30 Potentially Dangerous Apps Your Tween Might Be Using

Parents need to be involved in their kids’ online social lives

As parents, we need to be informed and conscious of the people that are kids are connecting with, both in person and digitally. Just like you might ask who they are meeting at the mall or who is on the phone, it’s important to be involved with their online social lives.

A friend posted a link to an #parenting article that listed #apps that we should be careful allowing tweens and teens to use. They included Yik Yak, SnapChat, KiK Messenger, Poof, Omegle, Whisper, and Down. These apps allow dangerous behaviors like cyberbullying, sexting, sharing their location, video chatting with strangers, hiding apps from their parents, or “hooking up.”

I did some research on my own and found more phone apps that parents need to be wary of: Ask.fm, Hot or Not, PhotoVault, iFunny, ooVoo, Tinder, Blendr, Grindr, ChatRoulette, WhatsApp, TextNow, Viber, Vine, Wire, Wickr, Poke, Instagram, Skout, Swoon, Pure, Tango, Path, and Keek.

I’m sharing this list both to inform other parents as well as request others to comment with other potentially troublesome apps for#tweens and #teens.

I encourage parents to have a dialogue with their kids about the potential online dangers of sharing their information, photos, and location with people they don’t know. Yes, it’s important to trust your children, but keeping them safe from threats they don’t yet understand is one of the most important roles we need to fill as parents.