How to Use Snapchat’s Family Center With Your Kids

To all For parents who want to know more about who their kids are talking to on their smartphones, I have good news and bad news. The good news: A well-known social media app recently made changes that allow parents and guardians to access more data about the 13-17 year olds they care for. The bad news: you have to download Snapchat.

Once it’s set up and your account is connected to your kids’, Snapchat’s new Family Center lets you see the kid’s friends list, who they’re messaging, and report potential abuse. Family Center doesn’t let you see the content of their messages. Although the new feature lets you see the approximate time your teen messaged someone in the past week, it doesn’t provide an accurate timestamp.

It’s not as flashy as the company’s recently nixed flying selfie camera, but the family center is a worthwhile security feature that might pique the interest of parents unfamiliar with Snapchat. For more guidance on how, as a parent, you can find the balance between keeping your kids safe and inadvertently cultivating a homegrown surveillance state, check out this article by contributor Cyd Harrell.

How to use Snapchat’s Family Center

Yes, you actually need to download Snapchat on your smartphone to use the Family Center. Once downloaded, open the Snapchat app and tap registration if you don’t have an account yet. The sign-up process begins with a request to access the contact list on your smartphone (which you can allow or deny). Then enter your full name and select Register and accept. Enter your date of birth and tap Continue.

Snapchat will automatically generate a username for you on the next page. Choose Change my username If you want to customize it, otherwise you can tap Continue again. Enter a custom password and your phone number or email address to complete the Snapchat sign-up process. Tap the Skip Button in the top-right corner if you want to put off connecting with your friends and creating a Bitmoji avatar.

So now you have a Snapchat account. Go ahead and add your child as a mutual friend by exchanging usernames or snap codes. You are required to join as a mutual before you can add your child to the Family Center. Once you’re ready to set up Family Center, look for yours profile icon in the upper-left corner of the app’s home screen and tap it. Then select the switch button top right and scroll down until you see a labeled section Privacy Settings.

Here’s the new Family Center panel. Since you’re already friends with your teen on Snapchat, you can tap their name and give them the option to sign up as a family member by selecting them Send invitation. Then the family member’s invitation will be sent as a direct message with a link to sign up through Snapchat.

Remember, once Family Center is enabled, you get live access to a list of your teen’s friends on Snapchat and when they last messaged a user during the week. You do not have access to the frequency of the child’s communication with users or saved photos. The feature is designed as an extra layer of privacy and security for minors on Snapchat, and users 18 years of age or older are not eligible for tracking.