Snapchat AI safety review: User privacy and safety explained

Around Feb 27, 2023, Snapchat released a feature called My AI and it basically gives the users another toy to play with. However, if you are still new to Snapchat and don’t know what My AI is, its uses, or how to deactivate it, then keep reading because we will cover everything, including is Snapchat AI safe for kids or not!

What is Snapchat’s My AI?

“As the name suggests, Snapchat’s My AI is a virtual assistant powered by Open AI ChatGPT technology whose purpose is to answer user questions.”

Snapchat My AI chatbot is available 24/7 and it can help a user in many ways;

• Talk to the user when nobody is available
• Advise on cooking, playing, hobbies, exercise, etc.
• Help in planning trips, buying a gift, or dating suggestions
• Help them solve Snapchat’s setting problems like blocking a user, setting up Family control, etc.
• It contains trillions of terabytes of knowledge about different topics like math, biology, science, and much more. So, it can help in studies.

Snapchat is rated for kids 13 or above. So, My AI feature should also be used by kids 13+ age.

Why is there an AI on my Snapchat?

Snapchat has introduced an AI because most users don’t fully understand settings like how to change a DP, change filters, remove or block a friend, etc. But with the help of AI, it’s like talking to a person who assists you step by step.

Furthermore, Snapchat introduced the AI to give users a friend to whom they can talk about anything, even their secrets and as this AI contains tons of knowledge you can get advice on literally anything from exercising to cooking to studying, etc.

What is the problem with Snapchat AI?

Snapchat AI isn’t as powerful as ChatGPT, as it gives only basic answers with no facts or figures. In contrast, ChatGPT can write thousands of pages of long e-books. Moreover, Snapchat doesn’t discuss political or adult topics which are the main concerns and problems of 18+ people.

Snapchat AI is not a good friend even for kids because it’s boring as it doesn’t talk like humans; more like a chatbot which gives the same answers again and again. In short, people can use it for Snapchat setup and problem-solving, which it does best and kids can use it to learn basic things.

Is Snapchat AI safe for kids?

Generally speaking, Snapchat MY AI is safe for teens to use. But it depends on how kids use the AI feature, parental supervision, and the child’s understanding of online safety. Some efforts should be made.

• Content and Interactions. Snapchat MY AI, like other AI chatbots, can provide responses based on the prompts you give. Though Snapchat AI is claimed to be safe, inappropriate content may slip through on your child’s phone.
• Parental Controls. While Snapchat offers some parental control features, the parental control feature Snapchat offers may not be effective as it claims.
• Age Limits. The user who uses Snapchat should be at least 13 years old.
• Educational Aspect. It is essential to teach your children about online safety and respectful communication and help your children learn the potential risks of interacting with AI and other online entities.
• Usage Time. Monitoring and limiting your child’s screen time on Snapchat can help prevent overexposure to potentially harmful interactions and content.

However, Snapchat’s AI chatbot “My AI” may raise significant safety and privacy concerns for children and teenagers as conversations with Snapchat My AI and Snapchat privacy are not secure as they seem. On top of that, conversations with Snapchat My AI will be kept in the server, meaning that they will not be automatically deleted from Snapchat’s servers like regular chats. Furthermore, Snapchat’s privacy policy states it may use data from My AI conversations for advertising purposes, which could be troublesome for families.

Snapchat AI can be safe for kids under the right conditions. It needs parents’ active parental involvement and efficient parenting. And also privacy and security are always the priority. Maintaining open communication also could work.

Are Snapchat AI chats private?

Yes, Snapchat AI chats are completely private but another person can read them by accessing the mobile physically. So, it is advisable to clear the sensitive chat immediately.

Moreover, there is always a chance of hackers stealing your information or someone working in the company leaking it. So, Snapchat always advise its users to never share sensitive data like credit cards, home addresses, secrets, etc.

Can parents trust Snapchat AI?

Well, we have tested Snapchat AI with many adult & political questions and it is amazing to see that AI replies that I can’t answer on this. We even, asked AI about harmful comments, pornography links, violent videos, killing, and related topics but the answer was the same.

So, it is safe to say that Snapchat AI is a trustworthy feature and parents can let their kids use it. However, it must be noted that My AI is not a professional adviser and it may mislead your kids about various topics like dieting, hobbies, etc., which can later harm them.

Can I delete Snapchat AI

If you think that the disadvantages of Snapchat AI outweigh the advantages and thinning to delete the My AI feature. However, it must be noted that the Snapchat AI feature can’t be deleted permanently and all you can do is hide AI chat from the main chat list and clear all the history but when someone searches the My AI, the chat can be started again.

So, to hide My AI from the chat list and clear its data, follow the below steps;

Step 1. Pick up your kid’s phone and open the Snapchat app.

Step 1. See below and click on the chat icon which should be at the bottom of the app.

Step 2. Look for “My AI” or “custom name” which your kid assigned for the AI ( it is mostly the 1st chat )

Step 3. Tap and hold the AI chatbot until a pop-up menu opens > search & click on chat & notification settings > then click on 1st option “Clear from chat feed.” This option will hide chat but not delete any sent or received messages.

Step 4. To delete AI chat history > click on your profile icon ( top left corner ).

Step 5. See at the top right corner, there will be a gear-like icon ( settings ); click on it.

Step 6. In the settings menu, scroll all the way down to the subheading “Account Action” and you will find there “Clear my AI data” which will delete all your messages with the AI chat.

If you have Snapchat+, you can even prohibit the My AI from appearing in the friend search list to the point it is like switching off AI permanently. Follow the below steps in Snapchat+;

Step 1. Open Snapchat+ and click on your profile icon ( top right corner ).

Step 2. At the top of the page, you will see the Snapchat+ banner click on it.

Step 3. Now look for the “My AI unpinned” option and switch it off.

It is important to note that kids can still reverse the settings and it will start appearing again in search, so even if you have Snapchat+, My AI will never be turned off, no matter what you do.

6) How to monitor someone’s Snapchat AI usage?

Snapchat may suggest that it’s made for 13+ kids but it’s not. Just go to the search discover section and you will find every other video on adultery or seduction. Even more, Snapchat has no control over Only fan’s account and its AI feature gives basic information all the time, which isn’t even useful.
So, to keep your kids safe, from all the harm of Snapchat, you must allow them until they are 17 or older but kids don’t listen so the next step will be to monitor their every activity and that can be done using the FlashGet Kids parental control app.

Some useful features of this app related to Snapchat are;

• Keyword detection: FlashGet kids have this automatic detector tool with thousands of banned words like porn, fight, bully, sex, etc., and when your kid types any of these words, including in My AI or real chats, the app will send an alert to the parent’s phone with a screenshot so you can evaluate the situation and take action if necessary.
• Notification syncing: With this feature, all the notifications of the kid’s phone will be sent to the parent phone, including subscriptions, AI chat, etc. So, parents can monitor everything.
• Screen mirror: This feature is very helpful as with it, the screen of the kid’s phone is mirrored to the parent’s phone and the best thing is, the kid and parent don’t have to be at the same place; this works worldwide. So, parents can read whole chats, and watch every snap being made and sent.

Besides that, FlashGet Kids also offers other features like location tracking, access to a camera & microphone, a screen time limiter, an app blocker, and so on.

Bonus: Are there any dangers of AI for kids?

Are AI dangerous to humans or kids? It’s a question going around a lot for decades but now with the release of ChatGPT, it has become a real concern. Well, to be fair, there is no clear-cut answer as AI is a double-edged sword, which means it can be beneficial to humans but can also become a real threat.

AI is billions, even trillions of times faster and genius than humans. And to make it worse, it doesn’t need sleep, does not have any emotions, and never ages like humans. So, AI is a real threat, if not handled carefully.

However, in this age, AI is giving benefits and becoming part of everyday life from driving to delivering packages, to manufacturing. By keeping this in view, every parent needs to teach kids about AI and let them interact in a controlled environment.

FAQs