Snapchat now lets parents track teens' screen time and new friends: Details

Snapchat has updated its Family Center with new features that allow parents to see how much time teens spend on the app, get more context around new friend connections, and more

Snapchat is rolling out a new update to its Family Center that adds more tools for parents to better understand how their teens use the app. The update includes insights into time spent on Snapchat, expanded information around new friend connections, and new safety and educational resources. According to Snapchat, the aim is to help families understand teen activity on the platform while continuing to respect user privacy.

Snapchat Family Center update: What’s new

Snapchat insights

 

According to Snapchat, parents using Family Center can now see the average amount of time their teen spends on Snapchat each day over the past week. This data is broken down by feature, including Chat, Camera, Snap Map, Spotlight, and Stories. The company said this is meant to give parents a clearer view of how time is spent on the app, whether through messaging, content creation, or video consumption.

 

New friend connections

 

Snapchat said Family Center already allows parents to see their teen’s friends list and any new friends added in the past week. With the latest update, parents will also receive additional context when a teen adds a new friend. This includes trust signals such as whether the two users have mutual friends, whether the contact is saved in the teen’s phone, and which communities they may share. According to Snapchat, this added detail is intended to help parents better understand how connections are formed on the platform. 

 

New safety and educational resources

 

The update also introduces a new step-by-step video designed to help parents and caregivers get started with Family Center. Snapchat said the video explains how the tools work and highlights available safety features. The company reiterated that Family Center is designed to reflect real-world family dynamics by offering visibility into activity and settings, without providing access to private conversations. 

 

Existing controls in Family Center

 

Snapchat noted that parents can already use Family Center to view recent contacts, manage content restrictions, share location within the family, and report concerning accounts. They can also limit access to certain features, including the My AI chatbot and, in the future, the AI-powered search engine Perplexity.