AN online craze is putting children at risk of being bullied and opening themselves up to unknown contacts as well as spending increasing amounts of time on their phones.

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) has warned parents about Snapchat “Streaks” following similar concerns around the globe.

The feature involves two people sending messages to each other for a continuous number of days – creating a “streak”. Snapchat launched the feature in March last year and it has gathered pace with the younger generation using smartphones.

Youngsters challenge each another to build and maintain the longest streak, with users boasting online about the length of their streaks and the trend being seen as a way to “measure” friendship.

However, with young people aiming to create the longest chain and showing off by setting up multiple chains with people on Snapchat, there are concerns that they are being threatened and bullied if they break the chain. There is also alarm that they are spending increasingly lengthy periods on their phones to ensure the streak continues.

A petition organised through change.org has already been delivered to Snapchat and Apple urging them to remove the feature, while another has criticised the companies over “disappearing” streaks, which some users said hurt “as much as a break-up”.

SBRC CEO Mandy Haeburn-Little said it is important parents realise that what can seem a simple game can have sinister implications.

“Smartphones and apps are very much part of growing up in today’s culture – but many parents lack an understanding of the intricacies of these apps,” she said. “What has happened with Snapchat Streaks is that it has created a scoring system – a bit like the compulsion to continue sharing as seen in pyramid schemes – that is now endangering children.

“These ‘streaks’ may seem like a harmless bit of fun; however they have the risk of very quickly spiralling and creating an unhealthy balance between time spent online and offline.

“We appreciate that young people may get into a panic especially if they are on holiday and cannot continue these streaks.”

She added: “There is also the fear that it encourages children to add people they don’t know, as friends, to gain as many ‘streaks’ as they can, exposing them to the threat of people who prey on children.

“Snapchat messages cannot be traced and often disappear after a short frame of time. This lends itself to bullies who seek to take advantage of the lack of proof this provides. It could also be used by those who seek to find a way to engage with youngsters for their own purposes.”