Snapchat introduces new safety features to enhance user experience

Snapchat is rolling out new features aimed to enhance the online safety of teens using the platform. Here's a quick look at some of them.

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Snapchat is an instant messaging app to share photos and videos with friends. (Image Source: Snapchat)

Snapchat, the popular instant messaging app, is rolling out a few new safety features that are aimed at improving the overall user experience. Recently, the social media company hosted an exclusive discussion in Mumbai with celebrity parents Tisca Chopra, and Maria Goretti, Snap creator Nitanshi Goel and industry expert Aparajita Bharti, where the panel talked about teen online safety.

Exploring topics like the importance of digital literacy, maintaining open dialogues with teens at home and maximising the use of online resources, the event concluded with Snapchat unveiling several new features that reportedly offer enhanced safety features.

The platform said that it is making some changes to its existing content blocking tools. To prevent bullying and repeated harassment, blocking a user will now also block friend requests from new accounts created by that user on the same device. Snapchat is also introducing “more frequent reminders” so users can stay updated on which friends they are sharing their location with on the Snap Map. It is also bringing an improved location-sharing experience that can be customised by users to easily choose which friends can see your location.

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Snapchat is further adding new safeguards that will make it harder for users to find and add teen users. If a Snapchat user sends a friend request to someone that they don’t have mutual friends with, the platform says that it will block such requests. Moreover, if a user has a history of using the app from locations associated with scamming activities, the friend request sent from such handles will be blocked regardless of whether the request was sent by the teen or the stranger.

Additionally, teen users on Snapchat will now get an in-app warning pop-up when a user that others have blocked or reported, tries to contact them or doesn’t fall within their geographical location. However, this feature is limited to those living in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe.

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