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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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The Pakistani government banned unregistered VPNs.

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The unregistered VPNs have been temporarily restricted for whitelisting purposes. Sources within the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) classified unregistered VPNs as a ‘security risk’ for Pakistan, as they may provide access to ‘important information.’

The PTA has advised enterprises, including IT companies, software houses, freelancers, and banks, to register their IP addresses to guarantee ongoing VPN access and uninterrupted internet services for authorized customers. Registrants must disclose their intended purpose and delineate their commercial operations.

The PTA commenced the registration of VPNs in 2010, and to date, around 20,500 VPNs have been registered, according to sources.

VPNs are widely utilized globally to circumvent restricted content. In Pakistan, residents have employed VPNs to access the social media network X (previously Twitter), which has been prohibited for several months.

The government of Pakistan has declared that it will not remove the ban on X unless the platform officially registers within the nation.

Previously, to guarantee seamless commercial operations for software houses, contact centers, freelancers, and foreign embassies, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) initiated a one-window operation for the whitelisting of IP and VPN registrations.

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Australia will prohibit minors under 16 from using social media.

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The goal of the proposed bill, which will be presented to parliament next week, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is to lessen the “harm” that social media causes to Australian youngsters.

“This one’s for the parents… They share my extreme concern for our children’s online safety. Albanese expressed his desire for Australian families to understand that the government is on their side.

Although the specifics are still being discussed, the government has stated that there would be no exceptions for parental agreement and that the ban will not apply to youngsters who are currently engaged on social media. Social media companies will have to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate precautions to keep minors off of their sites. There are no consequences for users, and the eSafety Commissioner, Australia’s internet regulator, will enforce the rule.

The law will go into effect 12 months after it is passed, and it will then be reviewed. Though perspectives on whether a ban is the right course of action vary, many experts concur that social media can negatively impact adolescents’ mental health. Some others think that rather than teaching kids how to use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok securely, restrictions just postpone their introduction to these sites.

Age-verification procedures have encountered difficulties in other regions, such as the European Union, where similar limits have proven challenging. Major advocacy group Australia’s Child Rights Taskforce called the new law “too blunt” and asked the government to think about “safety standards” instead. In an open letter, the organization referenced UN recommendations for regulations that allow kids to interact with digital spaces in a secure way instead of limiting their access.

Some activists, however, are in favor of the ban, pointing to worries about kids being exposed to harmful content, false information, and cyberbullying. Currently, “excessive social media use is rewiring young brains within a critical window of psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness,” according to the 36Months initiative, which has amassed over 125,000 signatures. It contends that children are “not yet ready to navigate online social networks safely” until they are at least age 16.

Albanese stated that education alone is insufficient since it “assumes an equal power relationship.” This begs the question of whether the emphasis should instead be on educating kids how to manage the advantages and risks of the online environment.

“I don’t want to see some items that keep coming up on my system; I’m not sure about you. Let alone a 14-year-old who is so vulnerable,” he stated on Thursday. “These tech firms are really strong. These apps’ algorithms encourage users to act in particular ways.

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Get the most out of WhatsApp’s latest chat-saving feature—here’s how to utilize it.

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Whatsapp, owned by Meta, has introduced a new function that allows users to back up their data through Google accounts. This allows users to save important information such as messages, videos, images, and documents.

When upgrading phones or switching devices, it is essential to have a backup and recovery option for WhatsApp because it is a vital tool for messaging, calling, and sharing data.

The bright side is that, with just a few easy steps, consumers may now retrieve data using their Google accounts.

First, open WhatsApp and go to the menu by tapping the three dots.
Second, find the Chats area in the Settings menu.
Third, go to the Chats tab and choose Chat backup.
The fourth step is to select the Google account that you wish to back up.
Step 5: Select “Back up.”

All of your data will be uploaded to the cloud once you complete this procedure. How long it takes is proportional to how fast your internet is. After it’s finished, you may restore the backup on the device you’re moving to. Just find the “search for backup” option and click on “restore backup.” Oh, I see! Your entire conversation history and media library will be safely stored on your new device.

Only transfers between Android devices or iOS devices can use this WhatsApp function.

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