Snap Inc, owner of the popular messaging app Snapchat, rolled out its first parental control tools on Tuesday, which will allow parents to see who their teens are talking to, but not the substance of their conversations.
The new feature called Family Center is launching at a time when social media companies have been criticized over a lack of protection for kids. In October, Snap and its tech peers TikTok and YouTube testified before US lawmakers accusing the companies of exposing young users to bullying or steering them toward harmful content.
Parents can invite their teens to join Family Center on Snapchat, and once the teens consent, parents will be able to view their kids’ friends list and who they have messaged on the app in the past seven days. They can also confidentially report any concerning accounts, Reuters reported.
However, parents will not be able to see private content or messages sent to and from their teens, said Jeremy Voss, Snap’s head of messaging products, in an interview.
“It strikes the right approach for enhancing safety and well-being, while still protecting autonomy and privacy,” he told Reuters.
Snap said it plans to launch additional features in the coming months, including notifications to parents when their teen reports abuse from a user.
Snap’s new tools follow a similar move by Instagram, which launched its Family Center in March, allowing parents to view what accounts their teens follow and how much time they spend on the app.
Snap Plans To Lay Off People: Meanwhile, Snap Inc. is in early stages of planning layoffs, the Verge reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans.
The scope of the job cuts is currently unclear as managers are still planning it for their teams, the report said, adding that the Snapchat-owner has more than 6,000 employees. Snap declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The development comes as technology companies, crypto exchanges and financial firms cut jobs and slow hiring as global economic growth slows due to higher interest rates, red-hot inflation and an energy crisis in Europe.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also told employees in a memo in May that the company will slow hiring for this year and laid out a broad slate of problems.