YouTube Kids
Created to keep kids safe and put parents at ease, YouTube Kids screens out certain content and only allows page appropriate videos to be posted.
YouTube Kids says, "We work hard to keep videos on YouTube Kids family-friendly."
"But not all videos have been manually reviewed. If you find something inappropriate that we missed, you can flag it for fast review." Doesn't exactly provide you with a lot of confidence…
On the plus side, parents can limit screen time but unless you're willing to pay for a premium account your kids will be subjected to pop up ads.
Age range: 4-12
Messenger Kids
Launched in 2017, Messenger Kids is Facebook's way of saying, 'we'll look after you'. Hmm this is the same company that admitted to scraping our data and helping to influence the US election.
So, should the social media giant be trusted?
An interview in Technology Review says parents should be wary. Larry Rosen, author of The Distracted Mind, said, “I worry we’re introducing something to kids who really don’t need it … and I think that the ostensible purpose is wrong, which is to get them started young.”
Age range: 6-12
Do you know what Finsta and Rinsta are? If you do, then congrats, you're probably the parent of an Instakid. If not, read on.
According to Commonsense Media, it's possible your child has more than one Instagram account. "Finsta stands for 'fake Instagram,' and these accounts reflect a kid's true self and is only meant for very close friends to see."
"Rinsta is a kid's 'real' Instagram that's public-facing and highly curated, and they project the type of ideal online persona that's hard to achieve in reality."
However your child is using Instagram the wisest move is to set their profile to private and show them how to block and delete unwanted followers.
Age range: 13 upwards (no age-verification process)
Snapkidz
According to a survey by the Pew Research Centre, 78% of adults age 18-24 use Snapchat as well as other social platforms.
Snapchat images disappear in seconds which can make it seem safe for people of all ages to post images or videos, believing they can't be saved or kept.
"Wrong!" says Snapchat Marketing.
"Not all that is shared on Snapchat disappears. And this is where teens got it wrong from the start. The youngsters swapped silly snaps with their friends. The friends take screenshots and share on the other permanent social networks."
In June 2013, Snapchat, who already had a younger-than-most social media audience, launched SnapKidz which was aimed at under 13s. This kid-friendly version didn't have the message function, it was more of a drawing app that allowed images to be saved onto your phone.
But it didn't last. Without warning, Snapkidz was suddenly closed last year. The reason? Who knows.
The adult version which has an age rule of 13+ is still going strong, but even the Snapchat marketing team openly recognise how easy it is to get around that.
"A lot of people use it every day as a big part of their lives," says Snapchat Marketing. "But like any other part of the social space, there is need to keep from sharing content that can potentially harm one’s reputation if it falls into the wrong hands."
Age range: 13+
Studies show that only 50% of people aged 18-24 use Twitter and is one of the least used social media apps by younger audiences.
Twitter has a set of Rules which include not posting violence, child exploitation, abuse or harassment (to name a few). But you've only got to read President Trump's tweets to know those rules aren't necessarily enforced.
"We start from a position of assuming that people do not intend to violate our Rules," says Twitter.
"Some Tweets may seem to be abusive when viewed in isolation, but may not be when viewed in the context of a larger conversation or historical relationship between people on the platform."
In other words, Twitter takes the our-users-are-mature-adults approach and assumes people are playing by the Rules.
Like other social media there is an age restriction of 13 but no enforced criteria to stop your 10 year old logging on and creating an account. And once you're on Twitter, everything is public.
Age range: 13+
In 2018 Parentzone reported that WhatsApp had reviewed its age restriction and increased it from 13 to 16. Children aged 13+ are still able to get on board but need parental consent.
The reason for that shift is more to do with how the apps gather data on its users and less about keeping kids safe from predators.
The Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) prevents companies from scraping data and using it to advertise to children under 13 or under. Hence, the age 13 restriction on most social media.
When it comes to WhatsApp, according to a parent survey on net-aware.org.uk, it is considered to have a medium risk of sex, bullying and violence and a low risk of suicide, self-harm and drugs so consider that before providing consent for your child.
One of the good things about WhatsApp is you can easily block unwanted messengers. Just be sure you know if your child is using it in the first place.
Age range: 16+
A modern dilemma
So, should you even give your kid a smartphone and if yes, when?
Commonsensemedia.org says, "The right age to give kids their first cell phone is really up to you. Age isn't as important as your kid's maturity level, ability to follow home (and schools') rules, their sense of responsibility, and your own family's needs."
What happens after that might seem like a minefield but resources such as commonsensemedia.org and a plethora of apps that allow parental control are there if you need them.