In a bid to enhance online safety, the company said users aged 13 to 15 will soon be able to create, save and display Stories and Spotlight videos on a dedicated profile that can only be viewed by friends who have mutually accepted each other.

Their content will no longer be distributed to people outside their friends list through Spotlight.

Previously, teenagers under 16 could post videos to Spotlight, Snapchat’s short-form video feature, but the content was not linked to their profiles.

While this prevented direct contact from strangers, the posts could still be viewed by a wider audience.

Under the new system, younger teens will share content in a more private environment. Snapchat will also remove engagement metrics such as favourite counts from profiles belonging to users in this age group.

The company said the changes are designed to help teenagers express themselves creatively without the pressure that usually comes with public posting and visible performance metrics.

Snapchat outlined different levels of access based on age. Users between 13 and 15 will be limited to sharing content with mutual friends.

Those aged 16 and 17 can choose to share content more broadly, but distribution will remain restricted to friends, followers and users with mutual connections.

Adults aged 18 and above will still have full access to public profiles and wider content distribution tools.

Alongside the latest changes, Snapchat said it will maintain several existing protections for users under 16.

The platform blocks messages from people teens have not added as friends or saved in their contacts. It also limits friend requests from people users may not know and displays warning messages when it detects a teenager may be chatting with a stranger.

The company says it will continually moderate public content before recommending it to larger audiences and take action against accounts that attempt to promote inappropriate material to teenagers.

Parents will also be able to monitor aspects of their children’s activity through Snapchat’s Family Centre.

The feature allows parents and caregivers to view their teenager’s friends list, see who they have communicated with recently, apply content restrictions, disable access to the My AI chatbot, share location information and report accounts they find concerning.

The update follows a trend across social media platforms, with services such as Instagram launching additional protections and specialised account settings for younger users.

Snap’s latest feature also comes as the company focuses on mitigating the impact of social media on young people.

Earlier this year, Snap settled a lawsuit that accused it of contributing to social media addiction and is still defending similar cases in courts across the United States.

Speaking to CNBC, Snap chief executive officer, Evan Spiegel, said Snapchat has a “positive impact” on users because it helps people stay connected with friends.

He argued that the platform should not be grouped together with competitors such as TikTok and Instagram.

The feature, named Spotlight, allows users to explore films and series through the TikTok platform, in collaboration with studios like Warner Bros.

Spotlight works by adding links to videos related to specific movies or shows, directing users to a landing page with detailed information about the title. This includes the synopsis, cast details, and related short videos from creators. 

From these pages, users can access streaming options, rent on-demand, or even purchase tickets for theatre viewings. The aim is to provide a seamless transition from social media discovery to actual viewing.

Videos eligible for Spotlight links must reach a certain view count and come from creators with a good amount of following. Those participating in Spotlight campaigns can earn incentives like exclusive profile frames, filters, merchandise, and access to events. 

Warner Bros. is leveraging Spotlight to promote the second season of “House of the Dragon,” rewarding creators who post content related to the show with unique profile frames.

Earlier this year, TikTok partnered with Warner Bros. to promote “Dune: Part Two,” resulting in over 260,000 fan-made posts before the film’s release. Spotlight is currently available to a limited number of studios, but its prospects of becoming a primary tool for media discovery are huge.

Beyond enhancing TikTok’s discovery platform, Spotlight also challenges traditional search engines like Google. With increasing competition from AI-driven search tools, TikTok’s new feature could shift the industry of how users find and engage with media content.

In the past, TikTok has collaborated with companies like Ticketmaster and AXS to enable users to purchase event tickets directly through the app.

The introduction of Spotlight is another step in integrating TikTok into the media and entertainment sector, bringing a strong marketing tool for studios and creators.