Today, on Safer Internet Day, Snapchat is going a step further by announcing our new feature, “Friend Check-Up,” that will prompt Snapchatters to review their Friend lists and make sure it’s made up of people they still want to be connected to. This simple tooltip will be served to Snapchatters as a notification in their profile. Friends Check Up will start rolling out globally for Android devices in the coming weeks, and for iOS devices in the coming months.
Friend Check-Up will serve to remind Snapchatters that over time they may have added someone to their friend’s list who they may no longer want to be in touch with on our app. With a quick, private, convenient process, Friend Check-Up enables Snapchatters to clean up their lists and comfortably remove those who don’t need to be there or may have been added as a mistake.
This new feature is part of a more comprehensive campaign that was kicked off last month (more info here) with the goal of further integrating online safety and privacy education in Snapchat, in ways that will help resonate with our mobile-first generation. This initiative spans new products, like Friend Check Up, partnerships and resources, including several new and expanded collaborations we are announcing today:
To raise awareness in-app for Safer Internet Day, Snapchat has partnered with Connect Safely in the US and ChildNet in the UK on filters that will swipe up to additional safety resources from each organisation; and co-authored a guide for our community to help understand how to report any issues to us and debunk myths.
Crisis Text Line, one of our longtime partners, will further integrate their resources into Snapchat and make it even easier for Snapchatters to get in touch with a licenced counsellor or find support. CTL recently partnered with us to update our Parents Guide, which provides important tips about how to use our app safely.
Snapchat will be expanding there work with Crisis Text Line to the U.K. by partnering with Shout 85258. This is the UK’s only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service. Similar to our partnership with Crisis Text Line, the Snap community in the UK will have direct access to trained volunteers by texting KIND to 85258. The service is very similar to what we provide with Crisis Text Line across the U.S. (i.e., “Struggling to cope? Text KIND to 741741”).
Snapchat are also partnering with The Trevor Project, the world’s largest crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people, to better support LGBTQ youth mental health. This includes integrating access to Trevor’s global safe space social networking site, TrevorSpace, directly into Snapchat. They will also partner to amplify resources related to LGBTQ allyship and the process of coming out.
They are also partnering with Mind Up|The Goldie Hawn Foundation, on an online parent course that will be available to parents globally including the Snap and MindUP community. This free course will give parents basic tools and strategies to support their teens’ well-being, based on the latest science in the areas of neuroscience, mindfulness, social and emotional learning, and positive psychology.
These initiatives also build on a package of safety and wellbeing efforts over the last year, including the launch of Here For You, our in app support portal that provides expert information and resources on a range of topics, such as mental health, domestic violence, grief, and much more, and our Headspace Mini, which provides in-app meditations and tools to help Snapchatters check in on their friends.
Snapchat hopes these new tools will help Snapchatters continue to connect safely with their friends and loved ones.
Recent Comments