NAIROBI, Kenya- In a move to curb the growing threat of sextortion, Snapchat has announced new safety measures designed to make it harder for teenagers to be contacted by strangers.
This latest update is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to shield young users from sexual and financial exploitation.
Enhanced Warnings and Friend Request Restrictions
Snapchat is rolling out expanded warning pop-ups aimed at teens who receive messages from users they don’t share mutual friends with or don’t have in their contacts.
These warnings now include alerts if the message is from a user who has been blocked or reported by others, or from regions commonly associated with scammers.
This aims to help teens identify potential threats before they engage with unknown contacts.
To further protect teens, Snapchat will now block friend requests to and from accounts without mutual friends that are located in high-risk regions.
This measure targets accounts often linked to scammers, reducing the likelihood of teens being contacted by malicious actors.
Combating Financial Sextortion
The new features are specifically designed to combat the alarming rise of financial sextortion.
In these scams, perpetrators gain the trust of young users, coax them into sending explicit photos, and then demand payment to keep the images private.
These updates are part of Snapchat’s broader suite of youth safety measures aimed at creating a safer environment for its young users.
“These features were designed to better protect teens from potential online harms and to enhance the real-friend connections that make Snapchat so unique,” said Jacqueline Beauchere, Snap’s Global Head of Platform Safety.
Strengthening Blocking Tools and Location Privacy
Snapchat is also enhancing its blocking tools. Now, when a user blocks an account, any new accounts created on the same device will be automatically blocked, preventing blocked users from simply creating new accounts to bypass the block.
Moreover, Snapchat is improving its location settings reminders. Users, including teens, will receive more frequent prompts about their location settings on the app’s “Snap Map” feature.
This update makes it easier for users to adjust their location sharing preferences, ensuring they can manage their privacy more effectively.
These updates build on existing features like the “Family Center,” which allows parents to supervise their teen’s activity, and mechanisms for filtering age-inappropriate content.
