Snapchat's new parental controls: Keep your teen safe online

Snapchat has added a new "Content Controls" section to its "Family Center" to help parents a way to gain insight into who their teens are communicating with on Snapchat in a way that still protects their teens’ privacy.

The new feature allows parents to limit the type of content their kids watch on the app. It blocks any "unwanted" content on Stories and Spotlight, and parents can switch on the "Restrict Sensitive Content" filter in Snapchat's Family Center to activate the feature. However, it only blocks certain content on Stories and Spotlight, and the settings page specifies that it won't have an impact on Chat, Snaps, and Search.

The company also added that Stories is not an open platform, and creators and partners must abide by the content editorial guidelines. Snapchat's media partners that can be seen on Stories include more than 900 partners, some of them being NBC News, Axios, ESPN, Le Monde and People. On the other hand, Spotlight is an entertainment platform where users can find other members of the Snapchat community and watch their content.

Content guidelines are now publicly available

Snapchat has also released its content guidelines for the first time to show creators what type of content might go under the "sensitive" category. Snapchat says that these guidelines outline:

• Content that is prohibited, consistent with the Community Guidelines;
• Which content is eligible for recommendation on Stories or Spotlight, meaning it would get additional reach;
• Which content is considered sensitive and could be restricted using the new Content Controls.

Last year, Snapchat released a parental control panel and promised to roll out more features to help families keep their kids safe. It doesn't let parents have incredibly strict rules or influence on their teens' social media usage but still restricts a bunch.

The company ended the post by giving more information on My AI. More features are on the way as the team is working on adding additional tools to the Family Center around My AI. It is expected to give parents more visibility and control over their teens' usage of My AI.