REVEALED: The sinister apps your teenage children are hiding: How many of you know of these Sites?

Article from the sun which all parents should be aware of

REVEALED: The sinister apps your teenage children are hiding: How many of you know of these Sites?

WAKING suddenly as her phone alarm went off for school at 7.30am, 16-year-old Princess Thomas-Wellington immediately spotted a message via teen chat app Kik: “You are so ugly, it’s no wonder no one likes you.”

“My stomach lurched,” says Princess from Nottingham. “I’d originally downloaded it to make new friends, but within weeks I was receiving nasty anonymous messages like this one.”

Princess, now 17 and studying for her A levels, knew she should have confided in her parents, but desperate to keep her social media life private, she hadn’t even told them she’d downloaded the app.

“I always had a really open relationship with my mum and dad, who trusted me when I said I was only on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram,” admits the teen, who lives with her dad Francis, 60, a warehouse worker, her stay-at-home mum Maggie, 54, and brother Barry, 15.

“My dad thought he was being extra vigilant by being my friend on Facebook as he’d heard about online bullying. But I didn’t want my parents snooping, so also used chat apps and sites they’d never heard of. I thought if I confessed what I’d done they’d be disappointed. Instead, I spent nights quietly crying myself to sleep.”

However, Princess’ parents aren’t alone in their ignorance of their kids’ social media habits.

While many mums and dads consider themselves internet savvy as they use Facebook and Twitter, there’s a whole other world of apps that facilitate often anonymous communication through chat, dating and gaming.

And because they’re lesser known, they’re very attractive to trolls and predators.

“You won’t find out what your son or daughter are up to just by being their Facebook friend,” warns Luke Brent-Savage from Education Child Protection, a company that tours schools giving e-safety courses to parents.

Figures show that in November 2013, Facebook reported “a decrease in daily users, specifically among teens”.

Meanwhile, Twitter usage among children and teens also fell nine per cent between 2013 and 2014 according to Ofcom.

“That’s not where their real communication is happening,” explains Luke, adding that teens are more likely to use chat apps such as Kik, Whisper, Kiwi, Omegle and Yik Yak, many of which are anonymous.

What makes it even more dangerous is that today’s teens are actively hiding their online activity.

“It’s normal for children to want more privacy as they get older,” explains Luke.

“But it can make them more vulnerable to people who are aware their parents aren’t able to keep tabs on them.”

Princess knows this all too well.

She hid her secret social media apps in a folder on her phone called Best Friends.

“I knew my parents would assume it was just photos, so wouldn’t bother opening it,” she admits.

App makers are taking advantage of this desire for privacy, too, creating apps that purposefully hide online activities, such as Secret Calculator Folder and Secret Piano Icon.

“They’re password-protected,” says Luke.

“Some have a function where the app uses the front camera to take a picture if someone tries to unlock it.”

When British schoolgirls Izzy Dix and Hannah Smith, both 14, took their own lives after struggling to cope with online bullying while using anonymous ask and answer site Ask.fm in 2013, the nation was shocked.

But if parents had expected stricter online guidelines to be implemented after such tragedies, they were wrong – especially given how smartphone use by children and teens has since rocketed, with 65 per cent of 12 to 15 year olds and 20 per cent of eight to 11 year olds now owning one, according to Barnardo's.

Just last October, Yik Yak hit the headlines when 17-year-old American student Elizabeth Long started an unsuccessful petition to get the app banned after she was bullied on it following a failed suicide attempt.

“Young people tell me they’ve seen cyberbullying, indecent images of children – basically anything awful – on Kik, which is an instant messenger app that has 275 million global users sharing all sorts of information, often anonymously,” says Luke.

“And Yik Yak allows users to talk to anyone within a 1.5-mile radius anonymously, meaning teens can speak to people of any age locally.”

Princess first used chat forums aged 14.

“I didn’t want my parents to always know who I was talking to and what about,” she explains.

“I searched online for a new forum and came across ask and answer app Kiwi.

"I was shy and it seemed like a good way to meet people. Plus, I knew my parents hadn’t heard of it.

"I didn’t have a phone, so used the family computer, deleting my history after every session.”

Soon a person called “Hannah” befriended Princess, and she began to open up.

“I really thought we had a connection,” says Princess.

“I would tell her about being bullied at school or how I felt like an outsider.

“Then one day she asked for the password to my computer and, when I refused, became aggressive.

"She sent messages saying it was no wonder I felt so alone and that she was always watching me. I felt sick.”

The abusive messages carried on, with Hannah even threatening to hack Princess’ computer.

“I was petrified as it held all my parents’ details and passwords,” she remembers.

“But I couldn’t tell them as I didn’t want them to know I’d been so secretive.”

Princess shut down her Kiwi account after two months.

“I hadn’t dared to as I was worried what Hannah might do,” she explains.

“But I couldn’t bear how anxious it made me. Thankfully, I never heard from her again.”

Even so, it didn’t stop Princess downloading Kik, which allows users to be identified only by a username, when she got a smartphone in January 2015.

However, just weeks after logging on, Princess began getting messages from users she didn’t know telling her she was worthless and ugly.

“They’d describe something I’d worn or posted on Facebook,” she recalls.

“It was horrible going to school and not knowing if it was a classmate. I used the app to chat to real friends, too, so didn’t want to get rid of it.”

But after over a month of continuous abuse, Princess decided to bin it.

“My self-confidence was shattered,” she says.

“I didn’t know who to trust and started to believe the bullies. It’s only recently my confidence has come back.

"I was naive and didn’t know how to cope with it all. Now I stick to Facebook and Instagram and haven’t had any trouble.”

Last year, anonymous messaging service Secret became the first of its kind to take a stand against online bullying.

Founder David Byttow shut down the site just 16 months after launch, saying: “I believe in honest, open communication... and anonymity is a great device to achieve it. But it’s also the ultimate double-edged sword.”

Now Yik Yak reports it’s “geofenced” primary and secondary schools so the app can’t be used within their grounds, and Kik says it’s reviewing safety.

Plus, in March, the NSPCC updated its NetAware website to help parents identify potentially harmful apps.

The charity is pushing for companies to make changes, including setting profiles as private by default at sign-up and ensuring location details are turned off.

Luke insists parents can also make a difference.

“Go to the free social-networking charts within the App Store and see what’s there.

"Don’t stop kids having a smartphone – instead, educate them.

"We don’t tell them not to cross roads until they’re 25 – we teach them how to cross safely. It’s the same with the internet.”

Teens’ appy places

Whisper Users post information anonymously using images and creative fonts.

Yik Yak Describes itself as a “local bulletin board” for sharing info and connecting with strangers within a 1.5-mile radius.

Kik Not tied to a specific phone number or email, the user is only identifiable by the username they create.

Confide This confidential messaging platform has screenshot-protected encrypted messages that self-destruct.

Meow Chat A service that allows users to talk to strangers in a public chatroom before moving into a private conversation.

Omegle This randomly connects you to another person also using the site and facilitates audio or video conversation between the two parties.

Kiwi An ask and answer app where you can have a quick-fire Q&A with friends.

Oovoo Facilitates group video chat with up to 12 others, and allows voice calls and instant messaging. The default privacy settings are set to “public”.

MYLOL Self-proclaimed “number-one dating app for teens” allows users to chat and post photos.