It would have been the next bellwether in the group of cases tried in a Los Angeles state court. In the first, Meta and YouTube were ordered to pay $6 million total. After settling with TikTok, the teen’s lawyer told The New York Times, she wanted to “resume her life.”
[The New York Times]
That’s up from 932 million a year ago, according to Snap’s latest earnings report. The company also says its revenue is up 19 percent year-over-year, as it prepares to launch its $2,195 augmented-reality glasses next month.
“As low-quality, repetitive, AI-generated content becomes increasingly common across the internet, we want Spotlight to remain a place where people can discover authentic creativity from real people,” Snap says.
Content that’s been “enhanced or edited using Snapchat’s AI creative tools” may still be recommended, and they include “transparency indicators.”
”Stop the Slop!” says CEO Evan Spiegel. “We’re keeping it real on Spotlight.”
Update: Added Spiegel’s post.
[Snap Inc.]
The event, taking place on September 16th at 7PM ET, will be livestreamed.
Snap announced the design for the augmented reality glasses — and their eye-watering $2,195 price — in June, but it’s unclear if anyone can look cool wearing them. (They seem especially heavy on the ears.)
Kids aged 13 to 15 will only be able to create, save, and post Spotlight videos and Stories “on a dedicated profile that is visible only to their mutually accepted friends,” Snap announced on Wednesday. These more private profiles also won’t show metrics like favorite counts.
Internal documents, which were disclosed as part of a wave of child safety lawsuits filed by school districts across the US, showed:
Snapchat sent phone alerts to adolescents during school hours, urging them to share what was going on in their classrooms.
Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out swag to their friends at school.
TikTok gave the National PTA millions of dollars, in part to throw school events about online safety and provide favorable comments to journalists.
In its Q1 2026 investor letter, it advised analysts not to expect any contribution from Perplexity in its revenue guidance. The latter was supposed to have powered Snap’s AI search, but alas. The letter also hinted at more Specs news in June, because “intelligent eyewear” is still very much on the company’s agenda.
[s25.q4cdn.com]
The formal investigation opened by the European Commission will focus on five areas: age assurance, default account settings, reporting of illegal content, dissemination of prohibited products, and the grooming and recruitment of children for criminal activities. These DSA probes can take a while, and no timeline has been provided.
[European Commission - European Commission]
Snap announced today that its subscriber count grew 71 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025. Its subscription offerings, including Snapchat Plus, Lens Plus, Snapchat Premium, and Memories storage plans, are projected to earn $1 billion in annual revenue. Snapchat creators will also soon be able to offer creator subscriptions to other users.
Starting on February 23rd, Snapchat’s 946 million daily active users will be able to subscribe to specific creators in exchange for ad-free viewing of that creator’s stories, priority replies, and access to exclusive content, similar to subscriptions on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. It’s launching first with a limited group of creators, including Skai Jackson and Jeremiah Brown, as reported by TechCrunch.
Instead of just notifying your friends or family members when you safely return home, Snapchat now allows you to send recurring alerts when you reach other locations you frequent, like a class or workplace.
The app began restricting access to users under 16 in compliance with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age law. Though Snapchat says it will continue complying with the regulation, it argues that app store-level age verification is a better solution, helping to “ensure that young people encounter appropriate protections no matter where they go online.”
It follows Snap in reaching an agreement to resolve the first of several cases slated to go to trial this year about social media’s alleged harm to users, an attorney for the 19-year-old plaintiff confirmed. That leaves Meta and YouTube as defendants in the case going to jury selection today.
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.
