Data protection: Snapchat gives parents an insight into the contacts of young people

For the first time, Snapchat operator Snap is giving parents the opportunity to check their children's contacts on the social media platform.

Parents could see who they were communicating with via Snapchat, but not what about, the US Internet network said on Tuesday.

Something similar is possible with Instagram from Facebook.

In addition, worrisome activities could be reported.

More features expected

More features would be added gradually.

Snapchat's offer is called Family Center, parents have to invite their children to it.

Social media have been criticized around the world for failing to protect children.

US MPs accuse Snap and competitors like ByteDance subsidiary TikTok and Google video portal YouTube of subjecting young users to harassment and harmful content.