How Safe is Snapchat for You As Internet access is expanding in Nepal, the influence of various social networks is also increasing. Looking at the world environment, the question about social network companies is increasing.
It is natural to raise questions after the suspicion that social media can play a role in issues ranging from vandalizing photos to political influence, rebellion, and genocide. In this case, the American company Snapchat seems to be trying to avoid these controversies. But is Snapchat really safe to use?
What is Snapchat, how does it work?
Briefly, Snapchat is a mobile app for Android and iPhone. Photos, videos, and messages sent from it are automatically deleted within some time.
Although this feature is new/different in the context of social media, Meta has brought this type of feature to Facebook and Instagram and Google has already introduced this type of feature to YouTube shorts. Even in Nepal, its users have increased significantly after the TikTok ban.
According to the company’s third quarter of 2023, more than 400 million people are using Snapchat daily and 740 million people are using it daily. The company also provides paid plans on the app. The company has been named Snapchat Plus.
Below are some of the key features of Snapchat:
Snaps: Messages such as photos, and videos sent to other users are understood as snaps.
Stories: Users can create stories using snaps. Which can be seen by the user’s followers or selected friends. Such stories usually last for 24 hours. But those memories also remain in the archive.
Memories: This is the memory of Snap or Story. Which can be seen in later days.
Discover: One of the ways Snapchat makes money is through Discover. In this part of the app, stories created by corporate brands and companies appear. If you use its premium version, you can also see news headlines in it.
Spotlight: This is also similar to Discover. In it, videos made by users such as businesses, creators, and others appear.
Chat: Users can chat with each other through it. It supports text, photo, video calls, etc. Also, money can be sent through it.
Filters: Filters contain various things needed to make a photo or video more attractive. It has various time, environment, terrain, and other filters.
Lenses: This feature completely changes your environment. Users can also add beautiful and attractive 3D objects to bring their world to life.
Bitmoji: This is a separate app for creating avatars. Which is under Snapchat. That is why it has been used a lot in the app. When these two apps are linked together, users can access Lens with their Bitmoji avatar.
Snapmap: With this feature, users can show their real location to others and also see the location of others. Those users are indicated by the Bitmoji icon.
Snapcodes: These are Q-shaped codes. With its help, users can easily connect with other people.
My AI: This is a new feature that came recently in the app. Generative AI Chatbot based on ChatGPT. The company has added some more features to it. It makes conversation very fun and easy.
How safe is it for children and teenagers?
In principle, children should not use any social media including Snapchat. However, comparatively, 12/13-year-old children can use social media under the direct supervision of their families. Most companies these days have tried to prevent children from using social media by keeping age limits.
But the problem is that they belong to a large number of users of Snapchat. However, there are privacy settings in chat, story, and location sharing. But children and teenagers can still see immoral and sexual things that can influence them.
They often use the app to connect with their friends online. But there are people other than them who use the app. Some of them may have wrong intentions. The content they transmit may end up in a child’s or teen’s feed. And, they can change their privacy settings themselves.
How safe is it for adults?
Compared to Facebook/Instagram, adults are said to be safer on Snapchat. Adult users can block potentially harmful content from appearing in their feeds if they wish.
That does not mean that the app is completely safe for adults. Scams and data leaks can be a big challenge for adults. Apps have had a bad history with data security in the past. And, the app’s ‘My AI‘ is another issue that could be a problem.
The company can use the user’s conversation with ‘My AI‘ for its own benefit. In particular, the company can use the conversation in that bot to improve the model and show ads to the user.
More Q&A in short
How safe is it to take personal photos on Snapchat?
Be very careful before sending personal photos to someone online. It is fine as long as you send it to your relatives and trusted people. But you have to be very cautious and alert while sending secret photos. What should be remembered, even if those photos are deleted within a few moments in the app, others can also take screenshots or screen recordings.
How safe is Snapchat compared to WhatsApp?
It is difficult to give an exact answer about this. But there are definitely some differences. Like: It’s a bit difficult to connect with strangers on Snapchat. And compared to WhatsApp, it has fewer users. On the other hand, WhatsApp is used by more than 20 million people every month. In that case, scammers can also be active there.
How safe are video calls on Snapchat?
Compared to other platforms, video calls made on Snapchat are somewhat safer. If you do not believe in this, it is advisable not to make a video call on the platform.
How safe are Snapchat ads?
The thing to think about before this question is that the purpose of any online advertisement is to get people to consume the company’s products. Like; Advertisements aim to install and use any app. In some cases, scam campaigns are also being run through advertisements.