Snapchat to Launch Family Center: What Is It?

Family Center by Snapchat is one of the measures to ensure parents and their children are safe on the app. But how is it implemented? The screenshots recently revealed by TechCrunch show what the elders can see and learn about minors within this center. And while the picture is sedating for parents, it may be stressful for the future of Snapchat.

According to what we see on the screenshots, the adult can get quite much information about the child’s activity. The center shows who the child engages in talks with, who they follow, who has accepted their requests or sent theirs, and so on. We have no reason to think that adults can read the child’s messages; as if the rest isn’t enough.

Making parents feel secure about their kids sounds like a great thing. Most communication platforms either already have it or plan to implement it. But Snapchat (we must remind) is not your average messenger. Incomprehensible for many traditional-minded adults, it’s a comfort zone for youngsters, with its warmness and privacy that was its first feature (with self-destructing messages if you remember). This made users feel secure on Snapchat, especially if in real life they’re not.

So, though Snapchat may indeed be home to dangerous communication, introducing these tools may destroy its image of a safe haven where users can just be themselves. Imagine a scene: a strict parent learns about this Family Center and compels the child to accept the invitation. Then a former father or mother becomes the Big Brother, resulting in kids learning to self-censor and hide from themselves. Quite a terrible scenario beyond the best of intentions. One could say it depends on the adults’ tact, but it's those without tact that a youngster needs a digital refuge from, and this privacy can be disrupted. Won’t the cure be worse than the illness?

With these concerns, we wait until Snap launches the center. What do you think about it? Isn’t it the case when privacy and security may stand against each other? Share your considerations with us in the comments!