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Snapchat has shared its recent compliance efforts with Australia's Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) but sees major gaps - calling for age-verification at an app-level.
As of January 2026, Snapchat has locked or disabled more than 415,000 Snapchat accounts to users self-declared or believed to be under the age of 16 based on age detection technology.
However the company said the ban has major gaps which could “undermine” its goals.
The first gap identified was technical limitations to accurate and dependable age verification.
“The Australian government's own trial, published in 2025, found that available age estimation technology was only accurate to within 2-3 years on average,” said a blog post.
“In practice, this means some young people under 16 may be able to bypass protections, potentially leaving them with reduced safeguards, while others over 16 may incorrectly lose access.”
Snapchat also sees issues with a lack of industry-wide protections for apps not included in the ban.
The company was included alongside Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Youtube, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Kick and Twitch.
A major concern of the social media ban was how it would push teens to less-regulated platforms.
“The current approach lacks industry wide protections, leaving vulnerabilities with hundreds of other apps that are either not in-scope of this law or where it is unclear," said the blog post.
“Young people won’t stop communicating when they lose access to regulated services. Over 75% of time spent on Snapchat in Australia is messaging with close friends and family.
“We're concerned that when young people are cut off from these communication tools, some may turn to alternative messaging services that are not being regulated — services that may be less well-known and offer fewer safety protections than Snapchat provides.
“While we don't yet have data to quantify this shift, it's a risk that deserves serious consideration as policymakers evaluate whether the law is achieving its intended outcomes.”
Snapchat has now joined the efforts of Meta in advocating for age-verification at an app store level, as “an additional safeguard”.
Snapchat said this would address risks and gaps such as providing consistent age signals for each device, “helping ensure that users under 16 are kept off the app while reducing the risk that users over 16 are incorrectly locked out”.
It would also strengthen digital safety across the entire “ecosystem” for all apps and services, not just those included in the ban.
“By creating a more universal foundation for age assurance, app store-level verification would help ensure that young people encounter appropriate protections no matter where they go online.
“This approach could be a valuable worldwide standard.
“Rather than blanket age-based social media bans, app store-level age assurance could help the entire ecosystem protect young users more consistently and deliver developmentally appropriate experiences while allowing them to enjoy the benefits of social media."
Despite compliance efforts, the company still doesn’t support the ban as a blanket solution.
“We want to be clear: we still don't believe an outright ban for those under 16 is the right approach,” said the blogpost.
“We understand the Australian government's objectives and share the goal of protecting young people online.
“But in the case of Snapchat — which is primarily a messaging app used by young people to stay connected with close friends and family — we do not believe that cutting teens off from these relationships makes them safer, happier, or otherwise better off.
“We fundamentally disagree that Snapchat is an in-scope age-restricted social media platform.”
The company said it was important to “engage constructively and suggest ways to improve its implementation and reduce negative unintended effects.”
"If Australia is going to pursue this approach, it should be done in a way that offers greater protection to young people with fewer downsides. Creating a centralised verification system at the app-store level would allow for more consistent protection and higher barriers to circumventing the law."
The company shared its future plans to strengthen protections for teens in Australia and globally.
Snapchat's current safeguards include requiring bi-directional friend or contact book connections for one-to-one communication and maintaining 24/7 Trust & Safety teams, including a full-time team based in Sydney.
The company has offered supervision tools through its Family Center which were recently updated to give parents greater insight into how their teens are using the app.
“Snapchat will continue working with the Australian government to comply with the SMMA. But we also believe protecting young people online requires careful thought about the gaps that exist with current implementation and work to close them," said the blogpost.
"We're advocating for app store-level age verification not because we support the U16 ban, but because if this policy is going to exist, it should be implemented in a consistent way that is most likely to have more upside and fewer downside risks — in a way that keeps teens under the age of 16 off regulated apps while ensuring they're not simply pushed toward less safe alternatives.
“Young Australians deserve a comprehensive approach to online safety.”
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