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Snap launches tools for parents to monitor teens’ contacts

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  • Parental control tool will let parents see who their teens are talking to, but not substance of their conversations.
  • Feature is launching at time when social media companies have been criticised over lack protection for kids.
  • Parents can also confidentially report any concerning accounts.

Snap, owner of the popular messaging app Snapchat, rolled out its first parental control tools on Tuesday, which will allow parents to see who their teens are talking to, but not the substance of their conversations.

The new feature called Family Centre is launching at a time when social media companies have been criticised over a lack protection for kids. In October, Snap and its tech peers TikTok and YouTube testified before US lawmakers accusing the companies of exposing young users to bullying or steering them toward harmful content. 

Instagram also testified in a Senate hearing in December over children’s online safety, after a Facebook whistleblower leaked internal documents that she said showed the app harmed some teens’ mental health and body image. 

Parents can invite their teens to join Family Centre on Snapchat, and once the teens consent, parents will be able to view their kids’ friends list and who they have messaged on the app in the past seven days. They can also confidentially report any concerning accounts.

However, parents will not be able to see private content or messages sent to and from their teens, said Jeremy Voss, Snap’s head of messaging products, in an interview.

“It strikes the right approach for enhancing safety and well-being, while still protecting autonomy and privacy,” he said.

Snap said it plans to launch additional features in the coming months, including notifications to parents when their teen reports abuse from a user.

Prior to Family Centre, Snap already had some teen protection policies in place. By default, profiles for Snapchat users under 18 are private, and they only show up as a suggested friend in search results when they have friends in common with another user. Users must be at least 13 years old to sign up.

Snap’s new tools follow a similar move by Instagram, which launched its Family Centre in March, allowing parents to view what accounts their teens follow and how much time they spend on the app.

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Schools will not be open on Saturday.

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In all educational institutions under federal management, the Saturday holiday has been formally eliminated by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

According to a notification released on Friday, the decision was made to make up for the disruptions to academic activities caused by recent school closures. The ruling is set to take effect tomorrow, November 30, and will last until February 1, 2025.

The school holiday on Saturday

This implies that, as of tomorrow, Saturday will be regarded as a complete working day in educational institutions under the control of the FDE.

According to FDE authorities, the decision was made because extended holidays and unplanned closures had a major negative impact on students’ education. To guarantee that students receive the necessary instructional time and finish their syllabus on time, the notification read.

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Users of WhatsApp respond to the new animated “Typing” bubble

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Many people have expressed their displeasure with the new function, which has caused a great deal of anger. The upgrade was reportedly released with little notice.

According to details, this update, which users claim was implemented with minimal prior notice, has led to considerable frustration among many, who perceive the new feature as distracting and unnecessary.

The well-known “typing” indicator, previously displayed at the top of conversations, has now been replaced by a moving chat bubble positioned below the most recent message. Despite the seemingly insignificant change, several people have already voiced their displeasure.

A flood of complaints has been posted on social media sites, with many calling the new feature “annoying” and “unhelpful” and drawing comparisons to the typing animation in Apple’s iMessage. According to one user, the animation “deliberately induces anxiety.”

Notwithstanding the criticism, the update—which represents yet another redesign of the app—is expected to be made available to all WhatsApp users soon, though not all users are persuaded that it improves the overall experience.

Prior to this, WhatsApp declared that it would be releasing a new feature in the near future that would allow users to add a message to any sent item, enhancing the app’s functionality.

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WhatsApp is launching a feature that allows users to personalize material that is forwarded.

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The upcoming update from WhatsApp is expected to bring a novel feature that will increase the app’s adaptability by allowing users to add a message to any sent material.

Users of the Meta-owned messaging platform will soon be able to add a new message after a forwarded message thanks to an impending update, according to WABetaInfo.

Beta testers can currently test the most recent WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.25.3, which is accessible through the Google Play Store, even though this upgrade is expected to be released in the future.

Previously, media assets like pictures, videos, and GIFs were the only ones with this feature, regardless of whether they had a caption.

It is now possible for users to add a customized message to any kind of forwarded content, including documents, links, and text messages.

With little effort, users may now easily add necessary context or explanations to the transmitted content thanks to this improvement.

Notably, users can also add a new message to plain text messages or other content that was not forwarded in the first place.

For example, a user can ensure clarity in communication by adding a personalized comment or an explanation while forwarding a text message to a group chat with a contact.

This functionality comes in very handy when a forwarded message needs more information.

When a user transmits a link to a news article, for instance, they may now contribute their views or a summary right away, doing away with the need for a separate follow-up message.

Similarly, users can add instructions or more details to a text message before forwarding it, which improves clarity and reduces the possibility of miscommunication.

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