Maybe it wasn’t a great idea to let 14-year-olds post videos to Spotlight in the first place.
Snapchat is making another change meant to further restrict the reach of its youngest users. The app will no longer allow young teens to share content to a publicly viewable version of Spotlight, the app’s hub for shortform video content.
Unlike most other parts of Snapchat, videos shared to Spotlight are public and can be viewed by anyone in the app. Up to now, Snap allowed users as young as 13 to contribute content to the feature, though the app didn’t link younger teens’ profiles to their public posts. Now, Snap will no longer allow anyone between 13 and 15 to contribute to the version of Spotlight that’s visible to most of the app’s users.
Instead, the app is creating a new “profile” feature where younger teens can create shortform content that’s only visible to their mutual friends in the app. Profiles will also host Stories posts, which are also hidden from non-friends for younger teens. According to Snap, the change is meant to “encourage creativity and self-expression within a trusted audience.” It also seems geared toward dialing down the social pressure younger teens often face as it removes metrics like favorites.
Snap, like other social media companies, has faced increasing scrutiny for its handling of teens’ safety and privacy. The company has spent the last few years beefing up its parental control features and making it more difficult for adult strangers to connect with teens. The company is currently facing numerous lawsuits over its record on child safety.
