Amid heated debates on age limits for social media, Snapchat has begun testing a feature that allows teens aged 16 and 17 to share content with a broader audience.
According to Snapchat:
“Informed by feedback from our community, older teens will be able to post content to a new publicly viewable content page within their profile built with thoughtful protections in place. These capabilities will be rolling out slowly to our community.”
On Snapchat, there are two primary ways to post: their signature Story format and with short-form Spotlight videos.
Now, according to the app, Snapchatters who are 16+ and want to share their creativity can post a public Story or share a video to Spotlight with attribution back to their publicly viewable content page within their profile that has extra safeguards in place. There, they will be able to save their Stories and Spotlights in order to showcase their favourite posts.
“We offer Snapchatters control over each piece of content they create with intentional posting options that let them determine where each Snap is shared, who can see it, and if it is saved to their profile. On Snapchat, it is always more than a one-time choice to simply be public or be private,” Snapchat said.
The social media app has also built in guardrails to help older teens get introduced to what it means to post content publicly and responsibly:
- Engagement from Real Friends: Teenagers can only communicate directly with mutually accepted friends or contacts. Public Story replies are filtered and stricter for this age group, with options to turn off replies or block terms.
- Limited Distribution: Public Stories from 16 and 17 year olds are only recommended to friends, followers, or mutual friends, and are not distributed in the “Discover” section.
- Minimal Metrics: Older teens will not see how many people “favorited” their Stories or Spotlights, and will instead be able to focus on creativity.
- Proactive Review: Spotlight videos will undergo human and machine review before wide recommendation to ensure their compliance with Content Guidelines.
- Parental Tools: In Family Center, Snapchat’s in-app parental tools hub, parents will be able to see if their teen children have an active public story or have saved any content publicly to their page.
Despite these new features, Snapchat is undergoing scrutiny by the public and by internet users, particularly after the State of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the app accusing it of failing to protect children from harm and exploitation.
