Apps: What You Need to Know Don Bergamini Apps for phones and tablets
Yik Yak Tinder
ask.fm Kik messenger
Voxer Snap chat
Poke Vine
Whisper Tumblr
Instagram Blendr
Omegle Down
ooVoo Skype Yik Yak
Yik Yak is an anonymous social wall where anything and everything can be posted. All users are anonymous.
Problem: The app is intended for 17 and older teens but easily accessible to younger teens. Hurtful comments abound and rumors are easily spread. Tinder
Tinder: Meant for adults, the app allows one to meet interesting people nearby. But it's mainly used as a dating tool or an anonymous hook-up
Problem: Only need to be 13 to register and anonymous. Has a geo-location feature puts kids at risk for sexual harassment, stalking,
and worse. ask.fm
Ask.fm- This app allows users to interact in a question-and-answer format — with friends, peers, and anonymous users alike.
Problem: Some kids have used the app for hurtful, cyberbulling that has led to suicide.. Kik
Kik is a mobile app that people can use to text with friends at high speed and with more of a "face-to-face feel" than regular texting.
Problem: There is no age verification so anyone can download it. Kik allows your teen to connect with others using just a username (rather than texting from a phone number). Many people use Kik to meet strangers. The app also been connected with cyberbullying. Voxer
Voxer: This walkie-talkie PTT (push-to-talk) app allows users to quickly exchange short voice messages and can have chats going on with multiple people at a time and just have to tap the play button to hear any messages they receive.
Problem: Hurtful messages from cyberbullies can be even more biting when they're spoken and can be played repeatedly. Surprisingly, the app is rated ages 4+ in the App Store. Snapchat
Snapchat is an app that allows users to send photos and videos that disappear from view within 10 seconds after they're received. It's rated ages 12+.
Problem: Some kids are using the app to send racy pics because they believe the images can't be saved and circulated. Not true and users can take a screenshot before an image vanishes in the app. Poke
Poke is Facebook's app that, similar to Snapchat, promises that photos sent will "self-destruct" within seconds after they're received.
Problem: Can be used to send racy and inappropriate photos. Also like Snapchat, the images sent via Poke can be saved or viewed with certain workarounds. Vine
Vine is Twitter's mobile app that allows users to shoot and share short loops of video (6 seconds or less). It's rated 17+, but children and teens are still downloading it.
Problem: Kids can find content that is naughty to nice. With some creativity teens can find almost anything including inappropriate content. Whisper Whisper: Whisper is an anonymous confession app. It allows users to
superimpose text over a picture in order to
share their thoughts and feelings
anonymously.
Problem: Due to the anonymity, kids are
posting pics of other kids with derogatory text
superimposed on the image. Sexual predators
it to locate kids and establish a relationship. Tumblr
Tumblr: Photo sharing app for 17 years old or older.
Problem: Access to wildly inappropriate photos and tends to glorify self-harm, eating
disorders, and sex. Instagram
Instagram: Photo sharing app. Users can add cool filters or create collages of their photos and share them across Facebook
Problem: users can still find mature or inappropriate content and comments throughout the app. "Trolls" — or people making vicious, usually anonymous comments — are common. Blendr
Blendr: A flirting app used to meet new
people through GPS location services. You can send messages, photos, videos, rate the
hotness of other users, etc.
Problem: There are no authentication
requirements, so sexual predators can
contact minors, minors can meet up with
adults. And again, the sexting. Omegle
Omegle: This app is primarily used for video
chatting and is anonymous.
Problem: Sexual predators use this app to
find kids to collect personal information from
in order to track them down more easily in
person. Down
Down: This app one can indicate whether or
not a friend is someone they’d like to hang
with or someone they are “down” to hook-up
with.
Problem: It creates an environment amongst
peers with a ranking system predicated on
hooking up. ooVoo
ooVoo- an app where one can video chat, text or call someone or set up group chats
Problem- mean behavior on chats, kids being “set up” in group chats and causing social issues. If privacy settings are not set up properly, exposure to sexual predators. Skype
Skype is an video chat app that connects people either through face to face or text.
Problem: inappropriate conversations, again sexting and live, racy video. Video can be recorded and saved through the use of additional devices or programs. Private Photo
Private photo is an app that looks like a calculator. Enter a passcode and it opens a private area.
Problem: It is a place to hide questionable and inappropriate photos. What can you do as parents?
You pay for the device...you, therefore, control the device.
Set up privacy settings.
Troll your child.
If you notice an app has not been used in a while, a fake account exists.
Take the phone away at night.
Stay on top of the tech.