Meg Coffey – Sunrise
Social Media Strategist
The apps parents should pay attention to on their kids’ phones.
In the world of mobile phones, apps are like candy to kids – they can’t get enough of them.
And Cyber safety experts says parents should be across every single one their child is using.
Watch the full report below.
This is because the popular messaging services, forums and games can give sexual predators and bullies a direct line to your kids, reveal their exact location and allow them to hide their activity from adult supervision.
Apps to look out for
MeetMe is an app where teens can easily be in contact with users much older than them, with an emphasis on dating.
WhatsApp and SnapChat are for messaging, but what you should know is teens can send unlimited messages, have video chats and even share their live location with other users, people they may not even know.
Skout is a flirting app that’s used to meet and chat with new people. Teens and adults are in different groups, but ages aren’t verified.
TikTok is used for sharing user created videos that can contain bad words, even adult content.
Badoo and Bumble are dating apps for adults, but teens can still find ways to join.
Grindr is geared towards the LGBTQ community. It allows users to share photos and meet up based on phone’s GPS location.
Kik is specifically for kids, but anyone can join and anyone can contact or direct message your child.
LiveMe is a live streaming app, but you don’t know who’s watching and your kids location is revealed.
Holla is all about connecting strangers around the world through video chat. Enough said.
Whisper is a social confessional where kids can remain anonymous, but still share their feelings. And it can reveal your child’s location for a meet up.
ASKfm encourages people to allow anonymous users to ask them questions, which opens the door for online bullying.
Hot or Not rates users on attractiveness.. There’s no age verification and users can send each other messages.
Calculator apps are several secret apps that allows kids to hide their photos, videos, even browser history.
Even mainstream apps like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter allow direct messaging and photo and video-sharing with strangers.
Parents are encouraged to regularly check which apps their children are using and to also make sure they aren’t downloading, deleting, and then re-downloading the apps when you aren’t looking.