Snapchat switches off Find Friends by default for UK teens
Snapchat is rolling out a change that sets its Find Friends tool to off by default for UK users under 18, according to regulator Ofcom.
The facts
- Snapchat is rolling out a change that makes Find Friends off by default for UK users under 18, according to Ofcom, via Engadget.
- The tool uses details such as age, location and existing friends and followers to suggest people to add.
- Ofcom's Oliver Griffiths called the change welcome but "long overdue", and said Snap will add "highly effective age checks" by the end of this year.
- Ofcom can fine non-compliant companies up to 18 million pounds or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, and the EU has opened a formal Digital Services Act investigation into Snap.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
Look at who moved first here. The regulator announced the change, not the platform. That's the pattern: safety defaults arrive when enforcement is on the table, not before. Add the UK's planned under-16 social media ban and the EU investigation, and the direction is clear. Default settings for young users are becoming a legal question, not a product choice.
For builders
If your app has discovery or friend-suggestion features, expect regulators to ask what the default is for minors. Build age checks and safer defaults in now. Retrofitting them under a regulator's deadline costs more.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from Engadget's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.