Houseparty app was a face-to-face social networking platform that enabled users to connect with family and friends in a lively way through group chats and video calls. The app had tens of millions of active users worldwide and was available for macOS, Google Chrome, Android, and iOS devices. An important concept to note is that children aged 13 and below need their parent’s permission to access the app’s services, although there’s no proof required when creating an account. In this guide, you’ll learn various concepts about the app, its benefits, and even its risky factors.
What is Houseparty app used for?
The Houseparty app allows users to connect with 8 people simultaneously, thus making it one of the most preferred video chatting apps. Although the app is very similar to Facebook Live or Skype, the app has its own unique features. Let’s discuss the various uses of the Houseparty app.
Video Chatting – Make face-to-face video conversations with up to 8 people at the same time. This allows real-time interactions with your family and friends who are at a distance.
Group Video Calls – The Houseparty app enables multiple users to interact simultaneously on the same video call thus creating an amazing virtual hangout space.
Games – Houseparty includes in-app games that you can play together with your friends while video chatting. This can significantly enhance your social experience. Some of the games you can play as a group of 8 people include Trivia, Chips, and Quick Draw. The games are competitive and fun.
Spontaneous Connection – The app notifies you when your friends are online and ready to chat, casual interactions or even to promote spontaneity.
Social media integration – The Houseparty app seamlessly integrates with other social media platforms thus allowing you to connect with your wide pool of friends across different social networks.
How does Houseparty work?
Once you find friends or family members who are available for your chats, the Houseparty app will automatically alert you that they are “in the house” and ready to chat. Similarly, once you open your app, family members and friends who are ready to chat will be alerted. This further creates an exciting aura as you can jump right into a video chatting.
Besides, you can instantly join other “house parties” where your friends might be participating, so, it’s more fun than other apps offering similar features. This House party app works through these straightforward processes.
Step 1. Download and install the Houseparty app on your tablet or smartphone.
Step 2. Sign up to your account. But if you’re a first-time user, create an account > enter your details to proceed.
Step 3. Enter your mobile number to finalize.
(The purpose of entering your mobile number is to help the Houseparty app verify that you’re a real person.)
Step 4. Text message verification > enter the 4-digit confirmation code you received.
Step 5. Find “Available” contacts on your phone. Houseparty app will seamlessly assist you find your family and friends on the app in your contacts.
Step 6. Set various app permissions. These may include granting the Houseparty permission to access your device’s microphone and camera.
Notification permission allows you to receive notifications when something happens on the app but you’re not on it at the moment. For instance, it could be your friend coming online and so you may interact with them.
Is Houseparty for kids?
Houseparty is geared more to purely social uses and towards the younger generation. Take for instance, the app supports fun features such as the ability to enter and exit video chats at random, and in-app games such as Trivia, Head Up, and Uno.
Houseparty app is not designed for kids but it serves people of different ages, quite popular among young adults and teenagers. To prevent underage teens from creating accounts, the app has its user-age limit capped at 13 years. This means only teens above that age cap can create a Houseparty account. This complies with the COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection).
Risks of the Houseparty app
Although the app is generally safe to use, there are several risks that teens may encounter while using the app, just like most popular video chatting apps or social networking apps. They include but not limited to:
- Possible privacy breaches and concerns. Teens may unintentionally share their personal information with someone else during the video chats or other Houseparty app features.
- Access to inappropriate content. This is more pronounced when a user joins an open chat room and ends up interacting with strangers.
- Cyberbullying and Harassment. Just like any other popular social network, teens may end up being bullied through comments, messages, or even interactions with others.
- Unsupervised interaction. Teens may easily engage in unsupervised interaction with strangers without their parent’s proper supervision. This can result in unsafe situations, such as exposure to explicit and mature content.
As a parent, you can encourage and promote safe online usage, whether while using the Houseparty app or another alternative app. For instance, you can set boundaries for screen time and app usage on a daily basis, prevent specific app usage, and set Geofences, among other measures.
Why do children like it?
The Houseparty app is certainly an exciting app that teens can use to interact with their peers in real time. So, why do children like Houseparty apps?
Real-time social interaction: This can be done through live video calls and chats, which are quite appealing to young teens. The Houseparty app will automatically notify you once a friend or a family member joins or is available to join a chat. This means that you can spontaneously initiate a conversation and connect with people whenever they want.
Group video calls: Houseparty enables users to engage in video calls with multiple members at the same time. This feature creates a sense of camaraderie and inclusivity among children thus enhancing their overall experience. Friends or families who can’t meet each other start an online house party.
Fun games and activities: The app supports in-built games that keep teens engaged and have fun in a novel way. It also supports various interactive online activities, such as virtual backgrounds and quizzes, which add an element of active entertainment for kids.
Is the Houseparty app gone?
Yes. The official Houseparty app shutdown announcement was made on September 9, 2021, by Epic Games following claims of “lack of focus. The app was pulled down from app stores on the same day. However, there are still similar apps. The app reached a peak in popularity during the worldwide lockdown period. But as the epidemic has eased, people are no longer satisfied with just the online house party.
How to limit apps like Houseparty for kids?
Certainly, you don’t want your kid to freely download or access any apps on their devices. One such app is Houseparty since the open forum interactions on this platform can bring more harm than good. For instance, consider the following tips as parents’ guide.
1. Set ground rules for phone usage. Assigning rules for your child’s use of electronics can be an effective way to manage their screen time. Spending more time in other meaningful activities reduces the likelihood of becoming addicted to gaming or the online world. This will help your child’s mental and physical health.
2. Communication with child. Hold open communication with the child on online risks and how to avoid joining forums with strangers and report indecent behaviors. Always be supportive and a role model for your child.
3. Use third-party parental controls. Although this Houseparty parent’s guide shares various effective parental control measures, it doesn’t cover comprehensive ways. Indeed, this is why you may need a third-party parental control tool such as the FlashGet Kids app. The app supports quite several effective features, such as screen time limits, app usage tracking, Snapshot, one-way audio, and app blocker among others.
Conclusion
Houseparty is an amazing social networking app that allows users to connect with their family and friends through video chats and interactive games. Although the platform allows a maximum of 8 people per session, kids can still opt to join random open forums, and this may expose them to bullying, access to inappropriate content, or even spend tons of time on the app. To curb such risks, it’s highly recommended to use a dedicated app for parental control measures, such as FlashGet Kids apps.
