App Safety Guide.

Powerful free video editor for teens; watch for TikTok/ByteDance data practices.

All-in-one social platform with typical messaging and content risks; requires age-aware supervision.

Free calling and texting app; appeals to teens as a way to avoid parental monitoring.

Free streaming service with a massive library; parental controls are minimal, so content curation falls to parents.

Subscription video app with light moderation; teen-friendly but watch for spending.

Designed for parental location tracking; strong safety tools offset by privacy trade-offs.

Reward app with addictive game mechanics and referral loops; not suitable for younger teens.

Real-time public safety tracker; educational for older kids, but can normalize emergency anxiety.

Creator-subscription platform with wide-ranging, minimally moderated content; monitor for teens.

A vertical drama-streaming platform with social commenting; verify content ratings before allowing teens.

Excellent creative tool for kids 10+; robust, educational, and moderation-friendly.

Addictive short-form drama streaming with social features; autoplay and algorithmic curation risk excessive viewing.

Useful neighborhood tool for families, but requires parental awareness of location exposure and stranger contact.

A subscription drama app with mature romance and revenge themes; fine for older teens, not for young kids.

AI-generated short dramas with aggressive monetization; watch for addictive design and content maturity.

A legitimate video editor from Instagram for aspiring creators; worth monitoring for social comparison and content-chasing behavior.

A genuinely useful creative tool for all ages, with minimal risk if privacy settings are configured.

Mature news aggregator teaching media literacy; best for teens 16+ with adult guidance.

Real-time crime and emergency alerts—useful for aware teens and adults, but can amplify fear and misinformation if misused.

Safe photo storage and editing tool suitable for families; minimal privacy concerns with standard Google safeguards.

Addictive short drama streamer with subscription traps; watch spending and screen time closely.

Group messaging and event management app; generally safe with standard privacy controls and parental oversight.

Rewards app that's safe but addictive; supervise younger teens' spending habits.

Short-form drama app with aggressive subscription model; watch for sneaky auto-renewals and romance content.

Creative AI tool for making expressive characters and videos; moderation and peer-interaction safety unclear.

Engaging short-form drama streaming with subscription paywall; monitor viewing habits and spending.

Entertainment-first short-form drama app; monitor content and spending habits.

Safe creative tool for teens; good for aspiring content creators with basic privacy practices in place.

Major streaming service with mixed content; parental controls essential for younger kids.

Fun creative tool; watch for deepfake misuse and catfishing risks on dating apps.

AlexTV: Kids YouTube Control

Low risk

Parental-control wrapper around YouTube that curates content by channel approval and blocks shorts and ads.

Among Us

Low risk

Fun multiplayer game with mild social pressure; mostly safe, but watch for toxic chat in random lobbies.

Azar: Chat, Meet Friends

Worth watching

Stranger-chat app with moderation; risky for under-16, monitor closely for older teens.

Badoo Dating: Meet New People

High risk

Dating app designed for adults; not appropriate for minors under 18.

BeReal

Low risk

A low-risk, authenticity-focused app — the least concerning social platform your teen is probably using.

BIGO LIVE

High risk

Stranger-contact live-streaming app; requires heavy parental oversight for anyone under 16.

Bluesky Social

Worth watching

A Twitter-style app with unusually strong user-side moderation controls — but it's public and open by default, with adult content present.

Bumble Dating App

High risk

Dating app for adults; not appropriate for children or early teens.

Calculator# Hide Photos Videos

High risk

Disguised vault app designed to hide sensitive data; risky for teens without parental oversight.

Character.ai

High risk

The teen-companion chat that caused the harm is gone — the risk moved to the unregulated substitutes that replaced it.

Clapper: Video, Live, Chat

Worth watching

A TikTok alternative that markets itself on 'no censorship' and skews adult — fewer content guardrails, more strangers, real-money tipping.

Discord

High risk

Built for gamers but now used for everything — the private servers and DMs are where the real risks hide.

Facebook

Worth watching

Fewer teens post here now, but Messenger and Marketplace still expose them to adult strangers — and the account quietly becomes their login across the web.

Fizz

Worth watching

An anonymous feed gated to a single school — anonymity plus a closed real-world community is a targeted-bullying engine.

Fortnite

Worth watching

Massively popular multiplayer shooter; fun for teens, requires active parental oversight for younger kids.

Fridge: Habits with Friends

Low risk

Thoughtful social habit tracker; low risk if friend-locked, moderate risk if open to strangers.

Grindr - Gay Dating & Chat

High risk

Adult-only dating app. Not appropriate for minors under any circumstances.

GroupMe

Low risk

A straightforward group messaging app that works well for coordinating friends, family, and teams without unusual privacy risks.

Habbo - Original Virtual World

Worth watching

Social MMO with real-time chat and user-generated spaces; moderated but requires parental oversight for younger teens.

Hinge

Low risk

18+ dating app with strong user verification and transparency. Not for minors.

Holla Chat App

High risk

A random video-chat app that drops your kid onto live camera with adult strangers — essentially Omegle in app form. No real age gate.

Hoop - Make New Friends

High risk

Social discovery app designed for teens to connect with strangers globally; requires close parental monitoring.

IMVU: Fun 3D Avatar Chat Game

High risk

Avatar-based social network with unmoderated chat rooms and cosmetic pay-to-win mechanics; watch closely for teens.

Instagram

High risk

Meta's own research showed it harms teen girls — then they built it for teens anyway.

New Instagram spinoff with built-in parental controls; still watch closely for teen users.

Kick

High risk

Unmoderated live streaming platform; minimal content controls for younger viewers.

Kik

Urgent

An anonymous messaging app with a documented history of predator activity — no legitimate reason for a teen to need this.

Lemon8 - Lifestyle Community

Worth watching

TikTok's sister app, built for aspirational beauty and lifestyle content — an algorithmic comparison feed with the same open comments from strangers.

Likee

Worth watching

A TikTok-style app with live streaming and paid 'gifts' — strangers can watch, comment on, and tip a minor's live video in real time.

LINE

Worth watching

A messaging app whose 'find by ID, QR, or shake' features let strangers add your kid as a contact unless they're switched off.

LinkedIn: Community & Network

Low risk

Professional networking and job search app; generally safe for teens 16+ with clear boundaries.

Links

Worth watching

Social event-planning app with broad sharing; moderate stranger risk if discovery is enabled.

Litmatch

High risk

A stranger-matching app that Apple restricts to 16+ — one-tap text and voice pairing with people your teen has never met, and no real age check on either side.

LiveMe - Live Stream, Video Chat

High risk

High-risk live streaming app with direct stranger contact and monetization pressures; not appropriate for children under 16.

Locket Widget

Worth watching

A photo-sharing widget that puts friends' photos directly on your child's home screen — sweet concept, real privacy risks.

Mastodon

Worth watching

A decentralized, algorithm-free Twitter — safety depends entirely on which server your kid joins and how well it's moderated.

MeetMe: Go Live & Meet People

High risk

Stranger-contact app with minimal safety guardrails; not appropriate for children.

Messenger

Worth watching

Facebook's messenger — tied to a public profile, so anyone can message your kid unless you lock down who's allowed to reach them.

Minecraft

Low risk

Creative sandbox with multiplayer; monitor server interactions and in-app purchases for younger players.

MonkeyCool - Make New Friends

High risk

Unmoderated global video chat app; significant stranger-contact and safety risks for teens.

NGL: ask me anything

High risk

Anonymous messaging from strangers with weak moderation; high risk for harassment and bullying.

Partiful

Low risk

A party invitation app that's relatively low risk — the main concern is the public guest lists and RSVP visibility.

Pinterest

Worth watching

Visual discovery app with social features; manageable but requires parental oversight for teens.

Pokémon GO

Worth watching

Location-based game that gets kids outdoors; watch for in-app purchases and stranger contact.

Quora

Worth watching

A Q&A site whose recommendation feed freely surfaces adult and graphic answers to logged-in minors — there's no kid mode.

Reddit

High risk

A massive forum network with excellent content in some corners and genuinely harmful content in others — the algorithm decides which one your teen finds first.

Roblox

Worth watching

Most of the games are fine — the chat and social features are where kids get into trouble.

Rumble

High risk

Video platform with minimal moderation; exposes kids to unfiltered political and conspiracy content.

Saturn Calendar

Low risk

A straightforward student calendar app with optional social features—useful but watch what's shared.

sendit

Worth watching

Anonymous Q&A app designed to encourage social connection; monitor for misuse.

Signal

Low risk

Excellent privacy-first messenger; appropriate for teens and up with adult oversight.

Snapchat

High risk

The disappearing messages create a false sense of privacy that teens exploit — and predators know it.

Spotify: Music and Podcasts

Worth watching

Music streaming is safe — but podcasts and audiobooks leak explicit content past Spotify’s filter. Use Spotify Kids for under-13, not the main app.

Steam Mobile

Low risk

Just the companion app for a Steam account — low risk by itself; what matters is the gaming account's friends and chat, not this app.

Stumble Guys

Worth watching

Colorful multiplayer party game; fun for kids, watch for in-app spending and online interactions.

Tagged: Dating, Chat & Go Live

High risk

Dating app with livestream and messaging; not for minors, terms likely unenforced.

Telegram

High risk

An encrypted messaging app with almost no content moderation — used by teens and extremist groups alike.

Tellonym

High risk

Anonymous Q&A app that connects kids with strangers—risky for anyone under 16.

Threads

Worth watching

Instagram's text feed — your kid's Threads account IS their Instagram account, so it inherits that audience and those risks wholesale.

TikTok

High risk

The algorithm is the real risk — it learns exactly what your kid is vulnerable to and feeds them more of it.

Tinder

Urgent

Adult dating app with strict 18+ TOS gate; not for minors under any circumstances.

Triller: Social Videos & Clips

Worth watching

A struggling TikTok clone with thinner moderation — explicit music-video content and stranger contact, minus TikTok's teen protections.

Tumblr: Social Media & Art

Worth watching

Creative hub with strong community, but moderation gaps expose teens to NSFW content and older users.

Twitch

Worth watching

Engaging streaming platform with unmoderated live chat and variable content; requires active parental oversight.

VRChat

Worth watching

Unmoderated social VR space where kids meet strangers with minimal safety guardrails.

VSCO: Photo & Video Editor

Worth watching

Teens treat it as a quieter, no-likes Instagram — the risk is its public profiles and DMs, not the editing tools it's known for.

Wattpad

Worth watching

A huge teen reading app where one of the biggest draws is sexually explicit fan-fiction — freely searchable, with no real age gate.

WeChat

Worth watching

An all-in-one app whose 'People Nearby' and location features let strangers discover your kid by physical proximity.

WhatsApp

Worth watching

End-to-end encrypted messaging that's safer than SMS — but only as safe as who your child is talking to.

Whisper Secrets

High risk

Anonymous social network designed for venting—privacy appeal masks exposure to unvetted strangers and potential grooming.

Wizz

Urgent

A stranger-danger app marketed to teens as a friend-finder. Delete it immediately.

X

High risk

Powerful social platform with adult-focused content; not appropriate for young teens without active parental oversight.

XChat

Worth watching

Private encrypted messaging for X users; strong privacy controls, but moderation depends on who your child talks to.

Yay!

High risk

Anonymous social audio app designed for teens; significant stranger-contact and safety risks despite moderation claims.

Yik Yak

High risk

Anonymous social network built on location—low moderation and high risk for teens.

YOLO: Anonymous Q+A

Worth watching

Anonymous messaging app popular with teens; moderation exists but anonymity enables harassment and bullying.

YouTube

Worth watching

The recommended videos are the problem — the algorithm will walk your child somewhere you didn't intend.

Yubo: Chat Meet & Make Friends

High risk

A social swiping app where kids meet and chat with strangers worldwide; high contact-risk for younger teens.