If a parent has a kid old enough to use a Smartphone, chances are there to be worried about what they are doing on social media. It is right to be concerned, as there are plenty of threats faced by teens online. Online predators, cyber-bullying, online scams, inappropriate content - all pose serious threats.

Social media can also be stressful for kids - it can cost them their sleep and rob them of their time that should be focused on their studies. These aren’t the only common threats to kids on social media, but it should be priorities for parents, education professionals, law enforcement officials, and social media platforms going forward, to protect kids on social media.

There is no shortage for social media while apps like Snapchat and Instagram are still going strong. It is nearly impossible for a parent to cope up or be updated with every new app but it’s necessary for them to know what’s on their kid’s device and whether it is good or not. Some of the trending apps among teens are as follows and it is more important to have an eye on such kinds that the developers could make money on them through in-app purchases, ads, selling user data, or all of the above.

Apps you never heard your child is using (CNN)

WHISPER

Whisper is an app developed for people to share their secrets, express themselves and meet new people. This way to meet new people is through their nearby location. Use of location itself makes this application dangerous for children. It is one of the most dangerous apps that a teen may install and share sensitive information to others. This app enables users to provide their secrets with their friends found on nearby location. The predators, these days are looking for their victims through digital medium. Therefore, this app is a big no for children and their phone should be monitored on regular basis.

TIKTOK (Formerly Musical.ly)

TikTok is an app formerly known and named as Musical.ly. This app allows users to make short videos of their own and share with world. It can be dubs of famous songs or dialogues. The moves and the attire of teen matters a lot as it could be viewed by anyone around the world. This app is also responsible for many viral videos worldwide. Apart from the fun, it could be dangerous too. This app requires a lot of monitoring. It may expose children to many inappropriate things. Also, once something insensitive is posted online, it can never be actually taken down. It should be used only with parental guidance otherwise it can be really dangerous for children.

BIGO LIVE - live stream

BIGO LIVE lets teens stream live video of themselves that other user can see and comment on in real time. You can also receive and send "Beans" - BIGO's term for virtual gifts - that cost real money. You can level up and improve your ranking by logging in every day and sending gifts. BIGO has a lot of mature content, including sexy talk and clothing, and users’ comments are often predatory and explicit. Also, its focus on status and spending money, as opposed to creativity and talent, makes it feel shallow.

HOT OR NOT

Hot Or Not is an application which allows users to rate the hottest people online based on nearby location. It is highly inappropriate for children to use it because of multiple aspects. First of all, it requires mobile number and access to location. Second and most dangerous aspect is they may end up getting into depression. It also enables other people as well to rate on your child’s pictures. The pictures may be used to either blackmail them or to edit them and can be re-uploaded on internet. Therefore, this is really one of most dangerous apps that children must avoid.

DOWN

Down is another dating app which can be highly unsafe for children. It’s not a teen dating app like SpotaFriend, but it is still risky if you don’t want your kids to start dating so early. This app is like a next level of Tinder. It’s highly dangerous for kids meeting strangers based on location and dating for them. They might think it’s cool for them to start dating early in life. But a parent must take the responsibility to regulate a check up on their child’s activities. Therefore, it’s one of those apps not suitable for children at all.

These are some of the most dangerous apps that a teen might download and start using. It is just 5% of them listed above. There are many more similar threatening apps in use today. It is much more important now for a parent in today’s generation to have an eye on their children’s phone time to time for such applications. Also it is important to check for apps that hide other apps. There are a number of cases related to cyber crime, cyber bullying, blackmailing and even extortion. It’s a parent’s responsibility to check their younger ones phone and keep them protected.