Snap (Snapchat)

Reasons to avoid

1. The New Mexico Attorney General's 2024 lawsuit against Snap alleged the company actively connected minors with pedophile networks. An undercover investigation by the state found more than 10,000 dark web records tied to Snapchat and child sexual abuse material in a single year.nmdoj.gov2024-09-05
2. Relatives of more than 60 young people who died from fentanyl-laced pills purchased through Snapchat sued Snap, with a federal judge allowing the case to proceed in January 2024. Snapchat's disappearing messages and Snap Map were cited as design features that allowed drug dealers to connect with teens while evading law enforcement.nbcnews.com2024-01-03
3. In January 2025, the FTC referred a complaint to the Department of Justice alleging Snap's "My AI" chatbot posed risks and harms to young users, concluding the company was "violating or about to violate the law." A prior investigation found the chatbot advised a reporter posing as a 13-year-old on how to conceal alcohol and drug use from parents.ftc.gov2025-01-16
4. Internal Snap emails obtained in litigation show employees celebrated the Streaks feature as addictive, writing "we should have more addicting features like this," despite the company having never studied the feature's mental health impact on children. By September 2025, the Kansas attorney general had joined dozens of other states in suing Snap for designing the platform to "prey on the mental health of our children."kansasreflector.com2025-09-23