GUIDE
To Digital Citizenship
“Staying safe online”
How can I know what sites are unsafe for my child?
The list below is for your reference. It is by no means all inclusive, as new apps and sites are created every day. For your convenienece, this page will be updated weekly with information about unsafe online activity. Please feel free to contact us with any question. We are here to help!
So what should you know about online activity? Temporary apps (T) allow people to send messages and images that self-destruct after a set window of time. Teens can use these apps to more carefully manage their digital trails -- so long as they don't share things they wouldn't normally send otherwise. Anonymous apps (A) are ways to protect our identity - on the positive side, going incognito online helps us express ourselves in ways we might not be able to in the real world. On the negative side, anonymous apps are often riddled with inappropriate content. They also can encourage bullying behavior.
Whisper (A)
A social "confessional" app that allows users to post whatever's on their mind. Users type a confession, add a background image, and share it with the Whisper community. It's intended for users age 17 and older.
SnapChat (T)
A messaging app that lets users put a time limit on the pictures and videos they send before they disappear. Snapchat allows a person to take and send a picture and control how long it is visible by the person who receives it, up to 10 seconds. After that, the picture disappears and can’t be seen again. If the person viewing the picture tries to use an iPhone feature that captures an image of whatever is on the screen, the sender is notified.
Burn Note
Burn Note is a messaging system that puts your privacy first. Have a real private conversation with anyone through our app or website.
Secret - Speak Freely (A)
Similar to Whisper, Secret lets people vent, confess, and share freely -- without anyone knowing who said what.
BackChat (A)
Backchat is an anonymous communication tool. Users can sign in to their favorite social network accounts to chat with friends, whether it’s Facebook or Google+. In addition to the excitement of anonymous chatting, Backchat is free, fast, and easy to use.
Ask.fm (a)
A social site that lets kids ask questions and answer those posted by other users, sometimes anonymously. Ask.fm is an anonymous question and answer platform website used regularly by lots of young people.It allows anyone to post anonymous comments and questions to a person's profile
YikYak (A)
A feature that makes Yik Yak unique is that the app uses GPS location data to bring comments to a user's feed from other users nearby. In other words, it enables and encourages communities to share information within a geographical boundary. Yik Yak team hired Maponics to help them geo-fence middle and high schools across the country.
Rumr (A)
app that plucks contacts from a user's address book, Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR), or Google + (GOOG) account and lets users create group message threads brimming with up to 100 anonymous, socially connected users.
Topix
Topix uses geolocation to collect information about the wifi routers closest to you, indentify information related to the cell towers closest to you, and the strength of your wifi or cell signal and use it to return an estimated location. This information (including your IP address) may then be used by Topix to for commercial purposes and may also be shared with our third party advertisers to display better-targeted advertising content.