What apps should your kids stay away from?

Published: October 7, 2024

What apps should your kids stay away from?

By Movieguide® Contributor

Gabb’s internet safety experts have revealed what apps they would never let their children use.

The list was filled with social media apps that leave the door open for predators or other bad actors to reach their children. The list includes TikTok, Kik, Facebook Reels, Instagram and Twitch.

TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook Reels have similarities in that they offer kids an endless amount of content to scroll through, which can make them addicted to their screens. TikTok and Meta, the parent companies of Facebook and Instagram, have been the target of lawsuits in the past due to their addictive nature and have faced heavy criticism for allowing dangerous content to spread on their platforms.

Meanwhile, Kik is a messaging app that gained popularity in the early 2010s and remains a popular app used by teenagers. However, Messenger is distributed by criminals, and the ability to join unmoderated message groups makes matters even worse. He was placed on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s “Dirty Dozen” list for 2022 and 2023 because “Kik is crawling with criminals. The anonymous messaging app is a “predator’s paradise” where children can be groomed and photos of child abuse shared, as well as explicit porn and prostitution ads.

Finally, Twitch is a streaming website that is mainly used for streaming video games. However, the platform’s moderation standards are both weak and inconsistently implemented, leaving the site rife with many streamers exploiting their sexuality for views. Last December, the site even changed its policies to allow full nudity, before quickly changing course and cracking down on sexual content. However, the place is still full of people breaking the rules and towing ropes, creating an environment unsuitable for children.

While these are some of the most dangerous apps for children, thousands of other apps would also be on this list. Ultimately, parents are responsible for the content their children regularly consume and are the final line of defense for their children’s safety. Movieguide® recommends parents talk to their children frequently about the content they watch to ensure they are not at risk of harm.

Previously reported on Movieguide®:

Gabb’s internet safety experts have revealed the best video games they’d never let their kids play.

Unfortunately, the list was full of extremely popular games that are played by hundreds of millions of children every day. The games mentioned by experts included Roblox, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Fortnite.

What all of these games have in common is the use of largely unfiltered communication, which exposes players to extremely inappropriate content while also opening the door to fraud or exploitation. However, these matches also have individual problems.