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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;What pictures would you share if you thought the photos would only be visible for a few seconds? That\u2019s the question teens who use Snapchat ask themselves every day.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;While some teens use Snapchat to share silly photos of themselves eating a hamburger or wearing a ridiculous outfit, others use the popular app to share private information that isn\u2019t appropriate for public forums.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If your teen uses a smartphone, there\u2019s a good chance she uses Snapchat. Educate yourself about how this popular app works so you can provide your teen with appropriate education and safety warnings. \u00A0Here are 10 things every parent should know about Snapchat:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;1. Users Decide How Long a Message Will Remain Active&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;When Snapchat users send a picture or a short video, they can choose how long the recipient can view the content\u2014anywhere from 1 to 10 seconds. Then, when the time is up, the content disappears.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;2. The Information Doesn\u2019t Actually Disappear&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;While many teens wouldn\u2019t send scantily clad photos via email or text message, many of them believe it\u2019s safe to do so over Snapchat because the message \u2018disappears.\u2019 But in reality, there are ways to access information after the message fades away. For example, recipients can take screenshots of the content and store images on their devices.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;3. Expired Messages can be Recovered&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The premise of Snapchat can give some teens a false sense of security. In a recent study conducted by the &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~yoshi/papers/snapchat-FC2014.pdf&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;University of Washington&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, over 14% of teens said they were confident that expired messages could never be recovered. In reality, however, someone with technical expertise is likely to be able to recover photos long after they\u2019ve disappeared from a recipient\u2019s screen.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The false sense of security, however, can lead some teens to share content that they wouldn\u2019t normally share via social media. Some teens share private information, while others send scantily clad\u2014or even nude photos\u2014under the premise that the information will permanently disappear in seconds.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;4. Receiving Underage Nude Photos Constitutes Child Pornography&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Snapchat recently added a &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.snapchat.com/safety&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; rel=&amp;quot;nofollow&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Snapchat Safety Center&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; to its website where it asked underage teens to stop &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/how-to-prevent-your-teen-from-sexting-2611304&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;sexting&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. There have been many incidents of teens being charged with child pornography after exchanging nude photos on the app.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;5. Snapchat Has Experienced Data Breaches&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 2014, a hacker published a database containing 4.5 million Snapchat user names and phone numbers online. Much like other online sites, Snapchat isn\u2019t immune to data breaches.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;6. Anyone Over the Age of 13 Can Access Snapchat&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Users under the age of 13 can use a limited version of Snapchat that allows them to take pictures and draw on them, but they aren\u2019t allowed to send photos.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;7. Snapchat is Especially Popular Among Young Girls&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/20/snapchat-ceo-says-70-of-users-are-women/&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The Wall Street Journal&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; reports that 70% of all Snapchat users are female. About 71% of Snapchat users are under the age of 25, according to &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/rising-snapchat-stars-earn-100000-per-week/201806?red&amp;amp;#61;st&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot; rel=&amp;quot;nofollow&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Social Times&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;8. Snapchat Remains One of the Most Popular Social Media Platforms for Teens&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/6&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The Pew Research Center&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; reports that while &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/strategies-to-keep-teens-safe-on-facebook-2608922&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Facebook&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; remains the most &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/social-networking-sites-teens-are-using-2608912&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;popular social media platform for teens&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, Snapchat comes in third, right behind Instagram. Approximately 40% of all teens report using Snapchat.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;9. Companies are Paying Big Money to Advertise to Teens on Snapchat&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Since Snapchat is dominated by young people, companies are paying millions of dollars a day to advertise to them. Colleges, fast food restaurants, and teen-friendly clothing companies are using Snapchat to reach young people.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/what-parents-need-to-know-about-snapchat-2608929>