Snapchat

Danielle Patten from eCadets has shared a very useful tool for teachers about Snapchat. Snapchat is fastly becoming one of the most popular apps out there for young people to communicate. The eCadets scheme empowers 3-18 year olds to become the next generation of school eSafety leaders. It is a multi-award winning three year programme which has made a dramatic positive effect on children’s personal responsibility and online behaviour. More information about eCadets can be found below this really useful guide for teachers.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a photo and video sharing app, which lets users send them to friends and determine how long they get to see them for (the maximum being 10 seconds) before they are deleted. You have to be at least 13 years to have an account (otherwise it directs you to Snapkidz – which does the same but won’t let you send images). Snapchat is a very popular app with children in primary and secondary schools.

How it is used by pupils?

There is an understandable concern it can be misused and has sometimes been referred to as the “sexting” app. Whilst it is anecdotal it would appear the largest age group to use it in this way are 24 years to 35 years. There have however been cases in primary and secondary schools for sending inappropriate images. These are however in the minority. There are more cases of it being used for cyberbullying – pupils sending upsetting or nasty messages to others knowing the images will be deleted and therefore there will be no evidence. That being said the vast majority of pupils use it responsibly. As with all social media and apps the most efficient way to ensure pupils use them safely and in a positive way, is discussing wider matters of responsible use and empowering peer support (please see www.ecadet.zone for how we support schools with this). In the meantime here’s some top tips for using it safely…

General security settings…

1. Snapchat messages can be saved by people in lots of different ways, sometimes without people knowing
2. Go to “Inbox”; “Settings”; “Who can send me snaps” and select “my friends” so you will only receive messages from existing contacts and friends
3. The top three people you connect with the most can be seen by anyone (this cannot be turned off).

Blocking a user…

1. Find their name in your friend list. Press and hold on the name and you will get several options including “deleting the contact” and/or “blocking them”
2. If you’ve had a problem and want to report someone to Snapchat (including people under 13 on the app) send an email to [email protected] with the person’s name, the date and time of the message(s) and why the message has upset you
3. You can email [email protected] to report people for sending inappropriate images .

Deleting your account…

1. If you have the username and password you can log into the site and visit the page www.snapchat.com/a/delete_account
2. If you don’t have the password you can visit www.snapchat.com/static_files/deletion_request.pdf

About eCadets

How does eCadets work? We train, support and empower a team of pupils within a school to be the specialists their classmates can go to with questions about the internet, online games and social media. The team of eCadets are also responsible for promoting eSafety behaviours and best practice across the school and community, based on regular challenges we set. With each challenge they collect points, as they’re in competition with all the other eCadets schools. The eCadets direct any pupil questions to our team of specialists using a secure instant messenger and we provide the answer, which helps to take the pressure off them and ensure the right knowledge is being communicated. We always stress they should still tell an adult if they’ve seen something that scares or upsets them online. The eCadets works at all levels of education. At all levels it also involves teams of parents and governors. Schools also gain an accreditation based on the eCadet challenges, meaning it delivers the maximum benefit without taking too much time from the school to run. Principals also get a free social media helpline for help with any issues.

Thanks to Danielle for the permission to republish this guide to Snapchat.