Parents Aren't Using Snapchat's Supervision Controls, Here's Why That's a Problem

 Platforms like Snapchat, Discord, TikTok and X are all quite popular with teenagers, and that makes them rather risky since adults can chat with minors unsupervised. As a result of the fact that this is the case, these companies have introduced supervision controls that parents can use to keep an eye on who their children are talking to and when, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, most of the parents of users aren’t really taking advantage of these protective measures.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, spoke before a Senate Judiciary Committee today. He stated that around 20 million teenagers from the US are using Snapchat, but just 200,000 parents have taken advantage of the Family Center controls that are on offer.

These controls were introduced because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up protecting minors from coming to harm. They were the result of pressure from outside groups to protect their minor users, but it turns out that not parents are not using them and that could make the apps more dangerous fro teens than might have been the case otherwise.

Spiegel spoke alongside the CEOs of Meta, X, Discord, and TikTok, and he was the only one to provide specific numbers. Mark Zuckerberg stated that he couldn’t provide any precise numbers at this current point in time, but that his company was working hard to raise awareness for supervision tools. Linda Yaccarino, the recently instated CEO of X, said that just 1% of its 90 million US users were underage, but the company is figuring out how to monitor them.

• Also read: Zuckerberg Faces Tough Questions in Senate Over Meta's Role in Child Safety
• As for TikTok, its CEO Shou Zi Chew said that he couldn’t give specific figures either, but pointed out that TikTok was among the first social media platforms that tried to give parents these controls. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since this is perhaps the most important thing that social media platforms need to focus on.
  
  
  
  Photo: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Snapchat For Web Is Finally Out For Users Worldwide

Snap fans are going to fall in love with this next piece of news.

Snapchat for the web is out for different users worldwide. And while it may have been a long time coming, considering the high anticipation involved, it’s time for the app’s fans to celebrate.

The app’s features related to video chats and standard messaging were made available to different browsers in July of this year. But the launch was restricted to a selected few, such as a limited part of the market or those with a paid subscription.

But things are changing for the better, and the feature is up for grabs to those avid users that adore typing or have a bucketload of texts to send out. After all, there’s a much bigger screen involved, not to mention complete access to a whole keyboard too.

While the company says the interface for the web is straight and to the point, you may also utilize it to send images. Did we mention the feasibility of making both video and audio calls?

One of the app’s spokespersons mentioned that many people had loved the video call functionality in recent times. And that fact that it’s being available on the web, too, will be loved more. Just think about video calls of longer duration.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson added that several other core features may arise on the web too. It all depends on how things go and what demands come forward from users.

But that’s not the only happening launch on the app. Snap has recently released its series of widgets for lock screens. This is solely restricted to the iPhone for now. This is right after the company unveiled its iOS 16 for users.

With this new launch, you can create shortcuts for chats you’d like or for those conversations made with those you adore more. Using a single tap firing up your conversations has never been easier than now.

Since we’re still on the subject of shortcuts, we’d also like to inform you that the app will soon entail some more shortcuts located at the topmost part of the chat page.

This is designed to add further convenience so you can now get to your unread Snaps, conversations, or your replies instantly. You’ll be given reminders for other special occasions like birthdays or chats you are yet to open.

Lastly, the app has introduced the Question Sticker feature. You can put them on stories or any choice of Snaps.


In terms of the rollout of these new features, they’ll be coming your way soon.