With so many apps available that provide entertainment or educational value, it can be challenging to sift through which apps are as innocent as they look and are actually safe apps for kids, and which apps can pose online dangers or risks for your kids, and should really be added to your dangerous apps list.
There are so many popular apps for kids in 2023, but there are several genres of mobile apps that parents should be concerned about. Now that we have a “block apps” feature at our disposal on the FamilyKeeper parental control app, it’s important to take a look at which popular apps are unsafe apps for kids and should really be on the dangerous apps list - and also how to block apps on iPhones, and how to block apps on Android smartphones.
So which popular apps should you consider blocking?
Dangerous Apps List - Unsafe Apps for Kids
Social Media Apps
Social media apps are basically synonymous with having a smartphone, so it’s important to understand where the problems lie. Social media apps, as adults will know, are useful and fun up to a point. However, there’s a fine line where they move from enhancing your life to becoming a narcissistic whirlwind of ‘Look at me!’ and ‘Is my life interesting enough?’, followed by the other body image, self-worth, and ‘Like / Love’ dopamine hit problems that can cause screen time addiction.
For impressionable young people, social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, can be dangerous as they can expose children and teens to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. It’s important that parents understand how these social media apps work, what they entail, and whether their children are old enough to have accounts.
Dating Apps
There are many dating apps available these days. The most popular and well-known dating apps are, amongst others, Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr. However, these apps are specifically designed for adults, and although each may have its own safeguards - for example, Bumble allows the female to have control over when contact is initiated - each and any of these dating apps can expose children and teens to inappropriate content, online grooming, and sexual exploitation.
Due to the nature of meeting unknown contacts over dating apps, these apps are deemed unsafe apps for kids.
Gaming Apps
Many gaming apps are addictive and time-consuming, leading to decreased productivity, social isolation, and sleep deprivation. Additionally, some gaming apps may expose children and teens to violent or graphic content. For example, Roblox is notorious for inadvertently exposing children to sexual content. Fortnite is a popular multiplayer game that involves shooting and fighting with intense graphics. And Call of Duty has released a mobile version of the popular first-person shooter game, which also involves realistic depictions of violence and is rated for ages 17+.
It's important for parents to review the content and ratings of any gaming app before allowing their children to download and play it.
Anonymous Chat Apps
Anonymous apps like Whisper and Anonymous Chat allow users to post anonymously, which can lead to cyberbullying, harassment, and online grooming - and are therefore unsafe apps for kids. By definition, we can’t ever know for sure who is behind an unknown profile, so apps like these are extremely dangerous for naive young users. Recently, many apps have come under fire from governing bodies, educational institutions, and the parenting community for not doing enough to protect young users.
For example, TikTok has recently faced criticism for not doing enough to shield teens from inappropriate content. In response, TikTok has added a new feature, whereby teens will need to enter a passcode to continue using the app past the one-hour time limit. Additionally, parents will be able to block videos that contain specific words or hashtags. Similarly, Instagram’s new ‘Quiet Mode’ will allow users to manage their screen time, take a break and switch off.
While it’s good to know that companies themselves are taking some responsibility to lessen the negative effects of app use, ultimately, it’s the parents of young users who have their child’s best interests at heart. Now that we’ve discussed which apps are unsafe apps for kids, we can examine how to block apps that don’t make the safety cut - and also see whether there is an app to block apps that can handle this safety measure.
FamilyKeeper - The App To Block Apps
All parents should know how to block apps on iPhones and how to block apps on Android phones. It is important for parents to monitor their children's mobile app usage and take steps to ensure that they are not exposed to inappropriate content or online predators. FamilyKeeper is a great app to block apps as it allows parents to decide which apps to block or unblock at any time. FamilyKeeper can also help parents limit screen time, and monitor their children's online activity.
How To Block Apps On Phones
To learn how to block apps on phones using the FamilyKeeper parental control app, follow these steps:
- Open the FamilyKeeper app on the parent device.
- Go to the "Control" section in the app.
- Click on the "App Blocker" option.
- You will see a list of all the apps installed on your child's device. Select the app that you want to block.
- Once you have selected the app, you will see the option to either "Block" the app. If you choose to block the app, your child will not be able to access it at all.
- After making your selection, click on the "Save" button.
- Repeat steps 4-6 for any other apps that you want to block.
How To Block Apps At Certain Times
If you don’t want to block a particular app completely, but you want to be able to block apps at certain times - for example, maybe you want to turn off Instagram at night so your child isn’t disturbed or distracted by so many pinging messages, or you want to discourage endless scrolling - follow these steps:
- Open the FamilyKeeper app on the parent device.
- Go to the "Control" section in the app.
- Click on the "App Blocker" option.
- You will see a list of all the apps installed on your child's device. Select the app you want to add a time limit to.
- Once you have selected the app, you will see the option to "Time Limit" the app. If you choose to time limit the app, your child will only be able to use the app for a certain amount of time each day.
- After making your selection, click on the "Save" button.
- Repeat steps 4-6 for any other apps to which you would like to add screen time limits.
At FamilyKeeper, our commitment to keeping kids cyber safe is our highest priority. However, we encourage parents to use their good judgment when it comes to blocking or limiting apps on their child’s phones. It goes without saying that inappropriate apps should be blocked for younger users.
Teens are a different story. Once your child reaches an age where they feel they are responsible to use certain apps, and also want some of their own privacy, we encourage you to talk to your child about how, why, and when they use particular apps. And if an app really does seem dangerous and your child shouldn’t be using it, it’s worthwhile taking the time to explain the risks to your child.
For more information on different features of the FamilyKeeper app, including blocking unknown contacts, geolocation tools, and alerts when inappropriate language is detected, visit us at https://familykeeper.reasonlabs.com/ or download the app from Google Play Store or the App Store.
