“Parents: Check your child's phone for these 15 apps frequented by predators - Komando” plus 1 more |
| Parents: Check your child's phone for these 15 apps frequented by predators - Komando Posted: 01 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST  Most parents have to answer this frightening question, eventually. "When is it time to get my kids their own smartphone?" Their fears are justified because so many things can go wrong when technology and the internet are involved. One example is how tech affects a child's development. Tap or click here to learn how too much screen time is changing the way kids' brains develop. Stunted development is alarming enough, but there are even scarier threats out there. Parents are being warned to check their kids' devices for a bunch of popular apps. Why? Because these apps have been found to be gathering places for pedophiles. Yikes! Check for these apps ASAPDangerous apps are nothing new. But most of the time we're talking about malicious apps that could infect your gadget with malware or steal personal information. Tap or click here to find out which apps you need to delete now because they're stealing personal data. Sadly, we've learned about a list of apps that pose a more dangerous threat than even malware. These apps are allegedly used by pedophiles to search for children. Police departments across the globe have been sharing this list of apps on their social media accounts to warn parents to be on the lookout. Apps making the list include dating apps and ones that have live chats, where pedophiles can share explicit pictures and videos. Here are the 15 apps in question with a quick description of what police are warning about:
RELATED: 5 ways to protect your child online If your kids have any of these apps on their devices, make sure to have a conversation with them about online safety. Some of the apps on the list pose less of a risk than others, but make sure to remove the dating apps. There's no need for a child to be using a dating app, ever! Helping protect your kids in the digital worldTechnology isn't what it used to be, even from only five years ago. There's no shortage of options available, from smartphones and computers to smart TVs and gaming systems. You need a way to set ground rules for when your kids are allowed to use those devices — especially their phones — and at what times they're not supposed to, such as during dinner or before their chores are complete. Setting boundaries for children has always been an important part of parenting. And it's even more important now in the digital age. To help, Kim created a technology contract that acts as an agreement between you and your children, so you'll always be in-the-know about their activities to keep them safe. Tap or click here to download Kim's tech safety contract for kids — it's free! |
| 10 Reasons Why You Should Monitor Your Child's Activities on Mobile - News & Features Posted: 05 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST Monitoring your child's activities on their devices is one of the most crucial things you can do as a parent. Nowadays, kids use their mobile phones to do a variety of things; they communicate with friends, access the internet, post images, and many more. With the rise in the number of predators, hackers and bullies online, your child may be at grave risk if you don't watch what they do on their mobile devices. Bad characters online and on digital platforms have ulterior intentions to harm you and your child. Besides constantlly educating kids about the dangers and vulnerabilities lurking on the internet, the next best way to protect kids from online dangers is to always be aware of what your kid does on their mobile devices through child monitoring. Monitoring lets you know if your kid is harassing or being harassed by someone. It also lets you know if a predator tries to lure your kid for unauthorized access to sensitive information, identity theft, sexual exploitation, fraudulent monetary gain, and other ills. A study from the Family Online Safety Institute revealed that 45% of children surveyed have access to three or more internet-enabled devices. Here're specific reasons why child supervision on all of their mobile devices is vitally important today: 1. Internet access annonymityYour child can easily access the internet on their mobile phone using unrecognizable and made-up usernames, and it's alarming how kids can behave and make online decisions that are contrary to their offline behaviors. Because this type of anonymity is common on many online platforms and digital tools, kids have an opportunity to engage in violent and abusive acts online via their mobile devices. This anonymity also exposes the kids to sexual offenders and other cybercriminals who can also very easily take on a false identity and pretend to be someone they are not. For this reason, you should seriously consider child monitoring to determine how your kid behaves online and who they interact with on their mobile device.
2. Safeguard personal informationKids can display private information on social media using their phones. They may share their location, images, names of the school attended, their full names, where they live, information about their parents, and many more. Online predators use this information to track your child offline, and this can be risky. Therefore, educate your child on the dangers of sharing such information with strangers. But, if your child continues to share more personal data, use parental control app for their phone or other measure to curtail this behavior, like limiting their access to the internet. 3. Protect their reputationIf your kid posts unsightly images online, this can affect them even in the future. By watching your kid's mobile activities, it's easy to know what your child posts when online. Let your kid know that some of the things they share can affect their chances of securing a job or even college admission in future. 4. Child online predatorsIf your kid uses their mobile phone to access the internet. Then you should be watchful; the internet is a tool used by predators to lure kids online. Predators use different tactics to entice children into meeting them offline. Most kids fall to this trap because they are naïve and not aware of the dangers of talking to and trusting strangers. As such, download a child monitoring app to help you observe your child's activities.
5. Alerts on dangerous activities
By using parental control software to monitor your child, you get alerts if there's something suspicious going on. For instance, you get notified when your kid sends or receives inappropriate texts, or starts communication with someone who looks suspicious or chats with peers about illegal activities. Monitoring kids will enable you to intervene before it's too late. 6. SextingMany kids believe that it's sexy and okay to share nude images of themselves to others. They may also forward photos of others to someone else. You can track your child's phone to discourage this behavior. Download a reputable child tracking app and use it to watch your kid's online activities and dissuade sexting. 7. CyberbullyingThe internet exposes kids to online bullies. Your child may experience harassment, and this affects them mentally, socially, and psychologically. Some kids may suffer emotional distress and may not share this with their parents.
When you watch your child online, you can quickly know when your child encounters a bully or tries to bully others. This will help you address the issue swiftly and effectively. 8. Viruses and malwareThere are many apps and websites online and some contain harmful content that can affect your child negatively. It's also not easy for kids to identify a trustworthy app, website, or download and so they can unknowingly access inappropriate information or infect their devices. By monitoring the sites kids visit and apps they download, you can realize if they are interacting with harmful sites and app and stop it before much damage and virus infestation happens. 9. Identity theftKids can easily give too much information, and this makes it easy for others to steal their identity. In fact, kids can unwittingly give out their parent's details and put adults at risk too. Criminals can use the data shared to open credit card accounts and carry out various types of fraud. Watching your child's activities protects them and you from this danger.
10. Limiting screen timeBy monitoring your child, you become more aware of the time your child spends with their device. This way, you can set limits on when or how long they should use their phones. By limiting kids' screen time, you protect your child from dangers associated with prolonged use of electronic devices and also encourage them to participate in other healthier outdoor activities. ConclusionKids are very vulnerable and get exposed to many dangers when using their internet connected mobile devices. For this reason, child monitoring is vital. It enables you to know what your child does with their device, and this helps you enforce their safety online. |
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