Snapchat’s special features on child safety at AI Impact Summit 2026.

There is a serious discussion going on at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 regarding the safety of children, especially in the era of increasing use of Artificial Intelligence. In an important session on 17 February, the focus was on the responsibility of platforms and the safety of users, especially children. In the summit’s child safety session, Snapchat emphasized its privacy and parental control features, but the company itself is struggling with many serious risks. Especially regarding the safety of children. On behalf of Snapchat, Public Policy Head (APAC) Uthara Ganesh said that Snapchat is a ‘one-to-one’ chat platform, which minimizes contact with strangers, provides tools like default private location, disappearing messages and Family Center.

Parents can also limit or block My AI. Nevertheless, these claims conflict with numerous reports and legal cases where Snapchat is considered dangerous to children. The biggest risk is related to My AI Chatbot. In tests, it has given inappropriate advice to minor users.

He talked about this issue in detail and told how his platform works towards keeping children safe. Uthara stressed that Snapchat should be considered separate from traditional social media platforms. While many apps are based on open public feeds like Town Square, Snapchat primarily focuses on one-to-one chatting.

This reduces unwanted contacts with strangers. He said, ‘The structure of our platform is such that interactions with strangers are kept to a minimum, which becomes a big safety net for children.’ Snapchat keeps many security features turned on by default, so users don’t need to change settings separately.

These include keeping location sharing private, automatic disappearance of messages and the facility for users to control chats. With this, conversations remain private and old chats can be prevented from reaching unwanted people. One special thing is about Parental Controls.

Emphasis on family center feature
Snapchat’s Family Center feature allows parents to monitor their teenagers’ activity. With this, parents can see who their children are talking to, how much time they are spending on the app and who are adding new friends. Uthara emphasized that these tools are transparent and trust-based, which maintain a balanced relationship between parents and children.

Additionally, Snapchat also has an integrated AI chatbot, called ‘My AI’. This feature provides helpful interactions to users, but parents can control it, such as blocking or limiting it. It shows how AI can be made safe and useful, without putting children at risk.

The panel also included experts from LEGO Education, Cyber ​​Saathi and other organisations, who called for zero tolerance on child profiling, ethical AI design and child-centric policies. This statement from Snapchat underlines the responsibility of platforms regarding the digital safety of children. This session in the summit is clearly indicating that in the era of AI, the safety of children is not an option but a necessity.