TYLER, Texas — This week we are taking a look at the 15 apps you should be aware of on your kids' phones. We continue the week by looking at four dating apps: Bumble, Grindr, Badoo and Skout.
- Now let's start with Bumble.
It has a unique feature in that women have to send the first message once a match is made, which in theory reduces the number of unwanted messages. According to the terms and conditions, Bumble is for adults 18 and up and the company will delete any profiles that they discover have been created by kids.
However, kids have found ways to get around the age restrictions by creating accounts with fake details. - Next is another unique app: Grindr.
Grindr is a dating app that's geared towards the LGBTQ community. Like Bumble, their terms and conditions say you must be 18 to sign up.
Features of the app include the ability to send photos that disappear after a certain period of time and the ability to see who's nearby, leading to potential privacy concerns for kids.
- Next, let's look at an app geared toward local matches: Badoo
Badoo is an app that uses location to find matches nearby. According to their website, they have 462 million registered users.
When you first sign up, users have the choice of selecting whether they want to date or just meet new friends. The apps terms also states the user must be be an adult to join. But again, kids have found ways to skirt that requirement. - Finally, we let's look at Skout.
Skout is sort of a hybrid between a social network and a dating app. Users can start new friendships network and also use the app for dating.
But again, while Skout's terms they users must be 18 years of age or up, kids have been known to get around that requirement and create profiles using false information.
The big takeaway is that every one of these apps requires users to be 18 years or older to join. However, kids have found ways to get past that requirement by creating fake Facebook accounts and linking them or falsifying their date of birth when signing up.
A good way to keep tabs on this and restrict your kids usage is to enable restrictions on their smartphones. Android phones offer a feature called Google for Families and iPhones have a feature called Screen Time. Using either of these features, you can either restrict the time they use apps or block them out right.
Android users can get started with Google service at families.google.com.
For iPhones users, go to "Settings' and tap on 'Screentime.'
We'll be sharing other apps you should be aware of all throughout the week along with tips on how to keep your little one safe. And the meantime, if you have any questions about the app, shoot me an email abaker@cbs19.tv.