In order to use the parental control features, parents have first to install the Snapchat app on their devices and then link them to their children's accounts using an opt-in invite process. Once that is done, they will be able to access the features through the profile settings or the special Family Center section of the app.
In this section, they will be able to see a complete list of their children's friends list and who they messaged in the last week. While this section does not show the content of the chats, it still gives them a chance to review their social life and report potential safety concerns to the app's Trust and Safety team for review.
Similar tools are also available on other social media apps like Instagram and TikTok, which go even further, allowing parents to restrict their teens from using the app for specific time periods. While Snapchat's version of the safety centre doesn't have that feature yet, it does include other restrictions that prevent underage kids from having public profiles and stops them from chatting with someone, unless they already have some mutual friends.
These parental controls only apply to the accounts of teen users between the ages of 13-18 since Snapchat doesn't allow anyone younger than that to make an account in the first place. However, it doesn't really stop anyone from creating a fake secondary account to access the full version, either.
Still, Snapchat considers this a move in the right direction. They are also launching bully prevention and mental health campaigns to celebrate World Mental Health Day and Bullying Prevention Month. As a means to reducing the negative impact that social media can have on underage users.
