Snapchat added a new element to its Family Center, which will allow parents to restrict the content their kids see in the app. At the same time, Snap’s also looking to provide more transparency in its content guidelines to help parents and regular users better understand how it ranks and distributes uploads.
Snapguard
First off, let’s take a look at the Family Center update – Snapchat’s new sensitive content toggle within the Family Center control panel will give parents additional peace of mind that their kids are not being exposed to offensive material in the app. As Snap explains:
“Our new Content Controls in Family Center will allow parents to filter out Stories from publishers or creators that may have been identified as sensitive or suggestive. To enable Content Controls, parents will need to have an existing Family Center set up with their teen.”
Snapchat’s Family Center, which it first launched last August, gives parents a way to monitor how their kids are interacting within the app, without giving them access to the actual messages, and infringing on the child’s privacy. That provides an additional layer of assurance and insight, while the new sensitive content controls will give parents extra peace of mind regarding their child’s usage of the app.
But the bigger update, at least from a broader perspective of relevance, is the publishing of its Content Guidelines for the first time, which provides full insight into how it vets and moderates content in both Stories and Spotlight. The guidelines cover all the rules around what Snap allows in the app, including content that’s eligible for recommendation, what’s considered sensitive, and what it prohibits from distribution.
Most of the rules pretty much revolve around guarding against sexualized content, violence, hate speech, etc. However, there are some interesting elements, including these notes on ‘Creativity Quality’, while there are also rules around engagement bait:
- A ‘wait for it’ caption, but ‘it’ never happens.
- ‘Likes’ or ‘Shares’ Attempts, such as ‘If this gets 20,000 likes, I’ll shave my head’.
- Misleading or sensationalized headlines.
Take note, only approved creators can now use ‘buy now’ type CTAs in their content, or Snap will limit your content reach. The guidelines provide some valuable insight for creators and marketers looking to maximize their in-app exposure, while they’ll also offer more assurance for parents as to how Snap monitors and moderates the content that their kids could see.
Lastly, Snap says that it will also soon add a new element to its Family Center which will enable parents to have a level of oversight over their kids’ use of its ‘My AI’ element. Snapchat added My AI, which incorporates generative AI elements from ChatGPT, last month, giving users a way to interact with an AI chatbot in the app.
The Wrap
Reports have suggested that My AI is possibly dangerous in certain ways, with some users finding that the bot has provided information about drugs and alcohol and how to hide things from your parents. Generative AI is still pretty much an unknown element in many respects, with the system able to generate responses on the spot.
These are good additions, for all stakeholders involved, with some valuable insights into how Snap works, and what it restricts in the app. Parents are the main focus here, with some key insights for marketers, too. My AI is currently only available to Snapchat++ subscribers.
Sources