Is Snapchat or Instagram Safer?

Snapchat and Instagram are two of the most popular social media apps for kids, but which one is safer? Neither platform is entirely risk-free, but Instagram offers more built-in parental controls and content restrictions for teens. Snapchat’s disappearing messages and real-time location tracking poses greater privacy concerns. However, both apps have risks, and safety depends on how they are used and monitored by parents. Let’s break it down.

Snapchat vs. Instagram: Which is safer for kids?

 

Feature	Snapchat	Instagram
Age requirement	13+	13+
Parental controls	Private teen accounts, messaging and content restrictions	Stronger for teens: private accounts and restrictions, plus time limits & sleep mode
Messages	Disappearing messages	Direct messages remain visible by default, but vanish mode can be enabled
Location tracking	Shares real-time location when enabled (off by default on teen accounts)	Location sharing optional
Cyberbullying risks	High (disappearing messages, private groups)	High (DMs, public comments)
Content risks	Explicit content in Snap Stories, Spotlight	Explicit content in Explore & Reels
Safety verdict	Higher risk due to disappearing content & Public Profiles for older teens	Safer due to stronger built-in teen protections & content moderation

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a social media app where users can share messages, pictures (known as Snaps) and videos. Snaps are designed to disappear after 24 hours, and messages vanish after they’ve been read. 

Users are rewarded with Snapstreaks for being active on the app. The more they engage with their friends, the higher their streaks will go. Snap Scores represent how active the user is on the app. Snapchat’s Spotlight section is a collection of content from users, businesses, and creators outside of your child’s friend group.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a feed-based social media platform designed for sharing photos and videos. Unlike the fleeting nature of Snapchat, Instagram posts are meant to last. This encourages users to carefully curate their feeds and creates an emphasis on sleek, polished images. 

Instagram Stories are similar to Snapchat in that they disappear after 24 hours and therefore tend to be more off-the-cuff and less edited. Users can also use Instagram’s Explore feature to find new posts about special interests from people they don’t yet follow.

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Snapchat safety: Parental controls and risks

Both Instagram and Snapchat have some built-in protections. While neither are foolproof, they are important tools you can utilize to help keep your child safe on the apps. 

Snapchat Family Center

The Snapchat Family Center includes a suite of parental controls that give you insight into your child’s activity on the app and lets you set restrictions on how they use the app. 

With Snapchat Family Center, parents can:

• View your child’s complete friend list
• Look at who your child has communicated with in the past 7 days (but the content of their interactions isn’t visible)
• Restrict sensitive content in your child’s Snapchat Stories and Spotlight sections
• Report suspicious accounts or concerning behavior

Snapchat privacy settings

Snapchat recently updated privacy settings for teen accounts. Here are the default privacy settings for users aged 13–17:

• Teen accounts are private by default
• Users need to be friends to tag each other
• Only users aged 16–17 have access to Public Profiles, which allow them to display content publicly to anyone who looks at their profile
• Age-appropriate content filters enabled by default
• Location sharing off by default, and location cannot be shared with users who are not your friends

These privacy settings are a significant upgrade, but they only apply if your child signs up with their correct birthdate. It’s also possible that your child might accept a friend request from someone they don’t know, which is why it’s important to keep an active eye on the people they speak with regularly.

Instagram safety: Parental controls and risks

Instagram recently introduced Teen Accounts, which feature additional safety measures that are automatically turned on for underage users. Here’s what’s included:

• Private accounts: Teen accounts are set to private by default, meaning they need to accept new followers and their content can’t be viewed by people who don’t follow them.
• Messaging restrictions. Teens can only message with people who they follow or are already connected to. 
• Content restrictions. Teens are automatically placed into the most restrictive content settings, which limits them from being exposed to sensitive content in the Explore and Reels sections of the app. 
• Limited interactions. Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. 
• Hidden Words. Instagram’s anti-bullying feature is automatically turned on for teens, filtering offensive words and phrases from their comments and DM requests. 
• Time limits: Teens are reminded to leave the app after they’ve used it for a total of 60 minutes each day. 
• Sleep mode: Sleep mode is turned on between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., muting notifications and sending auto-replies to DMs alerting the sender that sleep mode is activated. 

For more tips on keeping your child safe on Instagram, check out our Parent’s Guide to Instagram. 

Snapchat risks for kids

Although the landscape has gotten a bit safer for kids on Instagram and Snapchat as the platforms have taken steps to address concerns, plenty of risks remain. 

• Limited access to messages. With Snapchat Family Sharing enabled, parents can see who their kids are messaging — but not the content of those messages. (To do that, you’ll need to use an app like BrightCanary.) 
• Privacy concerns. Snap Map lets users share their exact location in real time, raising privacy concerns for kids if they accept friend requests from strangers.
• Drug dealers. Snapchat’s disappearing feature has made it a preferred platform for drug dealers to sell their goods online. 
• Disappearing messages and Snaps. Because Snaps and messages vanish, it’s difficult to see your child’s activity in the app.

Instagram risk for kids

• Inappropriate content. Even with the Teen Account’s improved restrictions, your child may still be exposed to inappropriate content. Creators are often sneaky, using code to evade filters. And your kid might view things on their friend’s feeds, be sent material over DM, or seek out content that you’d rather they didn’t see. 
• Cyberbullying. Restricting who your child can connect with on Instagram is an important step. But even if they only connect with people they know in real life, they’re still vulnerable to risks such as cyberbullying. 
• Parents can’t access content. Following your child on Instagram is a great first step, but that doesn’t give you access to the content they view or the messages they send and receive. (BrightCanary can help you monitor their full activity on the app. Snapchat monitoring is currently in beta mode.)

How to protect your child on Snapchat and Instagram

Regardless of what social media platforms you let your child use, it’s vital to take the following measures to keep them safe: 

For Snapchat:

• Make sure they’ve signed up with their correct birthdate to enable teen accounts.
• Double-check that Snap Map and Quick Add are disabled to protect privacy.
• Use BrightCanary to monitor most chats and images (currently in beta mode).

For Instagram:

• Ensure their account is private by double-checking their birthdate.
• Limit who can message them to “Only Friends.”
• Monitor their Explore & Reels activity for unsafe content.
• Use BrightCanary to track DMs and flagged content.

Here’s the most important step: Talk to your child about the dangers and how they can stay safe online, and practice regular safety check-ins once they start using devices independently.

Final verdict: Is Snapchat or Instagram safer for kids? 

Because both Instagram and Snapchat present risks to kids (and have at least some protections parents can put in place), neither is inherently safer than the other. It comes down to how your child uses the platform and how involved you are in their online activity. 

BrightCanary can help you keep your child safe on Instagram and Snapchat. You’ll be able to monitor Instagram content, including DMs, and most chats and images your child sends and receives on Snapchat (currently in beta mode). Download BrightCanary today to get started for free.