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Image source, Sussex Police Image caption, Inam Khan used social media to identify and then meet young girls, police said A "dangerous predator" who drove hundreds of miles to abuse children he groomed online has been jailed for 19 years after a joint investigation by two police forces. Inam Khan, 37, of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, targeted a 14-year-old girl from Suffolk and a 12-year-old girl in Sussex. Khan was convicted of multiple offences, including rape and attempted rape, after a trial at Hove Crown Court in June, and was sentenced at the same court on Monday. Det Sgt Matt Williamsom of Suffolk Police, said Khan's "horrific offending has caused untold suffering to his victims". Sussex Police said Khan had befriended the girls through Snapchat and in chat rooms, lying about his age to build and manipulate trust. He drove to Suffolk in September, 2022, to carry out an attack on the 14-year-old girl who he had spent time grooming online. He was arrested on 1 October, 2022 and later charged with two counts of rape and one of attempted rape. Police said he soon began grooming the 12-year-old girl from Sussex, asking her for explicit photos, stating he needed them

Snapchat has taken another major step into artificial intelligence by launching a new Snapchat AI Lens feature that allows users to create personalized visual effects using simple text prompts. The new feature, called Animate It, lets users describe an idea in words, which Snapchat then turns into a custom animated lens for photos and videos. With this update, Snapchat is expanding its use of generative AI while staying focused on its core strength in augmented reality and camera-based creativity. According to the company, the Snapchat AI Lens feature is designed to help users express themselves in new and creative ways. The tool allows people to animate reactions, create short video scenes, or turn playful ideas into moving visuals within seconds. The Snapchat AI Lens works by combining machine learning with the platform’s existing Lens technology. Once a user enters a prompt, the app generates a unique animated effect that can be shared on Snapchat or other platforms. Snapchat says this is its first open-prompt video generation lens. While many social media platforms are focusing on AI chatbots and image generation, Snapchat is taking a different approach by building AI directly into the camera experience. This strategy reflects Snapchat’s long-term focus

Monday, December 22nd, 2025 – 6:00 am A podcast interview with Ajit Mohan Chief Business Officer Snapchat is only for teenagers and Gen Z. That’s a common misconception that Ajit Mohan, Snap’s chief business officer, encounters often among advertisers. Although Snapchat tends to skew younger – it’s got strong usage among the 13-to-15-year-old set – there are also regions where half of its users are above the age of 25 and 30% are above the age of 35, Mohan says on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks. Another misperception is that young people don’t have disposable income or can’t afford to buy things. But teenagers wield far more buying power – as well as sway over household spending – than many advertisers appreciate, Mohan says. Not to mention the fact that a 13-year-old won’t always be 13, which is why it’s valuable for brands to build loyalty early with users who will carry their preferences with them as they grow older. As Mohan puts it, “They have grown up on Snap.” And just as Snapchat’s users mature and evolve, so, too, must its ad platform. Mohan readily acknowledges that Snap hasn’t always made its ad buying tools as straightforward to use as they could

A Pune court last week sentenced a man to rigorous life imprisonment for the brutal murder of a 13-year-old girl in the city’s Bibwewadi area four years ago. Shubham alias Rushikesh Bajirao Bhagwat, a resident of Sukhsagar Nagar near Katraj, was 22 when he stabbed the kabaddi player around 44 times in front of her friends. According to the police, the victim Kshitija Anant Vyavahare, a resident of Super Indira Nagar in Pune, was Bhagwat’s distant relative. A student of Class 8, she was undergoing kabaddi training at the Yash Lawns ground in Bibwewadi on the day she was killed. Harassment and warnings Investigators said that Bhagwat had been living with his maternal aunt after his mother’s death. He had allegedly been harassing Kshitija and had claimed to be in love with her, but her family had warned him against it. Meanwhile, Bhagwat started working as a security guard at a private company in Mundhwa. As per the police records, on October 9, 2021, he saw images uploaded by Kshitija – in which she was seen with a boy – on the social media platform Snapchat. He then went to Yash Lawns, where Kshitija was practising kabaddi, but the boy

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A world-first social media ban took effect in Australia last week, restricting children younger than 16 from using platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. "Australia has become an international guinea pig for the people who want internet censorship," said Hon. John Ruddick, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. More than 200,000 accounts were deactivated Wednesday after Australia’s Online Safety Amendment went into effect. "It's massive," he explained. "It's the only thing the country's talking about." AUSTRALIA IMPLEMENTS FIRST-EVER YOUTH SOCIAL MEDIA BAN The 10 social media giants included in the ban are Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and YouTube. By law, they are required to locate and deactivate accounts of Australian users under the age of 16.  "I have heard that every playground around Australia for months has been talking about censorship coming," Ruddick told Fox News Digital. Children and parents won’t be penalized for violating the ban, but social media companies face fines of up to $33 million if they don’t take "reasonable steps" to remove underage users. Many Aussie children, Ruddick said, are already finding ways to skirt the sweeping ban. "They're getting around it through fake IDs, opening new apps

by John Garlock - KTVO/KHQA Fri, December 19, 2025 at 2:41 PM A northeast Missouri man is accused of having a SnapChat video on his phone that investigators say showed an underage girl, who was naked from the waist down, lifting her sweater to reveal her breast. (Marion County Sheriff's Office) KAHOKA, Mo. — A northeast Missouri man is behind bars facing a kiddie porn charge. Justin Florea, 30, of Kahoka, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography following an investigation that started in late October 2025. Law enforcement received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that possible child sexual abuse material was sent to an unknown user via SnapChat. The investigation led to Florea, who let deputies examine his cell phone. Officials said they found a nine-second SnapChat video saved in Florea's camera roll. Investigators said that video shows a girl, in the range of 13 to 17 years old, who was naked from the waist down. They said the girl lifts her sweater to reveal her breast. After that discovery, Florea was arrested. He is being held in the Marion County, Missouri jail on $75,000 cash-only bond.

As teens move through a shifting modern dating landscape, social media is reframing how connection and commitment are imagined, while also reshaping relationships When senior Devon Kardwell saw Bellarmine College Preparatory senior Max Manolov in the background of her friend’s photo sophomore year, she knew she wanted to reach out. But instead of asking for his Snapchat or Instagram, Kardwell wanted his phone number. “Snapchat is so impersonal, so casual, so I knew if I was actually going to pursue this person, I was going to ask for their number,” Kardwell said. Story continues below advertisement Manolov said as someone who’s cautious about social media interactions with strangers, Kardwell’s choice stood out to him. “I think asking for a number is probably the most personal you can get,” Manolov said. “I felt that it had more meaning than to just ask for my Snap.” Yet stories like this are gradually becoming the minority among today’s teenage couples. With the growing influence of social media and messaging apps and the rise of casual relationships, the youth dating scene is rapidly evolving — at the expense of human connection, some say. Dating in the digital age Social media has become a major

Snapchat’s new Quick Cut feature allows users to instantly turn photos and clips into music-synced videos, lowering barriers for casual creators while offering easy customization and integration with existing content. Snapchat has launched a new tool, Quick Cut, designed to help users convert photos and videos into ready-to-share, music-synced clips within seconds. The feature aims to simplify video creation by automating the editing process, enabling casual creators to produce high-quality content without extensive editing skills. Quick Cut complements Snapchat’s Timeline Editor, further enhancing the platform’s suite of creator-focused tools. How Quick Cut works Users can select multiple photos or clips from their Camera Roll or Memories, and the app automatically generates a beat-synced video using tracks from Snapchat’s ‘Sounds’ library. The preview can then be customized—users may swap music, add filters, or apply Lenses to adjust the automated version. Additionally, Quick Cut allows users to remix videos created by others by inserting their own media into shared clips, expanding creative collaboration within the app. If users want more control, the Timeline Editor enables detailed edits before posting. By integrating automated and manual editing options, Snapchat seeks to make video production more accessible while retaining flexibility for users. Broader strategy and

THE case of a Cumbrian paedophile who used a fake Snapchat account to target girls as young as eight underlines the need for "robust" social media regulation, says an MP. Egremont man Ryan Cruden, 25, spent months masquerading as a 15-year-old girl so that he could find, befriend and then prey on 20 young girls across Cumbria and the northeast, bullying them into disclosing intimate images. Despite being banned from contacting children online after an earlier sex offence, he set up a fake account on the messaging app before using it to commit his sickening crimes over more than 18 months without being detected. READ NEXT: 'Evil' Snapchat pervert targeted girls as young as eight in Cumbria READ NEXT: Victim of Cumbrian paedophile: 'This evil man has destroyed me' A court last week heard harrowing accounts from Cruden's victims, all of them traumatised as a result of his online abuse. He repeatedly used his fake Snapchat account to sexually exploit the girls. On some occasions, he issued threats if the girls failed to do as he said. One girl attempted suicide, while others self-harmed, with some left so distressed that they were unable to speak to detectives about their ordeal