Snapchat

Messaging app built around disappearing photos and videos, plus a live location map.

Menu names shift between software versions and between phone makers. If a name here does not match what you see, look for something close by rather than assuming the setting is gone.

1. 1

   Add each other as friends

   Family Center only works between accounts that are already friends.

   1. On your account, tap Add Friends and search your child’s username.
   2. Have them accept.
2. 2

   Set up Family Center

   It shows you their contacts from the last week and lets you report accounts directly to Snapchat.

   Profile → ⚙️ Settings → Privacy Control → Family Center

   1. Open your profile, tap the gear icon, then Privacy Control, then Family Center.
   2. Select your child’s name and send the invitation.
   3. On their phone, they tap View Invitation, then Accept.

   You’ll see who they’ve messaged in the last seven days and their friends list.

   Who holds this: Either of you can change this, and neither of you is told when the other does.

3. 3

   Turn on Ghost Mode

   Snap Map shows live location to everyone on their friends list, which for most children makes this the single most important setting on Snapchat. One thing to expect: Ghost Mode hides them from everyone on that list, and if you are on it, that includes you.

   Map screen → ⚙️ (top right) → Ghost Mode

   1. From the camera screen, tap the location pin at the bottom left to open the Map.
   2. Tap the gear icon in the top right.
   3. Turn on Ghost Mode.

   Recommended by age

   Under 7	Ghost Mode on
   7–11	Ghost Mode on
   11–12	Ghost Mode on
   13–15	Ghost Mode on, or share with a small chosen list
   16–17	Agree together. At minimum, not 'My Friends'

   Who holds this: This lives in your child's own settings, so they can change it back. There is no parent-side lock for it.

4. 4

   Limit who can contact them and see their story

   Default settings are more open than most parents expect.

   Profile → ⚙️ Settings → Privacy Controls

   1. Open Contact Me and set it to Friends.
   2. Open View My Story and set it to My Friends, or a Custom list.
   3. Turn off Quick Add so they stop being suggested to strangers.

   Recommended by age

   13–15	Friends only, Quick Add offOnly people already on their friends list can reach them. Strangers cannot.
   16–17	Friends only, Quick Add offOnly people already on their friends list can reach them. Strangers cannot.

   Who holds this: This lives in your child's own settings, so they can change it back. There is no parent-side lock for it.

   If someone is being cruel to them

   Snapchat is the hardest place to collect evidence, because the messages delete themselves. If something is happening, capture it before you do anything else, and know that Snapchat tells the sender when you screenshot a chat, not just a snap.

5. 5

   Restrict sensitive content in Stories and Spotlight

   Discover and Spotlight are public feeds, and they’re where most of the age-inappropriate content sits.

   Family Center → Content Controls

   1. In Family Center, open Content Controls.
   2. Turn on the restriction for sensitive content.

   Who holds this: This lives in your child's own settings, so they can change it back. There is no parent-side lock for it.

6. 6

   Talk about the disappearing part

   Children often believe a snap is gone forever. It isn’t. Anyone can screenshot or photograph the screen with another phone.

   1. Explain that anything sent can be saved by the person receiving it.
   2. Agree that if they’re ever sent something upsetting, they screenshot it before it disappears and show you.

Menus move. If something on screen does not match these steps, check the official link above.