Snapchat is reinforcing itself once again making it difficult for strangers to contact teenagers on the app. The company is adding new warnings about “suspicious” contacts and proactively blocking friend requests from accounts that may be linked to fraud.
This isn’t Snap’s first attempt teenage users contacting people they don’t know on the app. The latest alerts go a step further, the company says, as the alerts are based on “new and advanced signals” that indicate an account may be linked to a fraudster. Likewise, Snap says it will block friend requests sent by users who don’t have friends in common with the requester and “Snapchat login history in places often associated with fraudulent activity.” The app’s blocking feature is also being improved so that users who block someone will automatically block new accounts created on the same device.
According to the company, these updates will help the address sextortion scams It often targets teenagers on social media platforms, as well as other security and privacy concerns. Snap arrived like many of its social media peers from lawmakers on teen safety, including sextortion scams and the ease with which drug dealers can contact teens on the app. The latest update will also come shortly Rolling Stone published On how Snapchat “sparked the nation’s teen overdose epidemic.”
The article cites specific features such as Snapchat’s Snap Map, which allows users to share their current location with friends, and “quick add” suggestions, which reveal friend recommendations. (The company began limiting its “quick add” offers between teen and adult accounts .) While teens can still opt in to Snap Map location sharing, the company says it’s simplifying those settings so it’s easier for them to change and surface more “frequent reminders” about how they share their locations in the app.
