A Parent’s Guide to the 5 Most Unsafe Apps for Kids
Every few days, a new social media app comes into play and makes it impossible for even the most tech-savvy parents to keep up with the ever-changing trends. What makes matters worse is deciding which ones are unsuitable for young kids. To make things easier for parents, we have compiled a list of the 5 most unsafe apps for kids. You may recognize some of these apps, and it may surprise you to learn the dangers they pose to your kids.
Dangers Posed By Social Media Communities
Being part of various social media communities opens up new opportunities for adults and kids alike. However, not taking precautions also exposes you to countless dangers. For instance, catfishing, cyberbullying, gambling, addiction to gaming, porn, drugs, etc. It is, therefore, imperative for parents to educate their kids about creating a safer digital life.
Top 5 Unsafe Apps for Kids
There is always a new app on the popularity horizon and kids go crazy for it. Some of these apps remain constantly trendy. Here are five of the highly unsafe apps for kids having various levels of inappropriate characteristics.
1. Hoop
Hoop is categorized as one of the most unsafe apps for kids because it is an amalgam of Tinder and Snapchat. The user policy of this app allows kids as young as 12 to connect to strangers. Users may swipe through profiles to pick people they’d like to talk to based on age, gender, and profile pictures. Users may request each other’s Snapchat handle and use it to connect or sext. Although Hoop claims that the adult and teen communities are kept separate, anyone can create a fake profile, and frankly, it is too close for comfort.
2. Snapchat
Snapchat is second on our list because of several reasons. It has been around for over a decade and is known for its ‘disappearing messages’ feature. Teens tend to use this feature to engage in sexting and sending nudes. They do not fully understand that nothing ever truly disappears once uploaded on the internet. Anyone can take a screenshot, and the rest becomes a nightmare.
Another threat posed by the Snapchat app is the ‘Snap Map’ feature. Teens and adults often use this feature to get in touch with drug dealers and strangers. It is horrifying for the parents of young teens as it can bring them a lot of trouble.
3. Instagram
The next on our list of most unsafe apps for kids is none other than Instagram. It has also been around for more than a decade. Now owned by Facebook, it is a popular platform for sharing photos and short videos. It has recently added the ‘disappearing messages and photos’ feature making it unsafe for young kids. Moreover, Instagram has added its own version of TikTok named Reels. Kids use it to create short videos using music or viral short audio clips.
Another thing that rings alarm bells is the ease of access to indecent content. Having a private account does not stop kids from using the search feature to find inappropriate things such as porn, nudity, profanity, etc.
4. Yik Yak
Yik Yak is one of the most unsafe apps for kids and has resurfaced in recent years. It is famous for its anonymity in chatrooms. It takes the ‘being anonymous’ feature to a whole new level – no usernames, no real names, no pictures or handles, etc. It provides anonymous chatrooms for people, and that is troublesome for parents. The chances of kids becoming rowdy and falling in with the wrong crowd run high when it comes to Yik Yak. It is a breeding ground for the worst issues, such as bullying, sexting, nudity, profanity, etc.
5. Discord
Discord is a recent messaging platform introduced in 2015. It offers a space for teens to hang out with friends after school. Kids typically talk about their online gaming strategies and love shooting a breeze. The problem begins when Discord’s direct chat room features, such as video calls and chatrooms, etc., come into play. Discord users can engage using different servers, and within each server, one can create multiple chat rooms called ‘channels’.
These features expose kids to various threats such as sexual predators, body shaming, ideation of suicide or drug abuse, bullying, porn, catfishing, etc. This app is popular among kids and adults alike which means the adult content on this app is plenty. These risks make it one of the most unsafe apps for kids to use unsupervised.
FamilyTime Can Ensure Your Kids’ Digital Safety
A parental control app such as FamilyTime provides parents with plenty of safety features to ensure their kids’ digital safety. They can monitor social media apps, limit and schedule their screen time, screen calls and messages, track locations, etc. Its features cater to kids of all ages, including teens. Parents may even track the speed limits of their teen drivers and steer them in the right direction as and when needed.
Parental control apps (such as FamilyTime) play a key role in providing a safer digital life for kids. Visit the website of the FamilyTime app if you would like to learn how it can help protect your kids in every way possible.
