Snapchat has announced that it is working on a series of new parental controls that will help limit how users can contact minors through its messaging service. The company says it will restrict the Quick Add feature to prevent adult strangers from finding minors in the app to add them as friends. The feature is designed to protect users between the ages of 13 and 17 on the app. The move is part of Snapchat’s efforts to curb the spread of fentanyl and drug-related content on its platform. Snapchat also says it has been working to improve its systems to detect drug-related content, as well as assist law enforcement agencies with investigations.
On Tuesday, Snapchat explained in a blog post that it has added a new security to its Quick Add feature that introduces friends to Snapchat users in the app. Adult strangers will only see a minor user’s profile in Quick Add if they have a certain number of friends in common. Snapchat says the move will ensure profiles of users between the ages of 13 and 17 are discovered by someone they know in real life.
According to the blog post, Snapchat is taking these steps to fight the “fentanyl epidemic” and prevent drug dealers from coming into contact with minors on the platform. Snapchat and other network services have been in the news amid the accidental deaths of several American teens from pills containing fentanyl sold online. These counterfeit pills are reportedly sold through apps like Instagram and Snapchat, with the death toll reaching more than 93,000 by 2020.
In addition to the tweaks to the Quick Add feature, Snapchat says it regularly works with experts to update the list of jargon and drug-related terms blocked in the app. “This is a constant, ongoing effort that doesn’t just ban Snapchatters from getting search results for those terms,” the company explains. Users who search for these terms are then presented with “expert educational resources” as part of Snapchat’s Heads Up tool.
According to Snapchat, proactive detection rates for drug-related content on the service have increased by 390 percent, while 88 percent of all drug-related content is now proactively detected using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The company’s law enforcement team has also grown 74 percent to retain and disclose data for law enforcement requests. Snapchat says response times have improved by 85 percent in the past year. The service is also working on additional parental controls that will be added to the app in the coming months, Snapchat said in the blog post.
Meanwhile, Snapchat announced on Tuesday that it was rolling out a new AR lens that makes users “disappear” when the filter is used. The new lens was introduced as part of a collaboration with Lay’s to launch a new flat cut chip ‘Lay’s Wafer Style’. The messaging app regularly introduces filters and features as part of partnerships with brands such as Sony for ‘Sound Lenses’ introduced last year, or with the Indian Premier League (IPL) for four cricket teams in 2018 and with WHO for Snap Lenses during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow DailyExpertNews Twitter, Facebook and Google News. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest gadgets and technology videos.
HP Fortis Chromebooks, Windows laptops with robust builds launched