- Read the new teen safety update issued by Snapchat here.
Snapchat users aged 13-15 will no longer be able to share Spotlight posts with the general public. They can now share only with people they mutually follow. This update also provides a separate profile for this age group, where Stories and Spotlight content are visible only to mutual friends and do not display engagement metrics such as favourite counts.
What Changes, and for Whom?
Previously, Snapchat allowed users in this age group to post Spotlights publicly without linking posts to their profiles, which prevented direct contact from strangers. This option is no longer available for users under 16.
Users must confirm they are at least 13 years old to register. If Snapchat detects an account belonging to someone under 13, the account is deleted. Additionally, users who register with an age between 13 and 17 cannot later change their birth year to 18 or older, which prevents this common workaround.
Snapchat blocks strangers from sending friend requests or messages to teenage users and displays a warning when teens initiate chats with unknown individuals. The platform also limits the types of content available to teenagers.
Legal pressure in the background
The announcement follows increased legal scrutiny of Snap’s impact on young users. Earlier this year, Snap settled a US lawsuit alleging it facilitated social media addiction and is contesting similar cases nationwide.
CEO Evan Spiegel told CNBC that studies show Snapchat has a positive effect by helping users stay connected to existing friends. He argued the platform should not be compared to TikTok and Instagram. However, the timing of the policy changes aligns with ongoing litigation.
Snapchat is not alone in this approach. In recent years, Instagram has also strengthened restrictions like parental approval for under-16s to change any of the built-in protections on teen accounts, which provides parents more control. Regulatory and legal pressure regarding teen safety has made these measures increasingly common across the industry.
These changes coincide with increased global scrutiny of Snapchat’s youth safety measures. Earlier this year, the company publicly criticised Australia’s social media minimum age law, which bans under-16s from major platforms, but agreed to comply. Snapchat argued that age-verification technologies remain inaccurate and can be bypassed and instead recommended age checks at the app store level through Apple and Google. The company reported locking or disabling more than 415,000 accounts in Australia to support compliance. Snapchat also stated it is primarily a messaging service, not a traditional social media platform, and questioned whether it should be subject to these restrictions.
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