Is Snapchat Safe? A Snapchat App Review for Parents

Harmful Content 😲

The potential for encountering harmful content on Snapchat is extremely high. The app’s disappearing message feature serves as a temptation to send photos and texts that are risky, since they’ll be gone in a matter of seconds. Snapchat has long been known as the “nudes” app, though that’s not its only use. Snapchat users can send photos and videos of anything they do, and so possible content spans nearly anything you can think of. 

Prominent examples of harmful content are: messages about drug sales; bullying exchanges; excessive profanity and vulgar language; and even videos or photos of self-harm. 

Even though Snapchat relies on the “disappearing” nature of their messages, nothing is ever truly gone. It’s easy to take screenshots of Snaps, or open them while watching with someone else next to you. You can even take a photo of a Snap with another phone. In this way, Snapchat is dangerous because messages that a user thinks are completely private can be shared with others in a matter of seconds. 

Snapchat also has a Discover section that offers ever-changing content that users can interact with. These range from brand advertisements and online publications to posts from some of Snapchat’s more popular users. And like so much of the rest of the internet, the content in the Discover section relies on clicks to keep it at the top. This means the content that makes it here tends to be attention-grabbing, and it often revolves around sex.

Predation 🚨

Is Snapchat safe for kids in terms of predation? Predators can often be found where kids are — and a lot of kids are on Snapchat. It’s very easy to add friends on the Snapchat app, so your child can accumulate a lot of strangers on their friends list if privacy filters aren’t turned on (more on that below).

Predators often pretend to be younger and will pose as a friend of a friend, complete with a fake profile and back story. Once a predator begins grooming a child, they’ll take advantage of the disappearing messages and photos to avoid a digital trail of evidence.

Snapchat’s Snap Map feature also contributes to predation on the platform. Snap Map lets people see where their friends are on a digital map, and the Our Story feature allows users to contribute to a public feed that shows events happening across the world in real-time. Together, these two features allow users to communicate directly within the map if they happen to be close to each other. Users don’t have to know each other to communicate — anyone can talk to anyone here unless privacy settings are locked down.

Privacy 🔒

By adjusting a few settings, you can drastically increase the level of privacy your child has on Snapchat. By enabling Ghost Mode, your child’s location won’t be shared on their Snap Map. 

You can also manage who can message your child as well as who can view their stories. Keeping everything “Friends Only” is a good idea for almost any user — this will help keep out potentially predatory strangers.

Parental Controls ✅

Snapchat is notorious for its lack of parental controls. Within the app, users can take steps to make the experience safer with tightened privacy controls. But these aren’t locked, and children could change them right back as soon as their parents walks away. Our full Snapchat guide breaks down everything you can adjust to help keep your child safer while using the platform — but it’s definitely not full protection. 

Bark also provides help with managing Snapchat. We’re here to help you keep your kid safe by allowing you to:

• Block Snapchat entirely, if needed.
• Manage when your child can use Snapchat throughout the day.
• Monitor DMs (text only) on Android devices.

We’re continually advocating and working for Snapchat to allow iOS monitoring.

So, should my kid download it?

This is one platform we’d suggest avoiding, if possible. If you have a strong, open relationship with your child and have had regular conversations about online safety, you may feel comfortable letting them join. Just be aware of the potential risks.