# Snapchat Checks New Sharing Choices for Older Teenagers

Amid increasing world debates about potential age limits on social media utilization, Snapchat is experimenting with a brand new course of that’ll allow teenagers aged 16 and 17 to share their posts with a broader viewers within the app.
Although it received’t be public posting, as such.
Snapchat already has numerous protections in place to restrict publicity for younger customers, which embrace public posting restrictions within the app. And now, Snap’s making an attempt out a brand new solution to give teenagers a solution to additional share their content material, in a safer, extra privacy-focused method.
As per Snap:
“Knowledgeable by suggestions from our group, older teenagers will have the ability to submit content material to a brand new publicly viewable content material web page inside their profile constructed with considerate protections in place. These capabilities shall be rolling out slowly to our group.”
So moderately than posting publicly as older customers can, teen customers may have a brand new, filtered course of that permits broader sharing.
“Now Snapchatters who’re 16+ and need to share their creativity can submit a public Story or share a video to Highlight with attribution again to their publicly viewable content material web page inside their profile that has additional safeguards in place. There, they’ll save their Tales and Spotlights to showcase their favourite posts.”
Teen content material will solely be distributed to a restricted viewers of mutual and expanded connections, whereas teenagers can even be restricted in how they’ll interact with non-connections by way of this course of.
Snapchat additional notes that it’ll embrace extra controls over each bit of content material, which is able to allow customers to find out the place every of their Snaps is shared, and who can view such.
“On Snapchat, it’s all the time greater than a one-time selection to easily be public or be personal.”
That’s a superb line, and expanded sharing inside this method will give older teenagers extra alternatives for publicity and connection within the app.
Although Snap can even must tread rigorously right here. Final week, the State of New Mexico filed a lawsuit which alleges that Snapchat has repeatedly failed defend kids from sextortion, sexual exploitation, and hurt within the app.
Expanded sharing choices may additionally broaden the danger profile on this respect, and with scrutiny on social apps rising, Snap might want to make sure that it’s certainly taking a measured method to this new roll out.
Nevertheless it may additionally open new doorways for older teen customers, which may make Snap a fair greater a part of their life. There’s a transparent stability to keep up, however Snap does appear to have the suitable methods in place to broaden this factor.
Andrew Hutchinson