An action against bullying and harassment, Snap says it will no longer allow anonymous messaging from third-party apps that hook into its platform. The company said that while most people used these features in “fun, engaging, and entirely appropriate ways,” it acknowledged others might take advantage of anonymity “to engage in harmful behavior.”
From now on, third-party apps that want to let folks communicate through a Snapchat integration will need to have registered users with visible usernames and identities, which will bring seamless experience like best Australian online casinos.
“While we know that most Snap chatters used these anonymous integrations in fun, engaging, and entirely appropriate ways, we believe some users might be more prone to engage in harmful behavior — such as bullying or harassment — if they have the shroud of anonymity,” the company says in a blog post.
Last May, Snap locked two third-party apps that allowed for anonymous messages out of its developer platform and began a review of Snap Kit standards and policies. The decision came soon after the filing of a lawsuit related to the death of a teenager who was allegedly bullied through the apps, Yolo and LMK. The teen’s mother sought to hold the makers of all three apps liable.
Of the more than 1,500 developers with access to Snap Kit, two percent will be affected by this policy, according to The Verge. Another rule change will impact three percent of Snap Kit developers: friend-finding apps will be restricted to those aged 18 and older. Snap is enacting that change to protect younger users and make things “more consistent with Snapchat’s use case — communications between close friends who already know each other.”
One app that greatly benefited from the earlier ban on anonymous messaging apps, Sendit, is among those that will need to make changes in order to continue to work with Snapchat. In a matter of months following the bans, Sendit had gained millions more downloads from teens who still wanted a way to post anonymous Q&As.
Snap also said it will conduct periodic reviews every six months to ensure the functionality of the apps hasn’t changed in a way that would violate its policies. Any developer who intentionally seeks to deceive Snap will be removed from Snap Kit and the developer platform altogether, it added. While these measures are welcomed, a lot more still needs to be done.
For instance, the company has yet to address child safety issues on its platform through something like an age-gated experience for minors, similar to TikTok, or through the launch its promised parental controls, which Instagram and TikTok now have.
Platform safety is already top of mind for social media companies industry-wide as regulatory pressure heats up. In its case, Snap was hauled before Congress last fall to answer lawmakers’ questions over various safety issues impacting minors and young adults using its app, including the prevalence of eating disorder content and adult-oriented fare that’s inappropriate for Snapchat’s younger teenage users but not blocked by an age gate.
Snap was also sued this January alongside Meta by another family that lost their child to suicide after she succumbed to pressure to send sexually explicit photos that were later leaked among her classmates. The complaint states that Snapchat’s lack of verification of the child’s age and its use of disappearing messages contributed to her death. In addition, the suit mentions how anonymous messaging played a role, though it doesn’t directly reference the use of third-party anonymous apps.
In the same month, Snap addressed other issues with its friend recommendation feature to make it harder for drug dealers to connect with teens on the app. The problem had been the subject of an NBC News investigation that connected Snapchat with the sale of fentanyl-laced pills that had killed teens and young adults in over a dozen states. However, you can still screenshot your winnings from best sports betting Australia to Snapchat for your friends to see.
Prior to that, the company faced lawsuits for its “speed filter” that let users take photos that showed how fast they were going. The filter contributed to numerous car accidents, injuries, and even deaths over the years. It was later disabled at driving speed initially, then taken down in 2021. (Snap declined to comment on this matter because litigation is pending.)