Snapchat disables friend‑finder for child users in Britain

Snapchat has begun disabling its “Find Friends” feature by default for child users in Britain, Ofcom announced on Friday, aiming to cut the risk of online grooming. The feature, which helps users discover and add new contacts, will no longer be active for children, making it harder for strangers to reach them on the image‑sharing platform. Ofcom notes Snapchat is among the most popular online services used by British children, with 32% of those aged 8 to 12 logged as users despite the platform’s minimum age of 13. Oliver Griffiths, director of Ofcom’s Online Safety Group, called the move “long overdue” and said the regulator will monitor the rollout throughout the month. Snapchat had pledged in May to introduce the change and later told Ofcom that effective age checks for under‑18s will be in place by year‑end. A Snapchat spokesperson said the company will keep strengthening protections as risks evolve and will work with Ofcom, safety experts, families and young people to keep the service safe. A 2025 analysis by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found 40% of police‑recorded sexual‑communication offences involving a child and a named platform occurred on Snapchat. Ofcom has warned other tech firms that failure to curb grooming could attract fines up to 10% of global revenue. ## Context The step reflects growing regulator pressure on social media firms to add stronger anti‑grooming safeguards, as online abuse can have lasting effects on young victims.