We find that our Digital Safety Programs are in high demand, students are concerned about digital privacy, professionals are concerned about keeping their digital reputations intact, and parents want their children to be digitally safe. Many people are seeking ways to safely navigate the digital world.

Since we wrote our last book, Digital Danger: If You Think Your Kid Is Safe Online, Think Again the use of social media has exploded, fueled by advances in technology that makes digital communication easier and faster.

The pace of technology adoption is astounding.

Texting from a plane 20000 feet in the air is common; video calling allows us to talk, smile, wink and laugh with friends around the world, sharing images seamlessly with family and friends who live far from us is a snap; researching any topic that comes to mind is easy for people who recognize that Google knows everything.

The problem?

Advances in technology bring both benefits and risks.

This can make digital parenting pretty tricky.

Parents find themselves struggling to parent in a digital world that is both new to them and also rapidly changing. Think of the arcade game Whack – A- Mole and you have a good idea what it is like to parent in the digital world. Once parents think they have some handle on one facet of the digital world, the tech world shifts; new tech challenges for parents arise as their kids get their hands on newer, faster devices and more powerful apps.

Digital parenting can also be a bit of a balancing act. On one hand, parents want to raise kids who are digitally literate so that they can compete academically and occupationally in a world where digital communication is a given.

On the other hand, parents understand that the Internet is not private, that what kids post is infinitely spreadable and permanent. They worry that their kids will naively or impulsively post things that will harm their child’s reputation, place their safety at risk, or worse.

Our Digital Safety Team teaches a lot about the social media apps used by Teens and Tweens. Our message is pretty simple. Social media is not positive, nor negative, nor is it neutral. When we post on social media something is going to happen. If we post positive, good things can happen, if we post negative, we risk hurting reputations, creating drama or worse.

However, some apps are misused by Teens and Tweens more than others.

One way to get a handle on parenting in the digital world is to become familiar with apps that some Teens and Tweens are misusing. We will highlight a few apps that parents should become more familiar with, especially if they see these apps on their kids’ devices.

YouTube is a video-sharing site and app, and there are many videos on YouTube that may not be age-appropriate.
The site is entirely user-generated and relies on its community to flag videos
Channel owners can also now distribute live content.
Plenty of inappropriate content can surface by typing in the most innocent of search terms

Instagram is popular in part because it allows the user to instantly enhance photos and videos with cool effects and sharing them across a number of social media platforms.
Users should be at least 13 years old and should not post partially nude or sexually suggestive photos but do not prohibit the portrayal of violence, swear words or drugs.
Photos shared on Instagram are public and may have location information unless privacy settings are adjusted. Also, it’s possible to save other users’ photos.

Kik is a messaging app that is very easy to use and also anonymous. All you need to sign up is an email address and a username. However, unlike other social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, you do not have to necessarily be friends or followers in order to message. Users can simply search for age or location of the app users and reach out to them. When you hear kids say things like “Hey, Kik me!” or “ I don’t know who just Kiked me!” they are referring to messages that they receive via Kik. If it seems like this app is very anonymous, it is. This app has been linked to sexting with strangers. My law enforcement team members tell me that sexual predators frequently find their victims on Kik. A question for parents to ask themselves is “Why should my child need to message someone when they already have texting capability through their data plan?”The answer is pretty simple. Many parents check their kids’ text messages, naively assuming that these are the only ways kids are communicating with strangers. Kids who want to communicate without the oversight of their parents simply message rather than text.

Snapchat is another service that has remained a popular place to hang out. Although many are using Snapchat safely, two things are causing concerns. Snapchat is popular in part because using this service allows photos to “disappear” after a few seconds. Students are taking riskier pictures and sending them with a false sense of security. The problem, as any kid knows, is that the photos can be screenshot or opened with a hack app preserving the inappropriate photo. Snapchat also has a section that allows videos to be shared with Friends (for 24 hours) or Selected Contacts (for 10 seconds). Users can play Snaps as long as they’d like until they exit that Snap, which deletes it as usual.
If users opt to share their location, they can see friends on a “Snap Map” and see Snapchat Stories from other users in various locations They can use “Ghost Mode” to see others but not be visible themselves.
Keep your eye on this app as kids may be sending illicit photos of them assuming the photo will disappear. When the photo doesn’t disappear and makes its way through a school, big problems develop for senders and receivers of the illicit image.

Ask.Fm is a social media site that requests that you make a public account, allowing users to submit questions or comments to you. The Q and A format can be appealing. The problem? People send vicious, cutting comments. Someone may post things like, “Any comments about Tim?” “What do you think of what Tim is wearing?” “How many people think Tim needs to drop a few pounds?” This site has been referred to by some as a playground for harassers and cyberbullies.

Whisper is a confessional app, with registered users posting their secrets online. Other users then weigh in by posting likes and comments about the secrets others have posted. This is one app that signals a move toward a more private Internet. The problem? Anyone can post anything here with very little accountability. The lack of accountability for what is posted can create a space to slander, bully and lie. Some kids are not revealing their own secrets, but instead invent or share secrets of others.

Camouflage apps

Camouflage apps are disguised as working apps and are used to hide digital content. Think about this for a minute. If your kid locks their phone, their content should already be safe from strangers. Why would they need another level of security? The answer is that unfortunately the apps are used to hide content from you or anyone else who has power over them..

Fake Calculator is a camouflage app that appears to be an ordinary calculator.
But when you enter secret passcode it turns into PRIVATE STORAGE app which you can hide photos, videos, passwords, contacts. There is Private Browser as well.

Best Secret Folder is a camouflage app. The developer writes that it is hard to notice The Best Secret Folder Icon On Your iPhone/iPod Touch. It allows you to secretly hide your most private videos & photos from other people!
There is Phone Security that activates the alarm in order to catch nosey friends and family red handed!

Dropbox is a cloud-based storage device is used by many, including me, to store and back up files. It a convenient, secure way to share files and collaborate. Unfortunately, it has also been linked to sexting scandals. Teens and Tweens can use Dropbox to store illicit videos and pictures. In recent sexting scandals Teens have sold links to dropbox files, eliminating the need to message the images to the client.

Periscope is a live video streaming social media app that allows users to broadcast live to the world. There are three things that parents need to keep in mind if their kids are using this app. First, the broadcasts are public by default. Second, this app has been used to broadcast videos that people later regret. For instance, one user decided to The Internet is pretty unforgiving, once the content is released online the user loses the ability to pull it back. Last, the video is location tagged. Since many feeds originate from a user’s house, your child may be creating a safety hazard for you and your family.

It can be a bit of a grind to stay current with apps that are on your kid’s device. In my opinion, it is also time well spent.