Just days after settling a social media addiction lawsuit, Snap is giving parents tools to see how much time their kids are spending in Snapchat, including how that time breaks down between different parts of the app. They’ll also get new insights into how kids know any new friends they add.
The settlement is happening “ahead of a landmark trial in a case that claims the social media giants engineered products to hook an entire generation of young users,” The New York Times reports. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, who are also part of the case, haven’t yet settled. Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify.
[The New York Times]
Under the agreement, Perplexity will pay $400 million to put its AI “answer engine” inside Snapchat starting in early 2026. Snap notes that users will still have the ability to talk with its My AI chatbot, adding that it will also use messages to Perplexity for “personalization.”
The social media giants have agreed to boot users under 16 from their platforms by the December 10th deadline, but are still voicing skepticism about the policy’s enforcement and effectiveness.
Correction: YouTube has also said it disagrees with the law, but has not said it will comply.
Reuters: Their comments represented a shift in the social media industry’s response to the law, which is being watched by lawmakers around the world as concern grows about youth mental health. Under the Australian law, platforms must take “reasonable steps” to block users aged less than 16 or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($32.5 million).
If you have more than 5GB of Memories, you’ll have to pay $1.99 / month to store up to 100GB of your past snaps. Snapchat will also include up to 250GB of storage in its Snapchat Plus plan and 5TB with its Snapchat Platinum subscription.
Snap notes that the “vast majority” of users have less than 5GB of Memories.
[Snap Newsroom]
The app has introduced a new “infinite retention” feature, allowing you to save chats in individual conversations. Snap will notify everyone in the group when you enable the feature.
Previously, Snapchat only saved messages for 24 hours after everyone in the group viewed them, or 31 days after the message was sent, whichever is sooner.
[Snap Newsroom]
Meaning founder and former Verge reporter Ellis Hamburger on the ethical vacuum in AI and what founders aren’t saying publicly.
Details about the hardware are scarce, but CEO Evan Spiegel says the first consumer pair of Specs glasses will definitely cost less than the Vision Pro.
The government’s case could come down to whether the judge thinks MeWe is a closer competitor to Instagram than TikTok.
We’re getting started with day three of Meta’s antitrust trial with some controversy. A Snap attorney complains to Judge Boasberg that Meta released slides with inadvertently flawed redactions. He also accuses Meta’s lead attorney of openly referencing Snap’s competitive assessments that should have been private.
An Apple attorney echoes Snap’s charges of “egregious” disclosures, saying Apple can’t be confident that Meta will protect its internal information moving forward. Google’s attorney says its data has been jeopardized by Meta, too.
After investigating Snap for compliance with a 2014 privacy settlement, the agency found “reason to believe Snap is violating or is about to violate the law” related to its My AI chatbot. We don’t yet know the details of the complaint, but Snap spokesperson Monique Bellamy says it’s “based on inaccuracies, and lacks concrete evidence.”
[www.ftc.gov]
The LA-based tech company has 150 employees who have been displaced from the wildfires, Spiegel wrote in a letter published on the company’s website. Snap has donated $5 million to local relief efforts and “will do more,” he says.
In case you haven’t gotten your fill from Spotify Wrapped and Google Photos’ yearly recaps, you’ll be able to swipe up on your Snapchat camera to see all your highlights from 2024 starting December 17th.
An interesting look at how Snap has diverted from other platforms in its handling of former President Trump:
Unlike other major tech platforms, Snap has not lifted the ban on Mr. Trump’s personal account, which has drawn angry pushback from his campaign. Despite not allowing Mr. Trump to post personally, the company has said it would sell his campaign political advertisements, which must all go through an internal fact-check.
[The New York Times]
Here at Snap’s annual Partner Summit in Santa Monica, he’s asking for suggestions from the audience as he generates AR effects with AI while wearing a pair. (You can read my full impressions of the hardware here.) Bring back more live tech demos like this, please!
Will developers finally help Snap take AR glasses mainstream?
I’m here at Snap’s annual conference in Santa Monica where the company just announced its biggest redesign to Snapchat in years. You can read more about that below. They keynote is still going and I hear there’s some other big news coming, so stay tuned for more.
