The primary risks associated with Snapchat come from (i) meeting strangers and (ii) sexting, (iii) sharing adult content and (iv) bullying. In order to use Snapchat more safely, you should ensure that your child can only receive messages from "friends" and that your child's Snapchat stories can only be viewed by "friends." In order to send a friend request to someone, you need to know either their phone number or their Snapchat username. We have often seen minors on other high-risk apps who are willing to share adult content offer to "show more" on Snapchat and share their username, moving dangerous conversations to a more dangerous platform where there is little evidence. It is very important that your child does not share their Snapchat username with strangers on other social networks. You should also periodically review their friends lists and make sure you know who they are talking to. There have been numerous incidents where children think that the photos they send on Snapchat cannot be saved only to later find out they were. It is very easy to dispose of new usernames and create new ones, and this is common for bullies. This is prevented most easily by restricting who your child can message and who can see your child's stories. No child under 16 should have Snapchat and no child under 18 should have the app without their parents knowing.

Because the photos and videos sent via messages in this app disappear quickly, they can give children a false sense of security when sending naked pictures to strangers. However, there are many apps for saving this content without the sender knowing, and this can lead to awful cases of sextortion and public shaming. To avoid these pitfalls. you need to talk to your child about bullying, sexting and meeting strangers. Ask who the usernames on their friends list belong to and make sure they are all people from real-life. See our Parent’s Guides section for more advice on talking to your child about these risks.

Snapchat is a fast and fun way to share the moment with your friends and family SNAP • Snapchat opens right to the Camera — just tap to take a photo, or press and hold for video. • Express yourself with Lenses, Filters, Bitmoji and more! • Try out new Lenses daily created by the Snapchat community! CHAT • Stay in touch with friends through ...

To see Snapchat in iTunes,  click here

See our parent’s guides to apps with:

• Bullying Risk
• Sexting Risk
• Adult Content (Photo or Video)
• Ways Minors Can Meet Strangers
• Profanity or Crude Humor
• Mature/Suggestive Themes
• Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
• Sexual Content or Nudity