It is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to keep up with the ever-changing trends their teens adopt. Remember the term “not gonna lie”? People would use it to suggest that they were about, to be honest about something. Well, there is a new app in the market with the same concept, NGL (a.k.a., not gonna lie). It is premised on anonymity and honesty, which is why it is gaining popularity among teens. Let’s find out what it is about and why parents must pay attention to it.
What is NGL All About? Is It Truly Anonymous?
With numerous apps promoting anonymity for teens, parents are not wrong to seek out apps to control kids’ phones. NGL is the latest in the long line of apps that offer an anonymous messaging feature for its users. It was launched last year in November 2021. It is said to work like an add-on to an existing Instagram account. Therefore, technically speaking, it is only offering partial anonymity.
How Does It Work?
If you are an avid Instagram user, you can just link the NGL app to your account and invite your followers/friends/anyone else to send you messages via this app. The people who send messages via NGL remain unidentified. However, the receiver’s identity is not anonymous since the senders click on their Instagram accounts to send their messages. But, the question remains. Is the app truly safe for teens to use?
Is It Safe for Teens to Use?
As parents, if something about this app and the so-called anonymity it offers doesn’t sit well with you, you’re not alone. Nothing about teens inviting strangers across the globe to send anonymous private messages would seem like a great idea to any parent. Even if the app promises to filter out words and phrases relating to bullying or trolling, etc., there is no guarantee that it can shield teens from others’ malicious intent. What all parents must do is educate teens about social media privacy and online safety.
Moreover, the app is surrounded by controversies suggesting that it randomly sends computer-generated messages to its users. Teens can lose track of time using this app. what’s more troubling is that NGL requires payment to upgrade an account. That means if someone wants to receive hints regarding who sent them a particular message, they can pay to find out.
Controversies Surrounding NGL
The app is involved in a few controversies. The most prominent ones include NGL being called out for stealing valuable information from a competing app called SendIt and sending automatically generated messages to its users.
The developers of SendIt entered a legal dispute with NGL stating that it stole information from them to create a knockoff version. SendIt further claims that sending automatically generated messages was their original idea.
Moreover, several users have come forth to raise their own suspicions regarding the anonymous messages they receive. Many users claim that the messages they get were not sent by their followers. The evidence is gradually stacking against NGL, yet countless teens still use the app. Parents raise concerns about whether they should let their teens use such an app.
How Do I Prevent My Teens from Using Dangerous Apps?
Parents across the globe feel concerned that they cannot entirely prevent teens from using unsafe social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, YikYak, Hoop, etc. Several parental control apps have stepped up to support parents in keeping kids away from harmful apps like NGL.
FamilyTime is one of the most popular apps to control kids’ phones and offers a myriad of safety features. For instance, by using its Screen Time Limit, App Blocker, or Internet Filter features, parents can easily prevent their teens from indulging in unsafe teen dating apps. Just so you know, it can protect kids from threats posed by the real world and the virtual one.