App review: What every parent needs to know about Snapchat
Snapchat is a popular messaging app that allows teens to exchange user-generated photos, texts, and videos. (Snapchat)
Screenshot of Snapchat. (Snapchat)
Parents need to know that Snapchat is a popular messaging app that allows teens to exchange user-generated photos, texts, and videos - as well as use live video chat. (Common Sense Media)
Parents need to know that Snapchat is a popular messaging app that allows teens to exchange user-generated photos, texts, and videos — as well as to use live video chat. The developer claims these can’t be saved within the app and are only viewable for one to 10 seconds before disappearing from the recipient’s device, noting that the app notifies the sender if the recipient takes a screenshot of an image. However, there are several third-party programs that easily intercept and store any Snapchats sent to the user, negating the “temporary” aspects of the service.
The app has gained a reputation as a “sexting” app because outgoing (and incoming) pictures, videos, and texts are not stored on devices, but many teens use it simply to exchange fun, silly pictures. In addition, a video feature called Discover features curated content from outlets including CNN, Cosmopolitan, Warner Music, and Vice. The Discover content (which disappears after 24 hours, a much longer window than for other content) often features harsh language, violence, advertisements, or videos with, for instance, a character flipping viewers “the bird,” and there is no setting option to opt out.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Snapchat is a photo-messaging app that allows users to put a time limit on a picture, text, or video so the recipient can see it for only a few seconds before it disappears. Users can add friends from their device’s address book and Facebook friends list, or they can enter specific usernames. To send a picture, users take a snapshot using the in-app camera, set a time limit, select recipients, and send. Videos are captured by continuously pressing the on-screen shutter, and texts are typed. Users have a Snapchat mailbox, where they can see a list of sent and received messages. In addition, users can live-chat with others if they’re online at the same time and know each other’s username. The Discover area of the app has daily content from 12 outlets, which changes every day. Viewers get a short video preview and can swipe down to watch or read more, swipe right to see the next story (each outlet files 10 per day), or swipe up to exit that provider’s options. You can also contribute to Our Story; if your snap is chosen, it might be included in a curated collection available to all users.
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Though Snapchat might have (at one time) sounded like a great way to control images, videos, and texts shared with friends, trusting the app with that information is not a wise bet. As soon as the app began to become a hit among users, third-party apps popped up to destroy the illusion of a fleeting thought that disappears once viewed. As with any media-sharing tool, users should be cautious and thoughtful about which images they send with Snapchat. The seemingly risk-free messaging might encourage users to share pictures containing sexual, violent, or illegal content.
Users can receive updates in Snapchat from anyone who knows their usernames, so teens using Snapchat will need to be careful not to share their usernames in public forums. Users also can chat with anyone who knows their usernames in live time, if the two are using the app at the same time. The recently added Discover feature does help keep avid users up to date on current news and pop culture events, but it still features some inappropriate videos and language, as well as advertising hidden in the form of an update.
RATING AND CONTENT
Recommended for ages 16 and older
Quality: 3 out of 5
Learning: 1 out of 5
Ease of play: 5 out of 5
Violence: 3 out of 5
Sex: 3 out of 5
Language: 4 out of 5
Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 1 out of 5
Privacy and safety: 2 out of 5
Consumerism: 3 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)
APP DETAILS
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
Price: Free
Release date: September 26, 2011
Category: Photo and Video
Size: 2.70 MB
Publisher: Toyopa Group, LLC
Minimum software requirements: iOS 4.0 or later; Android 2.2 and up
