Parents will now have the choice to prevent their teenagers from engaging with the “My AI” chatbot on Snapchat.
In response to concerns regarding the tool’s safety for young individuals, the update entails that if parents decide to turn off the feature, teenagers can still send messages to My AI. However, the chatbot will only reply with a notification indicating its deactivation.
In April, Snap introduced My AI, a rollout that promptly raised concerns among parents regarding the appropriateness of their children engaging with a highly personalized computer chatbot. In a Thursday blog post, Snapchat stated that My AI has safeguards such as protection against inappropriate or harmful responses, temporary usage restrictions for users who repeatedly misuse the service, and age-aware features.
Additionally, Snapchat will allow parents to monitor their teens’ safety and privacy settings through the Family Center. This includes visibility into who their child shares Stories posts with, who can contact their child on the app, and whether their child is sharing their location through the live “Snap Map” feature.
Since the introduction of the Family Center, Snapchat has been consistently implementing multiple safety measures for youth. This includes implementing a “strike system” in September, targeting accounts within its Stories and Spotlight sections that promote content unsuitable for teenagers.
Nevertheless, the platform is working towards enhancing the accessibility of the Family Center. Users can now easily access the feature through the settings section or by tapping near the “bitmoji” icon at the top left of the app’s home screen. Additionally, users can search for relevant terms such as “safety,” “family,” or “parent” to find the Family Center.
