Snap Launches Planning Tool for Organising Meet-ups with Friends
Snap has introduced Snapchat Plans, an invite-only feature for planning real-world gatherings within the app, catering to up to 200 people. This tool is based on the observation that a significant portion of young American users already organise meet-ups through group chats and messages on Snapchat.
Background and Investigation
The launch comes amid ongoing scrutiny from the European Commission, which has had formal proceedings against Snapchat since March regarding its protection of minor users. The investigation covers five key areas, including safeguarding minors from exploitation and ensuring safe default settings for friend recommendations and notifications.
Features of Snapchat Plans
Snapchat Plans offers:
- Invitations
- Responses
- Commitments tracker
The company has been progressively restricting younger users’ abilities to interact with the app, including limiting engagement counts for under-16s and walling them off from public Spotlight in June.
Snap’s Response
Snapchat’s response to these concerns is a marketing campaign highlighting its uniqueness compared to other social media platforms like TikTok (trends) and Meta (scale). CEO Evan Spiegel emphasizes that Snapchat knows "the real you," trying to position the app as distinct from traditional social media.
However, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, has stated there are "no more excuses" regarding age verification, months after Brussels unveiled its own age verification app.
Legal Challenges and Investigations
In addition to the Commission’s inquiry, a Dutch regulator is investigating vape sales to minors on Snapchat, while Pennsylvania’s attorney general has sued Snap, claiming that their 13+ rating contradicts the experience of a 13-year-old account.
Snapchat Plans arrives in the midst of these legal and regulatory pressures.