A ultimate parents guide to Snapchat
Snapchat is a mobile app and is hugely popular with teens and young adults. On traditional social networks, users tend to feel pressure to curate the perfect representation of their lives for their friends, coworkers, and relatives. It’s normal to worry about what people in your network might think about the things that you post. Sometimes this means that we say things that we think people will like, rather than expressing who we really are. Snapchat creates a place to be funny, honest or however else you might feel when you take and share a snap with family and friends. It’s sharing that lives in the moment, and stays in the moment.
Snapchat is fastest growing social media app. surpassing even Instagram, which has been ranked as the number-one favorite app for teens:
- There are an estimated 82 million users, with a majority of them between the age of 13 to 25 years old.
- Four out of every ten teens frequent Snapchat.
- There are roughly 350 million posts or “snaps” sent daily.
- Snapchat has equaled Facebook for numbers of photos shared.
Snapchat is directed towards teens and adults. You need to be aged 13 to sign up for Snapchat. If your childs under the age of 13 are only permitted to access a special version of Snapchat, called “SnapKidz,” which they are automatically directed to upon sign up. It basically allows them to take the photo, add the drawings and doodles but they cannot then send it to anyone. However, many tweens sign up for it giving a bogus date of birth.
Why Do Kids like using Snapchat?
Parents need to understand that kids enjoy Snapchat, because “it is one of the only apps that is relatively private.” Even parents who do have access to their children’s Snapchat are unlikely to see the messages sent and received through the app. You my find your kids love Snapchat because:
- The photo disappears so quickly means your kids can share something stupid or something that makes them look stupid without them having to worry that they are going to be made fun of. It is a “no pressure” alternative to the permanence of Facebook and Twitter where whatever they post stays around forever.
- It’s a fun and creative way to liven up a text message.
- Some kids love it because it isn’t possible for parents to monitor their snapchat messages . All messages and images shared in the app disappear and cannot be viewed by a parent who picks up the phone.
- Parents can see images that the teen has been tagged on in Facebook and Instagram but Snapchat photos that are sent directly to someone (not shared to all contact via the “Story”) are not visible to parents.
What dangers do parents need to be aware of about Snapchat?
Most kids use Snapchat to goof around and stay in contact with their friends -- end of story. Yes, there's some mature content, but it's appropriate for most teens 16 and up. Snapchat gives an illusion to kids that everything they post there will be deleted forever. What they don’t understand is that each snap leaves a digital footprint that will never be deleted. There is always a possibility to capture a screenshot that will be later spread over the Internet. That said, there are three key risky areas:
1. Sexting
Sexting does happen amongst teens and it is something that you should be aware of as a parent. The Pew Internet And American Life Project found that 15 percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 acknowledge they received a “sext” from someone they know.
We all knew that in October 2014, a database of hacked Snapchat pictures was released, known as “The Snappening.” This leak contained at least 100,000 pictures and videos from a third-party Snapchat app. It contained a large amount of child pornography, videos, and photos sexted between teenagers. Half of Snapchat’s users are teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17. Even for kids who are cautious with what they send out and to whom they send it to, it is best for parents to remind their children and teens that anything that they post online, is public – even if a snap disappears in seconds. It could come back at anytime in the future. A good rule of thumb that we like to remind teens is public internet does = PERMANENT!
2. Cyber Bullying
Social media is increasingly being used by bullies to torment victims and the main social networks that are used, because of their sheer size, as Facebook and Twitter. Snapchat is also being used by cyberbullies. Cyberbullies love this app, because it is difficult to document cruel messages.
Snapchat was originally designed to be used with pictures. Today, however, there are multiple ways that teens with bad intentions can bully someone and use Snapchat to target their victims. Sending embarrassing photos or videos, containing cruel words and/or photos that compare one teen to an ugly meme or animal are examples of how some mean teens are bullying on Snapchat. This type of snap bullying can often have a significant impact on the person who is on the receiving end.
What's more, many kids deliberately post photos to their “Story” of themselves doing activities or at a party with their friends, in part to show who is there and who was not included. For the person who is being bullied / excluded from the group this compounds their feeling of exclusion.
3. Privacy and safety
Snapchat is a ton of fun to use, and there's lots to discover on it. Since it's so easy to add friends in Snapchat, your kids can end up with lots of people you don't know well on their friends list. And depending on your settings, the app can collect a ton of data about your kids' habits in -- and outside of -- the app. Snapchat also works with a lot of third parties that they share their data with.
How can parents monitor child's Snapchat?
Just like any other form of social media, Snapchat is not the cause of cyberbullying, sexting, or any other behavioral problem. However, it can lead to cyberbullying, sexting and communication with online predators. As parents, you can help your kids from becoming victims or even being the instigators. It is your duty to check out that your kid is not getting engaged in some disastrous activities while using Snapchat. It is worth spending a few minutes to learn about what a parent can do to help keep your teens safer when they use Snapchat.
1. Set Up Snapchat Parental Control
To begin with, parents should make sure your kids are mature enough to use the app in fun and positive ways, and have the maturity to respond appropriately if someone uses an image or video they sent against them or if they see another person being the victim of a bully. Having a Snapchat Parental Control App can help you set some rules and consequences of inappropriate use.
If you want to keep an eye on your child, wishing to keep a record of the images that they are sending and receiving from people via Snapchat, just for later reference, you can use software like mSpy and TeenSafe.
mSpy spyphoneapp is a top rated, highly popular Snapchat parental control app that helps you monitor on your child's Snapchat activities without needing access to their phone. With mSpy Snapchat Parental Control, you can recover the content shared on Snapchat, even if it was deleted. It is recommended when it comes to how to monitor Snapchat is down to the fact that it can be monitored remotely. You can easily access the target device Snapchat account without knowing the target person. It will show you messages that are sent and received on the target device. It can also access other instant messages chat services with mSpy including WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, and many others.
- The most efficient Snapchat parental control app with a simple setup process and instructions to help you monitor your child's Snapchat remotely.
- Parents can monitor on Snapchat and all the other social media apps as well.
- Protect your kid and prevent all unwanted activities on Snapchat.
- If you consider Snapchat is complete time-wasters and poses a lot of dangers to your child, you can simply block it on your child's cell phone.
- Parents can monitor multiple devices in one place.
With TeenSafe Control, parents can set up safety features on any phone or mobile device. The software is compatible with all major models and brands–including Apple and Android. Parents have the option to limit app use either by app type or by appropriateness. And, even if parents allow the use of Snapchat, they also may set strict limitations for when the app may be used. If homework time is typically from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., TeenSafe Control allows parents the freedom to restrict the app’s usage during that period. TeenSafe Control is a great way parents can be flexible with how they use snapchat parental controls on their device.
2. Talk To Your Teen About Snapchat
Talking to your teens before allowing them to use Snapchat is a great start. Make sure they understand the risks and the irreparable harm that can come from one picture or saved Snap. A teen’s brain isn’t completely developed. They’re still maturing, and, as a result, tend to be more impulsive. For this reason, teens don’t always understand how those ghost messages don’t really disappear at all. Parents, however, do understand the permanence of any message. Take control and discuss the rules and regulations of the app with your teen. Through Snapchat, you can limit content. Always work with a teen to set up their account and discuss what privacy settings are best. Never allow their profile to be public. And always tell them if and when you will be monitoring their online activity.
Make sure you have their logins as well so you can see their list of friends when you want to. Also, occasionally check the camera roll to make sure that screenshots are appropriate.
Remind your teens again that they can come to you if they see or experience anything on social media that concerns them. If using and social media app starts to become a problem, a good conversation, and some quality time away may be all that you teen needs! If bullying does surface with any form of social media, always encourage your teen to seek help immediately from a trusted adult.
Attractive Features Made Available by mSpy Snapchat Parental Control
mSpy Snapchat Parental Control comes packed with 150+ features among which the phone spying is the most impressive one. Spy on all messages, calls and multimedia exchanged through WhatsApp and other IM apps including iMessage, Instagram, Facebook, Line, Skype, Kik, Wechat and Viber. Get instant updates of messages along with date, time and sender information. Here is a list of some other features that are certainly going to win your heart -
- Spy photos: Images, Audio files and other multimedia files are a great way to track the cell phone of any android user. mSpy Snapchat Parental Control gives you access to all of the mentioned bouquet of features with the click of one button.
- Skype Messenger Spy: The process to monitor all Skype conversations including multimedia files transferred over the devices got way simpler with mSpy Snapchat Parental Control.
- WhatsApp Messenger Spy: With WhatsApp spy you can easily access all text messages and multimedia messages like videos, images, voice recordings that have been exchanged through WhatsApp messenger.
- Hike Messenger Tracking: A popular social media app Hike is available to users globally. This app can be used for sharing texts and photos. mSpy Snapchat Parental Control App can be used to spy all Hike chats.
- GPS Tracker: mSpy Snapchat Parental Control informs you about the live location of the target android smartphone.
- Remote Camera Capture: Remotely activate the mobile phone camera to take a photo or video, which will be uploaded to your web portal.
- E-mail Spying: Yahoo Mail, Outlook Mail and Gmail are the most popular ways of doing formal communication. People use these email services to share various kinds of emails including spams. You can keep your family secure with the help of mSpy mobile spy app to keep yourself away from all threats. Employers can install mSpy Snapchat Parental Control to their employees mobile to monitor their email conversations, while the parents can install the iPhone parental monitoring app to their kids android device to keep an eye on the emails shared by them.
Why not start to monitor your child's Snapchat using MSPY today. It is one of the most affordable solutions around when it comes to checking what people you know are doing with their phones or tablets! Make sure that your family are fully protected from the dangers that lurk in apps like Snapchat. Do you really want your children watching videos and looking at images without you know what they are doing? Hint: no, you probably do not want that!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
- Best call recorders 2021
- Phone Spy Apps to Spy on Your Boyfriend
- How to track an iPhone by Number Online for Free
- How to Track the Android Phone for Free from an iPhone
- Want to Buy the Best Wireless Spy Camera? Here are the Top 10 Picks
- The 10 best parental monitoring apps for the iPhone
- How to set up and use parental control on iPad?
- How to Know If Someone Has Blocked You on WhatsApp
- Keeping Your Kids Safe on the Internet
- 10 Things You Should Never Say to Teens
> How-to > Snapchat Spy > Parents' Ultimate Guide to Monitor on Child's Snapchat