How to protect teens from sexting on Snapchat?

You might think that Snapchat is a quirky app for your teen to socialize on, but the reality is quite bizarre. The majority of users rely on Snapchat for sexting, and you’ll find many stories about it online. Moreover, it isn’t rare for teenagers to get curious about sexting on Snapchat after learning that their texts and shared content are deleted after a certain period. I know that Snapchat offers a bit of anonymity to every user. However, this anonymity only promotes negative thoughts and urges kids to participate in unholy activities. So, if your child is spending a lot of time on this app, you need to protect them from sexting. Otherwise, they will soon lose their innocence and make a dumb mistake.

Sexting on Snapchat: parents should know

If you’re a parent, you might wonder why kids specifically stick to Snapchat for sexting. Is it the picture filters? Is it the quirky stickers? Wrong! The whole reason why teens and even adults feel more comfortable when sexting on Snapchat is that this app offers disappearing messages. Depending upon the chat settings, any text or content is deleted after viewing or after 24 hours. If the other party decides to take a screenshot or record their screen, you will get a notification on your app.

These features ensure a bit of security net for the sender. However, what kids don’t realize is that people often have multiple phones. The receiver of your kid’s explicit photos can use a different phone to save it on their device. These pictures can then be used to blackmail your child or to bully them online.

If you’re a parent, you need to realize that anything that your child uploads on the internet might stay there forever. Sadly, kids can be too dumb to accept this fact, and they share their explicit photos with potential partners or even strangers sometimes. For this reason, you need to first sit your child down and have a serious talk about sexting on Snapchat.

Why is Snapchat famous for sexting?

Snapchat is the most famous sexting platform because it offers users the “disappearing messages” feature by default. Moreover, it offers alerts when the receiver tries to save or screenshot the messages. So, if you’re sure that the receiver has only one device, you’ll know when they save your pictures or texts on their device. However, what users don’t realize is that it is fairly common for people to have multiple phones.

The safety net of alerts and disappearing messages by Snapchat is great, without a doubt, but it is not foolproof. As long as the other person is motivated to exploit your messages or pictures, they will be able to easily store everything on a different device. So, never think that your pictures are safe, and trust the other person by sending them your explicit photos or videos.

Signs that teen might be sexting

If you’re worried that your teen might be sexting, then you need to pay more attention to their behavior. Usually, when kids get curious about mature content, they will overreact when you touch their phone. Here are a few common signs that might help you deduce if your teen is sexting someone or not.

Panicked behavior when you touch their phone.

When your teen starts sexting on Snapchat, they will be much more protective of their devices. If they get panicked when you pick up their phone, then something might be wrong!

Deleted history and media.

When teens start sexting, they will be more keen on removing everything from their mobile devices. If you can’t find anything in your child’s phone gallery, then it is right to get suspicious.

Passwords on every social app.

Teenagers who are involved in sexting will have passwords on every social application. If Snapchat and every other social application on your child’s phone are restricted, you should inquire more about the issue.

Overreactions when you ask for their phone.

If your kid gets furious when you ask for their phone, then they might be hiding something sketchy. Usually, teens who start sexting will protect their phones and keep them hidden from their parents. So, if your kid starts making excuses or goes into a rage when you ask for their phone, they might be sexting on Snapchat.

Spending more time alone.

When teens get curious about sexting, they will spend more and more time alone. The guilty pleasure of sexting on Snapchat won’t let them come face to face with their parents. So, if your child is avoiding you for a couple of days, you need to look into their daily activities.

Excessive screen time.

Lastly, when teenagers are involved in sexting, they will spend more and more time on Snapchat. If your child’s phone time has increased by a couple of hours per day, then they might be involved in sexting. Just make sure to check their daily device usage to narrow down the issue further.

These are just a few signs you need to be on the lookout for when your kid is using Snapchat. Personally, I’d suggest to just follow your gut and ask your child to show you their phones. If you have a feeling that your child is doing something unholy, then there is no reason to wait for confirmation.

How to protect teens from sexting on Snapchat?

Every teenager will get curious about sexting on Snapchat at some point in their social lives. Some kids even think that it is cool to send explicit photos of their bodies to strangers online. However, these kids don’t realize that these images will remain on the internet forever. When a person sends an explicit image to another person, they lose all control over how the image will be used. So, you will need to educate your child about sexting.

I know there are a ton of tools and methods that can be implemented to protect teens from sexting on Snapchat, but it will be better for you to just educate your child first. No matter what method you use, if your kid wants to sext, they will find a way. So, instead of grounding your kid or taking their devices away, just sit them down and have a talk. Tell them about the dangers of sexting and make them understand.

How to prevent sexting on snapchat?

Once you’ve made sure to educate your child, you can then use parental control tools like FlashGet Kids to prevent sexting on Snapchat for good. This tool will keep you updated with everything your child does on their device. So, let me walk you through how to prevent sexting on Snapchat with FlashGet Kids.

Download and install FlashGet Kids on your phone.

Create an account on this application.

Download the FlashGet Kids (kid’s version) on your child’s device.

Launch both apps and complete the binding process.

Open the parental control app on your phone.
Use the live monitoring features to mirror your kid’s mobile screen.

Use the notification tracker to see who your kid talks to on Snapchat.

Set Keyword Detection to detect whether the messages that they sent and received contained toxic information.

Both of these features from FlashGet Kids will make sure that you’re always aware of what your child does on Snapchat. When your kid gets a text on Snapchat, the notification tracker will alert you right away. From there, you can use the screen mirroring tool from FlashGet Kids to see if your child is sexting. If you do find some explicit content, confiscate your child’s device and don’t give it back until you think they’ve understood your point.

Bonus: Is Snapchat safe for sending private photos?

The privacy policy from Snapchat makes it a great option for sending private photos to another person. However, that doesn’t mean that Snapchat is foolproof. There are still a ton of ways your private photos can be saved by the receiver. So, if you’re not sure about the intentions of the other person, it is best not to send private photos.

However, if you’re talking about data leakage and Snapchat’s privacy policy, then you don’t have to worry. Anything that you send through Snapchat will only be accessible by the receiver. So, as long as you completely trust the person you’re sending explicit photos to, there is no harm in using Snapchat. Everything comes down to the trust you have in the person receiving your private photos.

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