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Snap is rolling out a change in the UK that turns off its Find Friends feature by default for users under 18, Ofcom announced. The tool uses data like age, location and existing contacts to suggest friends, and Snap says it aims to support safe, trusted connections. Ofcom says it will monitor completion of the rollout this month and expects Snap to add stronger age-verification checks by year's end.
Child protection campaigner Simmons-Read warned that the UK's planned 2027 ban on social media for under-16s 'doesn't go far enough' and could be circumvented by criminals, potentially also deterring young people from reporting grooming. He called for tech platforms to invest more in detecting exploitation as it happens. The government said it is drafting legislation to block children from viewing or sharing nude images on devices, while Meta said it restricts contact between adults and unconnected teens and uses behavioural signals to flag possible grooming.
The European Commission has proposed the EU Kids Act, which would prohibit chatbots from mimicking emotions or personal relationships when interacting with users under 18. The draft law also bars children under 13 from using chatbots without parental supervision, prevents chatbots from retaining memory across separate conversations, and stops platforms from auto-activating or prominently placing AI companions in minors' contact lists. Companies that fail to build in these child-safety protections could face fines up to 6% of their global turnover.
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel told the BBC his company would consider adopting default daily time limits for teenage users, echoing measures Meta agreed to in a recent $12.7bn settlement with US states. Meta had pledged two-hour daily caps, muted school-hours notifications and nighttime blocks for teens, and offered to pay an extra $5.3bn if rivals like Snap, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar restrictions.
Snap has unveiled Specs Intelligence, a new AI assistant built into its redesigned AR Specs and available as separate desktop and mobile apps. The tool connects to outside accounts like Google to learn a user's goals, routines and relationships, then surfaces reminders, meeting prep and travel details, sorting them into context-based 'corners' for work, family and other areas of life.
At a Los Angeles event, Snap revealed the full capabilities of its upcoming Specs augmented-reality glasses, which cost $2,195 and are set to ship this fall. The company also unveiled a new AI assistant designed to predict user intent across the glasses, phone, and laptop.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel took the stage in Los Angeles to formally launch Specs, standalone AR glasses priced at $2,195, following a preview earlier this year at Augmented World Expo. Spiegel positioned Specs not as AI glasses like rivals' offerings but as a 'wearable computer' meant to reduce reliance on smartphones.
University of Florida sophomore Maddie Kowalski learned a sexually explicit video of her, filmed inside a Phi Delta Theta fraternity house known as 'Fort,' was circulating online. The footage spread rapidly across Snapchat, the anonymous app YikYak, and was posted publicly on X by an anonymous account that named her and her sorority, prompting a wave of mockery and harassment from students.
Snap introduced Snapchat Plans, a new feature set letting users create, share and manage real-world hangouts with friends within the app. Users can set a title, date, time, invite up to 200 friends, and add Bitmoji-styled cover art, with invitations sent through one-on-one chats where friends can RSVP as Going, Maybe, or Can't Go. Snap says the events remain private and invite-only, and a future update will let users create plans directly inside group chats.
Snapchat introduced a new tool called 'Snapchat Plans' that lets users organize real-world gatherings for up to 200 people directly within the app. Invites are sent through chat DMs, recipients can RSVP as going, not going, or maybe, and events include Bitmoji-themed cover art, all visible only to the creator and invited guests.
Snapchat introduced 'Snapchat Plans,' a new feature letting users create events, invite up to 200 friends via chat, and track RSVPs, locations and times within the app. The company also added a 'My Plans' profile section to browse upcoming and past events, plus reminders before events start.
Snapchat introduced Plans, a new tool letting users create events, invite up to 200 friends, and track RSVPs directly within the app. The feature includes dynamic Bitmoji invitations that update based on responses, automated reminders before events, and a dedicated 'My Plans' tab on profiles for tracking upcoming and past gatherings.