Snapchat Addiction Lawsuit

Reviewed by the legal team at Estey & Bomberger, LLP · Updated November 14, 2026

Why we handle Snapchat cases too

Estey & Bomberger, LLP focuses on TikTok, but Snapchat is one of the main ways teens talk to each other. Many kids keep TikTok and Snapchat open side by side, moving back and forth all day.

Snapchat is part of the same lawsuits as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. If Snapchat played a role in what your child went through, it should be part of your case. Tell us about every app.

There's no cost to find out where you stand. You pay nothing unless we win.

Who is being sued

Snapchat is made by Snap Inc. Families claim Snap designed its app to keep kids coming back and to connect them with people they don't know, without warning parents of the risks.

In November 2023, the federal judge in charge of these cases ruled that claims about the platforms' own design choices, including weak parental controls and weak age checks, and failure-to-warn claims could move forward.

Snapchat features the lawsuits point to

• Snapstreaks. A streak counts how many days in a row two friends have sent snaps. Kids may feel they must keep a streak alive every single day, and losing one can feel like letting a friend down.
• Disappearing messages. Snaps vanish after they're viewed. Families say this makes kids feel safe sharing things they shouldn't, and makes it harder for parents to see what's going on.
• Quick Add and stranger contact. Quick Add suggests people to add as friends, including people a child has never met. Lawsuits claim this opened the door for adults and strangers to reach kids.
• Snap Map. Snap Map can show a user's location to friends, which families worry can expose where a child is.
• Spotlight and Stories. Endless feeds of short videos that keep kids watching.

Read more about how these design choices hook kids.

Snap's record in court so far

Snap has chosen to settle rather than face a jury in California:

• January 2026: Snap settled with K.G.M. the week before the first social media addiction trial in Los Angeles.
• Mid-2026: Snap settled the R.K.C. bellwether case before trial.
• November 2, 2026: Snap settled with both plaintiffs (S.J. and K.D.B.) during jury selection for the second California trial, so that trial never opened. TikTok, YouTube and Meta had already settled with them. Terms are confidential.

Snap is also a defendant in the federal school-district trials set to begin in February 2027. Settlements in other cases do not guarantee any result in yours. Follow along on our updates page.

Injuries linked to Snapchat

Families describe harms such as:

• Sextortion and exploitation by strangers
• Anxiety, including pressure to keep streaks going
• Depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts
• Sleep loss from late-night messaging

If your child was targeted by someone on Snapchat, save the messages if you can, but do not forward or copy any images of a minor. Report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Our evidence guide explains more.

How to start a Snapchat case

Reach out and tell us what happened. Include every app your child used, not just Snapchat. It's very common for one child to use Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube all at once.

Don't delete the Snapchat account. Because snaps disappear, your own notes about dates and changes in your child can matter a lot.

When you're ready, request a free, confidential case review. Attorney Mike Bomberger and our San Diego team handle cases nationwide on a contingency fee.

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