HOUSTON – Ever wonder what your child may be doing on their phone? There are some apps parents may need to be aware about.
Harris County Constable Pct. 4 Mark Herman posted on their Facebook and Twitter feeds a list of 14 apps parents should be concerned about, as kids and teens may have those installed on their smartphones. Those include popular apps Snapchat and Instagram.
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Some apps, according to the graphic have the ability to give away personal information such as name, address, age, and location.
14 APPS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Follow us at Facebook.com/Precinct4 and Download our new mobile app “C4 NOW” to...
Posted by Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 on Friday, January 15, 2021
These are the apps listed:
Bumble - Similar to apps such as Tinder, but required women to make the first contact than men. This allows kids and teens to make fake accounts and forge their age.
Kik - A direct-messaging app that allows kids to bypass default phone message features.
HOLLA - An “addicting” video message app that brings kids and teens to meet strangers from all over the world.
Ask.FM - An app that encourages kids and teens to be involved in cyber-bullying.
Instagram - The new messaging system on Instagram is similar to Snapchat, where messages are deleted once read.
Burn Book - An app that allows users to post anonymous audio messages, texts and photos.
HOT OR NOT - An app that rates a user’s profile and encourages kids and teens to “hook up.”
Snapchat - A popular app among kids and teens that allows them to take a pic or send a message and disappears after 24 hours.
LiveMe - A live-streaming video app that uses geolocation.
Whisper - Similar to apps such as Ask.FM and Burn Book
Calculator% - An app that disguises as a real calculator app but hides the users photos and browser history.
Omegle - A free online chat app that allows kids and teens to meet with random strangers.
Yubo - An app similar to Tinder where teens can flirt with other teens.
Wishbone - Similar to HOT OR NOT, where profiles are compared with others.
What other apps should parents be aware of that are not on this list? Tell us in the comments below.