New “Family Center” feature released by Snapchat in Saudi Arabia

Snap Inc. has launched Family Center in the Kingdom in collaboration with the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), making it one of the first Arab countries to launch the service.

With the new in-app functionality, parents have more control over their kids’ online behaviour because they can see their Snapchat friends list and who they have been corresponding with without knowing the details of those conversations.

With the help of Family Center, parents can now easily and confidentially report any suspicious accounts directly to Snap’s Trust and Safety team, a dedicated unit that works around the clock to help keep Snapchatters safe. Snap has also launched new tools to encourage constructive and open conversations about online safety.

Georg Wolfart, Head of Public Policy at Snap Inc. said, ” With Family Center, we are facilitating important conversations between parents and their children about online safety, which will positively impact online experiences for Saudi society in the long run.”

Snapchat’s reach on a monthly basis has reached around 20 million in Saudi Arabia with over 90% of it being aged 13 to 34. Snap plans additional safety features for Family Center in the coming months, including new content controls for parents and the ability for teens to notify their parents when they report an account or a piece of content to Snap’s Trust and Safety team.

Esra Assery, CEO of the General Commission for Audiovisual Media, said, “We are delighted to partner with Snap to roll out this feature in KSA, Family Center strikes the right balance between privacy and safety. The new service adds another layer of protection to existing safeguards, ensuring that teens must be mutual friends before they can start communicating with each other.”

Assery added “According to a study by Kantar and Snap Inc., 71% of parents in Saudi Arabia now use Snapchat. With the help of Family Center, parents can now easily and confidentially report any suspicious accounts directly to Snap’s Trust and Safety team to help keep the Snap community safe,”