These apps can expose kids to bullies, sex and stranger danger, sheriff’s office says

An Alabama sheriff’s office created a graphic that includes 17 apps on an iPad.

The 17 smart phone apps that are featured “are only a few examples” of ones that parents should be aware of because they can put children in danger, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook post.

“This post was put together to get the message out to someone that could prevent a devastating, life altering event for a child,” the sheriff’s office said.

The apps featured include everything from social media (Instagram), to dating apps (Bumble), to messaging apps (kik).

“We need to pay attention to who our children are chatting with. There are people out there trying to destroy those that we are trying to raise,” the post says. “There are apps that CAN be dangerous and CAN expose your children to a range of things from bullying and unwanted sexual messages, some apps CAN even give strangers your child’s location.”

It should be noted, though, that the apps are not necessarily dangerous by themselves, according to the post. Rather, it’s what can be done through the apps.

“Keep in mind that no app poses a danger in and of itself, but many do provide kids with an opportunity to make bad choices...” officials said.

Here are the 17 apps that the sheriff’s office has warned parents about, along with a brief description of each application provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s:

• Bumble: This is a dating app, but “kids use Bumble by creating a fake account (with) a fake age,” the post says.

• LiveMe: This live-streaming video app “uses geolocation to share videos so users can find out a broadcaster’s exact location.”
• ASK.FM: This app “is known for cyber bullying,” according to the sheriff’s office. It “encourages users to allow anonymous people to ask them questions ... and get an answer.”

• Snapchat: In this app, users can send photos and videos that disappear once seen. Snapchat “stories” allow the content to remain visible for 24 hours, and users can see your location.

• Holla: A “video chat app that allows users to meet people all over the world in just seconds ... Reviewers say they have been confronted with racial slurs, explicit content and more.”

• CALCULATOR%: This was “one of SEVERAL secret apps used to hide photos, videos, files and browser history. This app looks like a calculator but functions like a secret photo vault,” the sheriff’s office said. Business Insider reported that Apple pulled this from the App Store in 2018, but similar apps can still be downloaded.

• kik: A messaging app that “allows anyone to contact and direct message to your child ... The reason why this app is so popular with teens is because users are allowed to create anonymous accounts...”
• Whisper: “An anonymous social network that promotes sharing secrets with strangers. It also reveals a user’s location so people can meet up.”

• The Game by Hot or Not: “The goal of this app is to hook up,” the sheriff’s office said. It “encourages users to rate your profile, check out people in their area and chat with strangers.”
  
  

• Omegle: This random videochat app “promotes chatting anonymously to strangers.”

• Yubo: A social app “designed to allow teens to flirt with each other in a Tinder-like atmosphere.”

• LINE: “Another all in one mobile hub for chatting, sharing photos and videos, and free texting and videos calls.”

• BURNBOOK: McClatchy did not find this app available in the Apple App Store or in Google Play. The sheriff’s office said the app allowed people to post “anonymous rumors about people.”

• Wishbone: “An app that allows users to compare kids against each other and rate them on a scale.” The app says it recently released an update, and it no longer allows “unsafe or highly inappropriate content to be posted.”

• Instagram: “Many teens and kids are creating fake account profiles to hide content from parents. Kids also like to text using Instagram because messages are deleted once a user leaves the conversation.”

• Vora: “A dieting app that allows a user to track their fasting activity.” The sheriff’s office said the app may have been intended for health benefits, but that “it could be dangerous for kids prone to eating issues.”

• Hide It Pro (HIP): This app is “disguised as a music manager, but really it’s meant for hiding anything from photos and videos to TEXT MESSAGES and other apps.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2019 at 5:48 PM with the headline "These apps can expose kids to bullies, sex and stranger danger, sheriff’s office says."