- A report from 45 UK police forces has revealed that Snapchat is the most common platform for online grooming.
- A total of 7062 cases of grooming were recorded in 2023-2024. Out of this, in 1834 cases, the platform of communication was successfully identified. And half of those belonged to Snapchat.
- The company has addressed this news and said that it has zero tolerance for such horrific activities and is already taking a bunch of security measures.
According to police reports, Snapchat is the most common social media app used by groomers. Although most of the victims are young girls, the youngest victim in 2023-2024 was a 5-year-old boy.
The data was found by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), which included numbers from 45 UK police forces.
- The report revealed that 7,062 Sexual Communication with a Child Offences were recorded between 2023-2024 alone – an 89% increase from 2017-2018 and the highest number ever recorded.
- Out of this, in only 1,824 cases the platform used for the communication was successfully identified and half of them belonged to Snapchat.
Some users have come forward to share their horrific experiences with Snapchat. Nikki (name changed) was only 8 years old when she was approached by someone on a gaming platform who influenced her to get on Snapchat.
‘I don’t need to explain details, but anything that you can imagine happening happened in those conversations – videos, pictures, requests of certain material from Nikki, etc,’ – Nikki’s mother
Her mom then created a fake Snapchat account, pretending to be her daughter, and talked to the man. When the man responded, she reported him to the police.
Another victim was Thomas (name changed) who was only 14 when he was first groomed online. He described the first conversation as a simple chat, and the person seemed to be the most supportive person he had ever met.
But then, slowly after a month, the perpetrator tried pressuring him into believing that he was gay. Thomas was also made to send pictures, which he did, but reluctantly. And when he didn’t want to send more, the perp threatened to send his pictures to everyone.
It took a lot of courage but Thomas finally managed to block him on all social media platforms.
What Does Snapchat Have to Say About This?
The report has been acknowledged by the company and it said that it has zero tolerance against such horrific activity.
Even now, if they detect such activity or if a case is reported to them, the company immediately deletes all content, disables the account of the groomer, ensures that they can’t create a new account, and then reports them to the authorities.
They also have other protections in place to make it difficult for strangers to contact teens. And there’s also the in-app Family Centre where parents can keep an eye on their kid’s activities.
What Is the Main Problem?
Some might cite the platform’s popularity among kids as one of the reasons. But Whatsapp and Instagram are also popular among that demographic. Yet WhatsApp has only shown a small increase in such cases whereas Instagram has actually managed to reduce such instances.
The primary problem with Snapchat is its design.
- For starters, all Snapchat messages disappear by default. The longest you can keep a message is for 24 hours. This makes it hard to find incriminating evidence.
- Even the photos and videos disappear. So even if the groomer is sending inappropriate images to a minor, there’s no way to prove it.
The second issue is that Snapchat shows your location to everyone. Not just your state or city but it can actually narrow down to your almost exact location. This makes it easier for online groomers to target their victims in real life or gather blackmail content.
However, Snapchat has addressed this concern with a feature called “simplified-location sharing”, where users can choose which friends can see their location.
Now, since these features are inherent to the platform, it might not be possible for the company to change the whole design. However, Snapchat does need to introduce more security protocols to ensure the protection of teens online.
And Snapchat seems to be taking the issue seriously – the social media platform introduced some features to keep minors safe on the platform in late June this year:
- Minors will not be able to send or receive friend requests from people they don’t have mutual friends with.
- Snapchat will warn minors against users who have been reported or blocked by other users.
- Once a user is blocked, they will not be able to send friend requests again from different accounts created from the same device.
These features surely help minors stay safe on the platform. However, predators are always on the lookout for new methods to capture victims, which is why both Snapchat and parents need to be vigilant.
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Krishi is an eager Tech Journalist and content writer for both B2B and B2C, with a focus on making the process of purchasing software easier for businesses and enhancing their online presence and SEO. Read more
Krishi has a special skill set in writing about technology news, creating educational content on customer relationship management (CRM) software, and recommending project management tools that can help small businesses increase their revenue.
Alongside his writing and blogging work, Krishi’s other hobbies include studying the financial markets and cricket. Read less
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