In response to a report from Common Sense media looking at how teens use their phones, NBC reached out to the companies that were mentioned for their alerts. Here are their responses:
Discord
“People come to Discord to hang out online with small groups of friends and join conversations that go beyond scrolling endless algorithmic feeds. Users participate in organized group chats called Servers, which are primarily made up of 10-15 people, join audio and video calls, and exchange direct messages. Since we’re a real-time messaging app, notifications are tied to messages similar to the way you get a notification for every text message someone sends you or sends in a group text.
"Discord was built to be customizable and we believe in giving users control of their experience. Users are able to adjust all of the notifications they receive. This includes the ability to mute specific direct messages or servers, dial up or down server notifications and control how many minutes they have been inactive on desktop before notifications are sent. At the platform level, we also have limits in place to reduce notifications in a short period of time and ensure large groups don’t send push notifications by default.
"We have a subscription based business model. Discord offers a premium subscription called Nitro that gives users special perks like higher quality streams and fun customizations. We do not sell advertising and do not make money based on how much time a user spends on the platform. Notifications are simply there for delivering messages in the spaces users have opted in to, which they can customize however they want.”
Find out more about Discord's Family Center here.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
“We’ve created a number of tools specifically designed to help teens limit their time and minimize notifications, like Quiet Mode and Take a Break on Instagram, as well as supervision features that let parents set scheduled breaks when their teens can’t use the app. We nudge teens to turn on Quiet Mode and Take a Break, even if it means they spend less time on Instagram overall. These features work: over the course of any given week, 44% of teens who see a ‘Take a Break’ reminder on Instagram will take a break from the app for 10 minutes or more.”
Find more about parental supervision on Instagram here.
Snapchat
“Snapchat is primarily a messaging service that teens use everyday to talk to their friends. Similar to the types of notifications people get about emails or texts, most of the notifications Snapchatters receive tell them when they have a message from a friend. In order to receive notifications for Snapchat, a user has to first opt in through their mobile device settings, and we offer easy ways to mute notifications or to turn them off completely.”
You can find Snapchat's guide for parents here.
TikTok
“TikTok sets a 60-minute daily screen time limit on teen accounts under 18 and disables push notifications at night. Parents can also use TikTok’s Family Pairing tools to further customize screen time, notifications, and other settings for their teens’ account.”
Find more information on TikTok safety features here.
