Snapchat has begun disabling its Find Friends feature by default for child users in the United Kingdom, a change that regulator Ofcom says should make it harder for strangers to contact young people through the platform. Reuters reported the rollout on November 6. The feature helps users discover and add new contacts. Turning it off by default for children aims to reduce unsolicited contact and lower the risk of online grooming, while leaving the platform’s broader messaging and social features in place.
Ofcom said Snapchat had committed to the change in May and that it would monitor the rollout during November. The regulator also said the company told it that effective age checks for under-18s should be in place by the end of the year. Snapchat said it would continue strengthening protections as risks evolve and work with Ofcom, safety experts, families and young people. The change is So part of a wider set of measures rather than a single control that resolves every online safety risk.
The issue is significant because children may use social platforms even when they are below the service’s minimum age. Ofcom previously said that 32% of children aged eight to 12 in Britain used Snapchat, despite the platform’s minimum age requirement of 13. Reuters also cited a 2025 analysis of British police data by the NSPCC, which found that Snapchat accounted for 40% of recorded offences involving sexual communication with a child where the platform was identified. Those figures are specific to the data and period cited, not a measure of all online abuse.
Reducing unwanted contact at the discovery stage
Friend-discovery features can make it easier for people to connect with existing contacts, but they can also create pathways for strangers to find users. Disabling the feature by default for children changes the starting point: young users are less discoverable through that mechanism unless the platform’s controls and user choices allow otherwise. The measure does not prevent every form of contact, because people may still interact through shared groups, existing connections, public content or other platform features.
Age assurance is central to whether the policy works. A platform cannot apply child-specific defaults reliably if it does not know which accounts belong to minors. Snapchat has told Ofcom it expects effective age checks for under-18s to be in place by year-end, according to Reuters. The report does not describe the precise technical method, its accuracy or how the system will handle users who cannot or do not complete an age check. Those details will affect both safety and the risk of incorrectly classifying adults or children.
Platforms also need to consider how safety settings interact with privacy and usability. A default restriction can reduce unwanted discovery, but users and parents need clear explanations of what the setting does and how it can be changed. Safety controls should be understandable, difficult to bypass accidentally and consistent across app versions. They also need to be supported by reporting tools, moderation, response processes and systems that identify suspicious behaviour rather than relying on a single setting.
Ofcom’s wider regulatory pressure
Ofcom has been pressing major technology companies to introduce stronger anti-grooming measures under the UK’s online safety framework. Reuters reported that the regulator warned companies failing to address grooming risks could face fines of up to 10% of qualifying global revenue. That enforcement power gives the regulator use beyond voluntary safety commitments. Companies must show that their systems identify foreseeable risks and take proportionate steps to reduce them, rather than relying only on policies that users must discover and configure themselves.
Snapchat’s change is a concrete adjustment to a product feature, but its impact will depend on how consistently the default is applied and whether other contact routes remain open to abuse. Ofcom’s monitoring during November and the promised age-check improvements will be important next steps. Parents and young users should still review privacy settings, limit contact from unknown accounts and report suspicious behaviour. Platform-level defaults can reduce risk, but online safety depends on a combination of product design, moderation, regulation and user awareness.