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Snapchat starts disabling friend-finder feature for UK children, regulator says
Ofcom said the default change follows concerns about grooming, as 32% of British children aged 8 to 12 use Snapchat.
- On Friday, British regulator Ofcom said Snapchat began disabling its "Find Friends" feature by default for child users in Britain, an important step to reduce online grooming risks on the platform.
- A 2025 analysis by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found 40 per cent of recorded sexual communication offences involving children occurred on Snapchat, highlighting acute safety concerns.
- Despite the minimum age restriction of 13, Ofcom reported in May that 32 per cent of children aged 8 to 12 in Britain were using Snapchat, revealing widespread underage access.
- Online Safety Group director Oliver Griffiths called the change "long overdue," saying the regulator would monitor Snapchat's rollout of the new protection this month.
- Ofcom re-issued a warning to other tech companies failing to tackle grooming risks, cautioning they face potential fines of up to 10 per cent of their qualifying global revenue.
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Snapchat starts disabling friend-finder feature for UK children, regulator says
British media regulator Ofcom said on Friday that Snapchat had begun disabling its "Find Friends" feature by default for child users in Britain, in what it called an important step to reduce the risk of online grooming.
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources5
Leaning Left0Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Center
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
80% Center
C 80%
R 20%
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