runs continuously in the background, which may cause devices to overheat and deplete power faster.
A study by the AVG team found that Snapchat was the number-one performance-draining app on Android devices, primarily because Snapchat keeps cached files of seemingly deleted chats and snaps. This battery-draining tendency can be dangerous if the battery dies, leaving your child unable to contact you in an emergency.
Snapchat does a fairly good job of warning users about suspicious links that lead outside the app. Links flagged as potentially dangerous by Google’s Safe Browsing service trigger an alert from Snapchat, allowing users to back out. However, teens may ignore these warnings, risking exposure to malware or phishing attempts.
AVG AntiVirus Free can help protect your teen’s device from malicious links, malware, and other cyberthreats, giving you one less thing to worry about as your kids navigate their digital lives.
Understanding how Snapchat works can help parents keep their kids safer online. Here’s a quick rundown of the platform’s main features.
Snapchat’s defining feature, Snaps, are photos or short videos that users can send directly to friends. Snaps disappear after being viewed, encouraging real-time sharing. Users can add filters, text, and stickers to personalize their Snaps, making communication more visual and fun.
Stories are Snaps shared to a user’s Story feed, viewable by selected audiences for 24 hours. Users can choose who sees their Stories — all friends, communities, specific people, or everyone. Stories allow users to share their Snaps with broader groups than direct messages.
Discover is one of Snapchat’s content feeds. Public profiles and influencers share news, entertainment, and pop culture updates, tailored to the user’s interests. The Discover feed appears in the Stories tab.
Generally, Discover filters out sensitive content for younger users, but if a user is younger than their registered age, or interacts with older users, unsavory content may still reach them.
Snapchat’s second main content feed, Spotlight showcases user-made videos, similar to TikTok or Instagram Reels. It focuses on trending content and fun community-driven short videos. Content is moderated, but users under 18 may still encounter inappropriate videos while exploring Spotlight without parental controls.
The chat feature allows users to send text messages, snaps, and voice notes. Users can also call each other. Messages disappear after being read unless saved, making chats feel more like real conversations. Users can take screenshots of Snaps or messages, but the other user will get a notification.
This screenshot notification has pros and cons. While it can warn the user that their chat was screenshotted, it may also make users vulnerable to further cyberbullying if they attempt to screenshot evidence.
Memories lets users save Snaps, Stories, and other photos in a private gallery within the app, where they can revisit and share them later. Unlike standard Snaps that disappear, content in Memories is stored indefinitely unless deleted. This feature helps users keep their favorite photos without cluttering their device's storage. It also makes it easier to document online abuse on Snapchat.
Snap Map allows users to share their real-time location with friends and view public stories around the world. This can help users keep track of where their friends are, but it may also raise privacy and safety concerns. Users can manage their location visibility by turning on Ghost Mode in the Snap Map settings.
Snapchat offers puzzles and games that users can play directly in the app. Many of them are easily accessible from chats, making them a fun way to pass time with friends. However, these games can be a distraction and increase screen time.
My AI is Snapchat’s chatbot, designed to answer questions, offer recommendations, and converse with users. It can help with everyday problems and be an entertaining companion. However, parents should monitor its usage, as My AI collects data on users with every interaction and may generate inappropriate responses.
Quick Add is a feature in Snapchat's Chat section that suggests profiles users might want to add as friends, based on phone contacts, mutual friends, shared interests, or location (if you’ve granted Snapchat location access). While it helps users find friends, it can also suggest total strangers. Users can adjust privacy settings to avoid appearing in others' Quick Add lists.
Snapchat’s parental controls can be found in the Family Center. Parents can view their kids’ Snapchat activity, but not specific content — only who they’ve sent Snaps and chats to. Parental controls only apply to minors; users over 18 cannot be tracked in the Family Center.
Here’s how you use Snapchat’s parental controls:
Download Snapchat and set up an account.
Add your teen as a friend (ask for their username if you don’t know it already). They will need to add you back.
Go to your profile and tap the gear button at the top right of the screen once your friend request is accepted.
Scroll down to Privacy Controls and select Family Center.
Tap Continue on the Family Center home page.
Select your teen’s account and tap Send Invitation to invite them to Family Center.
Once your child accepts the invitation, you can use Family Center’s features, which let you view their list of friends, restrict sensitive content, and disable My AI.
Here’s how to use Family Center to block inappropriate or sensitive content on Snapchat Stories and Spotlight:
Go to Family Center and tap on Restrict Sensitive Content.
Select your teen’s profile and toggle on Restrict sensitive content.
Adjusting privacy settings can help keep your teen safer, but since Family Center doesn't allow you to control these settings, your child could change them without your knowledge. This makes it crucial to have an open conversation about digital safety.
To access Snapchat privacy settings, tap the user profile picture, then click the gear icon in the top-right corner and Scroll down to Privacy Control, where you'll find various options.
We recommend discussing the following four settings with your teen:
Contact me: Your teen can decide whether just friends or both friends and phone contacts can send them messages.
View my story: Make sure your teen knows they can block certain friends from viewing their Stories. Encourage them to think twice about who they’re sharing their Stories with.
See me in Quick Add: We recommend unchecking “Show me in Quick Add.” This will prevent your teen’s account from showing up in others’ friend suggestions, making it less likely for a stranger to add them.
See my location: Your teen can control who sees their location. We suggest enabling Ghost Mode to make this information invisible to everyone.
In your settings, you can also turn on two-factor authentication to help reduce the chances of someone hacking into your teen’s account. While account takeovers are unpleasant for everyone, they can be particularly devastating to teens.
You can manage what information Snapchat has access to, such as your contacts, camera, and location, in your device app permissions.
Like all social media platforms, Snapchat comes with risks and benefits. It’s up to you to decide what’s best for your family.
Deciding if Snapchat is appropriate for your child depends on their age, maturity, and social group. Snapchat has risks like other social media apps, so it's important to address online safety holistically, considering your child's unique situation and needs.
Building trust with your teen is important for helping them navigate the digital world safely. Open communication encourages them to share their online activities, concerns, and experiences without fear of judgment or punishment.
Snapchats allows kids to connect with friends online, share photos and videos with fun filters, and find free entertainment through Games, Discover, and Spotlight. The casual, playful nature of the app also lets them express themselves by experimenting with creative images and videos.
With your guidance, Snapchat can also help teens develop healthy digital social skills. Social media is an important facet of teens’ social lives; cutting them off completely could make them feel isolated from their peer group. After all, with 82% of teens using Snapchat at least once a month, it doesn’t seem like the app is going away soon.
With a little oversight and parental involvement, you can help make Snapchat a safer space for your teen while remaining respectful of their maturity, privacy, and desire for independence.
Here are our top 11 suggestions to help keep your kids safe:
Speak openly and honestly about online safety with your kids, including appropriate online behavior and inappropriate content.
Help them set up their Snapchat, adjusting privacy settings to disable features like location sharing, and encourage them to use Ghost Mode to hide their location from others.
Monitor friend lists and encourage kids to add only people they know in real life.
Restrict sensitive content for your teen in Family Center.
Educate your kids about how Snaps can be saved via screenshots or recordings, even if they disappear.
Encourage your teen to report any cyberbullying or inappropriate behavior.
Discuss screen time rules to ensure your child isn’t spending too much time on the app, reminding them that too much screen time can harm their well-being.
Have regular check-ins to periodically review the app’s settings and usage together to ensure continued safety.
Follow Snapchat’s Safety Center suggestions, which you can find in the Settings under More Information.
Create a Snapchat account and explore it with other parents to better understand the app. This could also help you communicate with your teen in a medium they’re comfortable with.
Consider removing the app if your child is still engaging in risky behavior on Snapchat by deleting Snapchat from their device
No parental controls are foolproof, so extra support is essential for online safety. Teens face an overwhelming flow of messages and images, making it challenging to discern what is trustworthy, and what’s a danger.
Get AVG AntiVirus Free for stronger online protection. It offers six layers of security to help block dangerous links and files, resolve issues, and combat scan-resistant malware. This helps protect your child from malicious links, scam websites, and other threats that fraudsters might use to target unsuspecting kids.
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