At a Glance
- Snap announced new parental controls after settling a lawsuit.
- Parents can view teen screen time broken down by app functions.
- The update follows a settlement with a 19-year-old plaintiff.
- Why it matters: It signals a shift in how social-media giants address safety and screen time.
New Parental Controls
The Family Center tool displays daily screen time broken down by app functions and shows details about new friend connections. Parents can see how much time their teen spends chatting, snapping, creating content, or using Snap Map. It also highlights trust signals such as mutual friends or contact status.
- Daily time breakdown by app function
- Friend connection details with trust signals
- Alerts for new friends not known to parents
The tool calculates average daily usage over the previous week. It aggregates data from all active sessions to provide a comprehensive view. This metric helps parents set realistic time limits.
Parents can now see whether a new friend is a mutual contact, saved in their phone, or part of a shared community. This information is intended to reassure parents that teens are interacting with known individuals. It also allows parents to initiate conversations about online safety.
Snap wrote in a blog post, “These trust signals make it easier for parents to understand new connections and have greater confidence that their teen is chatting with someone they know in real life.”
He added, “If a parent sees a new friend they aren’t familiar with, they have the information they need to start a productive conversation.”
Background and Legal Context
The lawsuit was filed by a 19-year-old identified in court documents as K.G.M. The case alleged that Snap’s algorithms and features fuel addiction and harm mental health. Snap settled the claim, avoiding a trial.
The settlement included a financial payment and the commitment to enhance parental controls. It also required Snap to disclose data about teen usage to regulators. The agreement reflects growing scrutiny over social media’s impact on youth.
The complaint also named Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, but no settlements have been reached with those companies. Those platforms are scheduled for jury selection later this month. The lawsuit underscores broader industry accountability.
Snap remains a defendant in other addiction-related lawsuits. Documents show employees raised concerns about teen mental health risks nine years ago. The company has labeled the concerns as cherry-picked and taken out of context.
Internal memos from 2017 indicate staff worried about the addictive design of the app. These concerns were reportedly suppressed during product development. The new controls may address some of those internal red flags.
Snap has denied that the concerns were valid, claiming they were isolated incidents. The company argues that its algorithms prioritize user engagement fairly. Nonetheless, the settlement suggests a willingness to cooperate with regulators.
The launch of Family Center in 2022 was a response to regulatory demands for better protection of minors. The tool has evolved to include time limits and AI chatbot blocking. Regulators continue to push for more transparency and parental oversight.
Family Center debuted in 2022 as a suite of monitoring tools. It initially allowed parents to view a teen’s friend list. Since then, Snap has expanded its capabilities.
The platform now lets parents set daily time restrictions and block access to the My AI chatbot. It also shows recent interactions and allows blocking of specific contacts. These additions aim to reduce risky online behavior.
The lawsuit settlement occurred on October 13-15, 2026, the same week that the new controls were announced. The timing suggests a coordinated effort to address public concern. The move may influence future regulatory actions.
Parents now have a more granular view of their teen’s Snapchat activity. Regulators may view the update as a step toward compliance. The broader industry may follow suit as pressure mounts.
Snap’s new Family Center features are part of a broader push to comply with regulatory demands.
Key Takeaways
- Snap’s new controls provide granular time tracking and friend monitoring.
- The update follows a settlement with a 19-year-old plaintiff.
- Regulators view the move as a step toward compliance.
- Snap has expanded Family Center since its 2022 launch.
- The timing of the announcement aligns with the lawsuit settlement.
These developments reflect a growing trend toward greater parental oversight on social media platforms.
Parents and regulators will monitor the impact of these changes.
The long-term effects of these controls on teen behavior remain to be seen today.
