Snap has settled a lawsuit brought by two teenagers who accused Snapchat and other social media apps of addictive design, heading off a Los Angeles trial that was just days from starting. The settlement terms are confidential.

The timing is the story. CEO Evan Spiegel was due to testify at the trial, which would have put a major platform's design choices — streaks, notifications, engagement mechanics — under oath and in front of a jury for one of the first times. Settling on the courthouse steps keeps Snap's internal decision-making out of the public record and avoids a verdict that could have set precedent for hundreds of similar claims.

The case sits within a much larger wave of litigation alleging that social platforms knowingly engineered products to hook minors, with school districts, state attorneys general, and families pursuing parallel suits against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snap. A confidential settlement resolves these two plaintiffs' claims, but the broader legal test of the addictive-design theory remains live — and other defendants may not get the same off-ramp.