App Safety Guide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

A 'make new friends' app whose core loop is pairing your kid with random strangers in chat and anonymous voice rooms.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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