Raising Digital Kids: Dangerous Apps
Smartphone apps have become a mainstay in recent years. These tools allow you to do things like ordering your coffee in advance, check in for a haircut, and map your way to a soccer game. Not all apps are created with that same sense of helpfulness in mind.
There are apps in the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play Store (Android) that are not as helpful. These apps were not necessarily developed for nefarious reasons per se, but they can be used in ways that can help or even encourage children to make poor choices. Often, kids are not even aware of the information they are sharing with the world when using these apps. I’ve pulled together a list of potentially dangerous apps that are popular with Generation Z.
Hide It Pro / Calculator + / Vaulty
Apps like this are utilities designed to hide photos and videos from prying eyes. Once installed, Hide It Pro allows you to set up a pin code to access hidden photos and videos. The icon for the app looks like a few music notes which helps to disguise it from its true purpose. Calculator + works in a similar fashion. The difference is that when you open Calculator +, you’ll get a working calculator on the screen. Users have to enter a secret passcode on the calculator to access the hidden content.
Why is this a concern?
Apps like this, known as “vault apps” allow children to hide inappropriate content from the adults in their lives. For example, if they have received an explicit image or even taken one of themselves (40% have), these apps would hide those photos from the gallery of pictures on the phone.
Tinder / Grindr / Down / Yubo
Tinder, Grindr, Down, and Yubo are popular dating apps. This set of apps is designed to help users set up a romantic encounter with other users who are in a certain GPS radius of each other. Profile pictures are presented to the person using the app. If a user “flags” (swipes left, stars, etc.) another person and that person does the same in return, then the app allows the two people to communicate via text and pictures. While the first three apps are trendy with the college crowd, Yubo is often referred to as “Tinder for Teens” due to its popularity with teenagers and young adults. A recent update added the ability for users to create a virtual room with up to four people live streaming their camera.Yubo allows an unlimited number of people to watch these unmoderated live rooms.
Why is this a concern?
Other than the obvious concern of teens communicating and potentially hooking up with random strangers, the app uses GPS location to connect users. Adults/predators can use a fake profile and message to trick teens into meeting face to face. Teenagers and young adults should steer clear of this group.
Snapchat / SnapHack
Snapchat has been one of the most popular apps among young adults for several years now. Snapchat is used to send pictures or even small movies (snaps) with a short message overlaid across to other Snapchat users. Users can also apply image filters, lenses and bitmojis to add some special effects to the snaps. The messages self-destruct after a set amount of time (1-10 seconds) determined by the sender.
Snapchat initially became popular due to the short amount of time a snap could be viewed. Users liked the idea that they could send an image that would not reside online forever. It would disappear after a few seconds. Snapchat quickly became the defacto app for sexting and inappropriate photos. It wasn’t long before users discovered that those images could be saved by the viewer and they were not immediately removed from the Snapchat servers. Though the app had a rocky start, it has since morphed into a “must have” among teens and young adults.
Why is this a concern?
Snapchat is a favorite mode of communication for many people. The vast majority of those snaps are harmless. While it can have a darker side, many snaps simply depict various portions of a user’s daily life. Parents should be aware of what Snapchat is and how it works. SnapHack presents the larger threat. This app allows the user to save an image from Snapchat to their phone without informing the person who sent it. Once kept, it can be forwarded to other kids who can use the photo to bully, harass, or embarrass the original sender.
Sarahah / Ask.fm / FormSpring / YikYak
Ask.fm was a popular site for teens, especially in 2013-14. Ask.fm works similar to Twitter. Users create a profile, and other users then follow that profile. People can then post questions and comments on the user’s profile. The difference is that users do not know the identity of who is following them or posting the comments. The idea behind the site is that users would post honest questions, feedback, and comments without being ridiculed. Cyberbullying immediately became a massive problem on the site. People could post whatever mean/hurtful comment under full anonymity. Ask.fm was purchased by Ask.com in 2015. The purchase lead to much stricter policies on the site and its popularity waned soon after. Formspring and YikYak (now closed) soon filled the void left by Ask.fm. Sarahah, the most recent app in this group, debuted this past summer. Like its predecessors, it allows users to post an unfiltered comment without the fear of getting caught.
Why is this a concern?
Sites and apps like this are a hotbed for racist comments, vulgar posts, and bullying. Imagine Facebook where anyone could say whatever they wanted with total anonymity. Cyberbullying on Ask.fm led to teens committing suicide on more than one occasion. Teens may be drawn to sites like this because of the “drama” they can create. These websites and apps are bad news, plain and simple.
Kik / Jott
Kik Messenger is a massively popular messaging app among teenagers, with over 300 million users worldwide. Kik allows users to send messages via wifi and it’s not necessarily tied to a phone number. In plain English, its mostly private text messaging that doesn’t require a phone number or a data plan. Just wifi and access to the app is all anyone needs to begin communicating with other users. Jott combines the messaging power of Kik with the “vanishing photos/videos” features of SnapChat. It uses Bluetooth to connect to other users which allows it to get around many of the filtering systems put in place by parents or schools to prevent this type of behavior.
Why is this a concern?
Kik is considered one of the most significant concerns by law enforcement agencies due to its popularity, ease of use, and privacy. A snippet from an article on The Verge stated “Reporters from the two publications posed as 13 and 14-year-old girls on the app, and within an hour of joining several public groups, the two profiles received numerous private messages from male users, including some with explicit language and images.” Jott’s ability to bypass security is highly concerning. The silver lining to this black cloud is that its connection has a limited range of 100ft. Teens must be within that small radius to use this sneaky app.
In Summary
It is a daunting task to stay apprised of the latest app or online craze that is sweeping young America. An ongoing conversation about appropriate phone and internet use is essential. I urge you to consider checking your child’s phone often, setting technology boundaries, and monitor their online behavior. Ongoing and consistent communication will help your child to develop those behaviors that will ultimately lead them to independence in making safe and responsible choices online and on their smartphones.
Mike Daugherty is a husband, father of three young children, author, speaker, Google Innovator, and possible Starbucks addict. He is a certified educational technology leader who has served in a variety of roles through his eighteen-year career in public education. Currently, Mike is the Director of Technology for the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School district in Northeast Ohio. As an IT director he has developed creative, well thought out solutions that positively impact teaching and learning.