A child’s safety, whether it’s physical or online, is every parent’s concern, especially in this digital world with countless entertainment and social media applications. Among such apps that have lately become popular is the video-sharing app Likee. Now the question for parents is: Is Likee safe for kids? To know the answer to this question, keep reading.
We will discuss Likee’s functionalities and its potential danger in children’s lives, accompanied by instructions on securing your kids in case they use the app. We also give some safer alternatives for young users and share our final recommendations for parents browsing through this website. So, if you have been worried about whether your child is safe on Likee, know that this guide has tackled all that.
What is Likee?
Like is one of the new short video-sharing applications that went into the limelight instantly, particularly among the young. This application allows people to create, edit, and post videos with lots of effects, filters, and music. Imagine Likee as just like a version of TikTok but with more dynamic features to bring out your creative power.
Key features of Likee:
Likee is an app through which people can produce and publish their videos. These may include various lip-sync types, music, dancing, or comedy acts. They are mostly created with a popular song and according to individual creativity.
- Augmented Reality (AR) Effects: Likee’s second most striking feature is its use of AR effects. These make videos look visually appealing and sometimes surreal: the filters alter the background or add fun, animated elements that resemble everyday life.
- Live Streaming: One thing Likee is trying to offer its users is live streaming. The followers will be able to receive real-time commentaries and virtual gifts, which the stream’s viewers will be able to do. Such virtual gifts cost real money and are sent between friends but are also extended to show support or appreciation to influencers or those doing the live streams.
- In-app Currency and Gifts: This is an in-app item that can be bought and sent to friends within the app. It is usually transferred between friends as gifts and occasionally from fans to influencers or live streamers as a sign of support or appreciation.
- Social Interaction: Likee is similar to most other social media applications because it encourages interaction through the features of liking, commenting, and sharing. The application also provides the functionality of following others so that users can follow content streams and popular trends.
Audience demographics
It is suitable for many ages but attracts mostly teens and younger adults. Those who want to use this application must be over 13 years old, though the platform will often find children as young as 6 or 7 years old. This is pretty frightening because little ones don’t understand the risks of using it.
Is Likee safe for kids?
Likee is not safe for kids. Although it provides many ways of entertainment and creativity for the users, it has enough risks for the safety of kids. Below are the main dangers that parents should be aware of.
Possible dangers of Likee for kids
The app lacks strong filters to prevent minors from stumbling upon inappropriate content. Videos with sexual content, violence, and explicit language will easily come up in the feed of a child. The platform has a “Restricted Mode” that would limit some adult content, but it is not foolproof.
Online predators
One of the major risks to Likee users is cyber predators. From the features, comments, messages, and live streams, a stranger can easily find anyone to whom they can hook up and start talking to them. Cyber predators are likely to take advantage of such an arrangement through an escalation of friendly talk into something harmful.
Cyberbullying
Like other social media, Likee provides an opportunity for the incidence of cyberbullying. From this perspective, children and adolescents may be more exposed to instances of cyberbullying because of adverse criticism or negative comments about a video they upload that would eventually affect their self-esteem and mental health.
Privacy risks
Like also questions from the users to update their age, hometown, school, etc. Children are least aware that sharing all this online increases the danger of having their locus traced or someone contacted by such a stranger.
In-app purchases
Well, it can be said that Likee comes with virtual gifts priced in real money. Such a feature will create problematic issues among younger audiences who have not yet gained a strong enough understanding of how actual money is spent on virtual items. Once they have created a virtual gift, they can send it to an influencer or popular user. This may induce a “pay-to-play” culture that would not be favorable for children.
Addiction to screen time
Just like most other social media applications, Likee is built to be addictive. To find hours while children use the app, forget to finish school assignments, forget to train, or even pay attention to what your friends or family members are doing.
How to stay safe with your kids using Likee
Although Likee is not specifically for a children’s audience, there are still things your family can do to make using the app safer. Here are some tips to improve their safety.
1. Usage of Likee’s parental control features
Likee offers parental controls to help clean up other bad content and monitor your child’s screen time. Here is how to activate parental controls.
Steps to enable Parental Controls on Likee:
- Open the app application on the device of the child.
- Then, tap the profile icon located at the bottom right corner.
- Tap the gear icon to access settings at the top right-hand side of the profile page.
- Scroll down to choose “Parental Controls”.
- “Restricted Mode” may be an option to prevent mature content from appearing in the app.
- You can also set screen time limits for your child’s entire day so they do not spend more time in the app than permitted.
While these capabilities provide some functionality, neither is complete, and inappropriate content can sneak through.
2. Use of the parental control app: FlashGet Kids
However, an even more powerful way to track activities on Likee is to use a parental control app called FlashGet Kids. The app is fully designed to ensure children’s safety using apps like Likee.
Key features of FlashGet Kids:
This allows you to limit your child’s time on a given application or applications in a day. When the limit is reached, the particular application auto-locks, preventing overuse and creating a healthier culture.
- Screen mirroring: Screen mirroring allows you to view firsthand what your child accesses or shares on Likee. It is one of the essential tools for discovering inappropriate content or communication as soon as possible.
- App Usage Reports: FlashGet Kids gives a detailed account of your child’s time on Likee and other apps. It’s useful for keeping track of when screen usage gets totally out of hand and finding out what apps seem questionable in terms of safety.
- Content Filtering: You can block certain categories of content that you feel are unsuitable for your child with FlashGet Kids. That is added safety from the Restricted Mode offered by Likee.
- Location tracking: The app monitors your child’s location if using the location-based features on Likee. It then notifies you so you can be sure your child is keeping his or her location private from other users on the web.
FlashGet Kids’ combination of all these features is a more comprehensive approach to tracking your child’s online activities and securing them on Likee.
Likee alternatives for kids
If you do not think it is right for your child to love Likee, many safer and more fun content-based apps exist. Read on to learn which apps are designed with children’s welfare in mind and how their features and safety measures compare.
| App Name | Age Group | Safety Features | Type of Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Kids | 4-12 | Very strict parental control, content is regulated, timer settings. | Child-friendly videos and shows. |
| Bumble Kids | 6-12 | More stringent regulation of content made child-safe, validated parents. | Games and other multimedia activities. |
| Kidsworld | 7-16 | People monitor chat: safe, fun, educational. | Games, chat, quizzes, learn. |
| SnapKids | 9-13 | Local storage only. Cannot share anything. Zero public exposure. Completely privacy-focused. | Photos and videos stored, not shared. |
| Messenger Kids | 6-12 | Parents validate access for their kids. | No targeted advertising. |
Final words
In short, Likee is not a safe social media platform for kids. Such an application will expose young users to derogatory content, online predators, and cyberbullying. Parental control settings and third-party tools like FlashGet Kids will reduce risks.
If he becomes interested in video-sharing apps, encourage him to use safer alternatives like YouTube Kids or Kidsworld. As usual, communicating your online safety concerns and keeping an eye on your child’s screen time and what he is allowed to watch is also very important. Stay updated and proactive so your child is safe and informed while staying within the digital boundaries and nurturing the creativity and socialization sides.
