The chief executive of Snapchat has expressed a willingness to introduce mandatory daily time limits for teenage users, following growing regulatory pressure in the UK and a major industry shift by rival platforms.
In an interview at Snap’s California headquarters, Evan Spiegel described the potential move as an “important step forward for the industry.” The statement marks a significant shift in tone for Snap Inc., suggesting the platform may soon move away from purely voluntary time management tools toward hard limits for its younger audience.
The development follows a landmark multi-billion dollar settlement by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in August 2026. As part of that agreement, Meta implemented a default two-hour daily limit for minor users. Mr Spiegel indicated that Snapchat is now looking toward establishing similar industry-wide standards.
The UK regulatory landscape
The proposal comes as the UK’s Online Safety Act reaches full implementation. Overseen by the regulator Ofcom, the legislation requires social media platforms to take proactive measures to protect children from addictive designs and harmful content.
Ofcom requires major social media platforms to implement effective age checks and protect children from harmful content. Platforms that fail to protect younger users from excessive screen time or harmful algorithms face the prospect of significant fines.
While Mr Spiegel has previously expressed concerns about blanket social media bans for those under 16—describing them earlier this year as “high-stakes experiments”—his latest comments suggest the company is now prioritising a “norm” for daily usage across the sector.
What parents can do now
Although Snapchat has not yet confirmed a specific date for when mandatory limits will be activated, several tools are already available for UK parents concerned about their children’s app usage.
The platform’s Family Centre tool currently allows parents to monitor how much time their teenagers spend on the app.
Under the current system, parents can see:
- The average amount of time a teenager spends on the app each day.
At present, these tools do not allow parents to set a “hard lockout” time directly through Snapchat’s own settings, though many smartphones offer similar restrictions through operating system features like Apple’s Screen Time or Android’s Digital Wellbeing.
Snapchat has not yet clarified whether the proposed daily limits would be a “hard lockout” that prevents further use of the app or a persistent notification. It also remains to be seen whether parents will have the authority to override these default limits if they are implemented.