Snapchat restricts Spotlight videos of users under 16 to friends-only.

      Snapchat is now limiting how its youngest users can share videos. Starting this week, users aged 13 to 15 will have a special profile where their Stories and short Spotlight clips can only be viewed by friends who they have mutually accepted, and these will not be visible to the broader public on Spotlight anymore.

      Previously, users under 16 could post to Spotlight, Snap’s public feed similar to TikTok, but their posts were not linked to a profile. This arrangement allowed them to participate while being protected from strangers. The new system removes public access completely for this age group and eliminates engagement metrics, such as favorite counts on these profiles, reducing the pressure to gain likes.

      Snap stated, "For younger teens, we believe the default should be a more private sharing experience."

      Snap is creating a tiered experience based on age. Those aged 13 to 15 will have friends-only profiles, while users aged 16 to 17 can opt for a limited introduction to public sharing with additional protections and parental oversight. Only at 18 will users receive full public profiles and distribution. This setup builds on existing protections for teens, including strict default settings, restrictions on contacts from people not added by the teen, pre-moderated public content, and Family Center tools that allow parents to see their child's friends and recent contacts.

      This decision follows a trend that has been seen across platforms. Instagram has developed teen accounts with stricter defaults, and various platforms are adding protections for minors. Snap is acting under significant pressure: it resolved a social-media addiction lawsuit earlier this year and is facing similar lawsuits throughout the US, even while CEO Evan Spiegel contends that Snapchat is a positive, friend-focused platform that should not be compared to TikTok and Instagram.

      The context is influenced by global regulatory developments. Legislators are increasing regulation from state age-verification bills in the US to the UK’s Online Safety Act and the EU’s initiatives for uniform age protections for children. Meta is currently in a legal battle with Ofcom regarding the UK legislation.

      However, the challenge remains that such features only work if the platform accurately verifies the age of its users. Age verification on Snapchat, as with many other apps, typically relies on self-reported birthdays, which research has shown can be easily misrepresented by determined teenagers. Friends-only profiles and the removal of favorite counts represent real changes, but whether they effectively reach the teens who need them depends on a challenge the industry has not yet addressed.