Apps

Researchers at the University of Colorado have developed an app that can alert school leaders and parents to the possibility that students are being bullied online. The BullyAlert app currently only monitors Instagram accounts, but developers say they are working to add other platforms and hope it will help schools curb cyberbullying. The developers are asking parents, guardians or other “well-wishers” to sign up for this abuse monitoring system and give feedback on its performance. The app is part of the CyberSafety Research Center’s cyberbullying research initiative. Examples of apps of the same genre include Auditor, which monitors Gmail for indicators of bullying or the potential intention of self-harm; Net Nanny, which lets parents monitor and filter kids’ online behavior; and STOP!t, which is used within schools and empowers students to report bullying.

If your kids use Twitter, you might have heard about how the platform has been suspending the accounts of users it believes were underage when they signed up for the popular social media service. This move has caused widespread confusion and raised questions for other companies struggling to comply with new data-privacy laws. While it is not certain what has prompted this action, media reports highlight examples of account suspensions that occurred in late May when the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, came into effect. That new provision holds that tech companies processing the personal data of children must obtain explicit consent from a parent or guardian.

YouTube is the most popular social media platform among teenagers, according to a study from the Pew Research Center. Data show that 85% of teens use YouTube, compared with 72% who use Instagram and 69% who use Snapchat. Only roughly half of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook.

New mobile applications from Apple and Google allow consumers and parents to limit how long their children use apps, including Netflix and social media. The Apple’s Screen Time app, for example, can restrict access to some apps and websites. From Google, an app called Family Link allows parents to see how often kids use certain apps, approve or block app downloads, set screen time limits, and even lock devices remotely.

Sesame Workshop has launched a new “TV-ready” streaming app. The free-to-download app is available in the Vewd App Store for connected smart TV devices, and provides the ability to stream 48 seasons of Sesame Street and explore “dedicated sections” for main characters like Big Bird and Elmo. The app is part of an overall effort to expand the reach of Children’s Television Workshop leading up to their 50th anniversary next year. Other Sesame Street apps are also available on the Sesame Street site.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, is a federal law designed in part to protect children under 13 years old on websites designed for kids, but a recent study found that just because a children’s app is certified complaint, it may not be any better than apps that are non-certified. The study, published in the journal Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, states that because  app certification may not guarantee security, parents should research apps their children are using and make sure they understand if and/or where personal data is stored or whether the information is being traded. It is also important to research what information the app can access from the device on which it is downloaded. For more information, check out the Federal Trade Commission site on Kids and Mobile Apps.

Facebook recently announced it is working on a new feature called Clear History, leaving many critics to ask why something like this hasn’t been available all along. The feature will allow you to see which websites and apps send information to Facebook when you use them, let you delete that information from your account, and turn off Facebook’s ability to store that information. While the feature will not be available for a few months, Facebook continues to try to add privacy features to belay user’s heightened concerns about online exposure of their personal data.