6 dangerous Apps that you need to know about

         Technology, especially if you’re a little behind the times, can be very deceptive. Some Apps that you think are innocent and just a simple way for you to keep in contact with buddies, but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Yes, these 6 apps you may not be aware of, are very dangerous:

1. YIK YAK

Yik Yak users can send comments anonymously. Those who see the comments don’t have to have an account; they only have to be logged on. The app uses location services to bring comments to a user’s feed from other users nearby.Users are exposed to – and contributing -sexually explicit content, abusive language and personal attacks.  Although the posts are anonymous, you will start revealing personal information as you get more comfortable with other users even if you do not know them,

2. SnapChat

This App allows users to send photos that will disappear after 10 seconds. Once the recipient opens the picture, the timer starts. Then it’s gone. From both the sender's phone and the recipient’s phone. However, the recipient can take a screen shot of the photo and have it to share with others. This App enables teenagers to feel more comfortable “sexting” with peers.

3. Omegle

This App has been around since 2008, with video chat added in 2009. Omegle does not identify yourself through the service. Chat participants are only identified as “You” and “Stranger”. You do not have to register for the App. However, you can connect Omegle to your Facebook account to find chat partners with similar interests.  When choosing this feature, an Omegle Facebook App will receive your Facebook “likes” and try to match you with a stranger with similar likes. There is a high risk of sexual predators.

4. Whisper

This is a meeting App that encourages users to post secrets. You post anonymously, but it displays the area you are posting from. You can search for users posting within a mile from you. A quick look at the App and you can see that online relationships are forming constantly on this App, but you never know the person behind the computer or phone. One man in Washington was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he met on this App just last year.

5. Kik Messenger 

This is a private messenger app and is coveted by those under 18 for a number of reasons. The App allows kids to send private messages that their parents can’t see. There is very little you can do to verify the identity of someone on Kik, which obviously poses the risk of sexual predators chatting with you. And again, this is an easy tool for sexting.

6. Down

This application, which used to be called “Hang with Friends,” is connected to Facebook. Users can categorize their Facebook friends in one of two ways: they can indicate whether or not a friend is someone they'd like to hang with or someone they are "down" to hook up with. The slogan for the App: “The anonymous, simple, fun way to find friends who are down for the night.” If that alone does not scare you, I don’t know what will!

Reference :

Peaks.K. (2014). 7 dangerous Apps that parents need to know about. Retrieved from :

http://www.checkupnewsroom.com/7-dangerous-apps-that-parents-need-to-know-about/

Chelsy