Snapchat, the social app used by over 8 million Aussies each month, has just announced the release of some new features to protect users from online harm including cyberbullying and sextortion, and we’re all for it!
A growing crime in Australia (and overseas), Sextortion is growing at a rate of knots. These new features are intended to make it more difficult for strangers to connect with people.
New features for added teen protection
Designed to reinforce the real-life connections that make Snapchat unique, the new suite of tools includes:
- Enhanced friending protections
- Simplified location-sharing
- Blocking improvements, and
- Expanded in-app warnings
Ben Au, Public Policy Lead ANZ, at Snap Inc. explained they’ve worked very diligently to fight back against sextortion right across the Snapchat platform. This has ranged from designing the app to not display public friends lists, which could be used to facilitate sextortion schemes, to not allowing teens to be messaged by anyone they haven’t added as a friend, or are not in thier phone contacts.
We think that’s pretty impressive.
“Our newest safeguards are all about supporting real and genuine connections, empowering young people to make smart choices, and ensuring that every Snapchatter feels secure and confident while using our platform,” Ben Au, Snap Inc.
New Snapchat Features To Protect Users
Not Your Average Social Media App
Ben went on to say, “Snapchat is designed differently to traditional social media, with a focus on helping people connect with friends they know in real life, and we’re always working to make Snapchat an even more fun – and safe – place to do just that. As new online harms continue to emerge, we’re committed to developing ways to protect our community against these risks, especially with the safety of young Australians in mind.”
“Creating an environment that prioritises the safety, privacy, and wellbeing of Australians remains a priority for the company, and in particular that of teens,” he continued.
Expanded In-App Warnings to help with sextortion
Last November, Snapchat started showing a warning when teens get messages from people they don’t know well or aren’t already friends with. This helps teens think twice about talking to strangers and encourages them to connect only with people they trust.
Since then, over 12 million users have used this feature to block others. Impressive!
Snapchat is adding more pop-up warnings too.
Teens will get alerts if:
- They get messages from people who they have already blocked and who have subsequently opened a new account with the aim to continue harassing them. In this case Snapchat will recognise it and warn them it’s the same person.
- If the message comes from a region where the teen’s network isn’t typically located, therefore reducing the risk of strangers from random places infiltrating their network.
Enhanced Friending Protections
Right now, teens don’t show up in Snapchat’s Quick Add or Search unless they have several mutual friends with someone. To make it even safer, Snapchat is adding new rules to stop strangers from finding and adding teens.
With the new updates, if a teen gets a friend request from someone they don’t share friends with, and that person has a history of logging in from scam-prone areas, Snapchat will block the request.
This works both ways, whether the teen sent or received the request. These changes help protect teens from sneaky sextortion scams by shady users often from outside Australia.
Blocking Improvements to Prevent Bullying
Snapchat has always let users block anyone they don’t want to talk to anymore. But sometimes, people who get blocked create new accounts and keep trying to contact the same person. (This has happened to my daughter on multiple occasions.)
To stop this kind of harassment, Snapchat is updating its blocking tools. If teens block someone, it will also block new friend requests from other accounts created on the same device.
Simplified Location-Sharing and Additional Reminders
Snapchat regularly reminds all users, including teens, to check their security and privacy settings and only share their location with friends. Now, Snapchat will remind users more often to check which friends can see their location on the Snap Map. They’ve also made it easier to manage location sharing by simplifying how users pick which friends can see their location.
With these updates, users can easily see who they’re sharing their location with, update their settings, or remove their location from the map all in one place. Location sharing is off by default, so users must choose to turn it on, and they can only share their location with people already on their friend list, not with everyone on Snapchat.
Snapchat’s latest updates aim to make the app even safer, particularly for teens. With new tools like advanced chat warnings, stricter friend request controls, and easier location-sharing settings, Snapchat is working hard to protect users from online dangers like sextortion and bullying. These features help ensure that teens only connect with people they know and trust while keeping their personal information secure. Snapchat is reinforcing its commitment to providing a safe environment for all its users to enjoy.
