Family Tech Blog

Tag: camera

  • Snapchat Adds Games to Their Camera

    Snapchat Adds Games to Their Camera

    Snapchat’s newest update adds gaming to their camera. That’s right, you can now use their augmented reality camera to play silly games. Some are even multiplayer. They’re calling the games “Snappables” and they range from throwing kisses at each other to dance competitions. Users control the games with their face or touch and motion controls. Snap is planning to release new Snappables weekly featuring basketball, alien combat, and a lot of other themes.

    What Parents Should Know

    Right now, the multiplayer Snappable games are centered around your friend list. This means you shouldn’t be able to play games with random players you have never met. That could be an added feature and we’ll let you know if and when that is the case.

    I recommend knowing what your kids are using their social media apps for. If they are connecting with their friends to play games and chat, and you’re ok with that, then that is just fine. I never recommend allowing your kids to meet new people online through Snapchat or other social media apps. Games like Snappables are pretty harmless other than more ways to waste time and the obvious opportunity for corporations to launch games featuring their brand for advertising. More than anything, just stay knowledgeable about what your kids are doing online and keep the conversation open with them. This way they won’t be concerned about you seeing what they do online and the lines of communication will stay open with them.

  • How to Turn Off Hidden Location Access in iOS

    How to Turn Off Hidden Location Access in iOS

    I recently noticed that some of my photos and videos were still being tagged with a location. One of the most common pieces of advice I give to parents is to turn location access off to their cameras. I was a bit annoyed because I never saw location information in my Photos app before, but now I was. Well, I did a bit of digging and found the culprit. It’s about five taps deep into your privacy settings and, therefore, easy to miss. Below is a short video tutorial to help you be sure location info on your phone stays as private as possible.

    Why Turn This Off

    Your location information is easy to track and very easy to gather from the data in the videos and pictures that you upload to social media. There have been instances of kids being harassed by predators who learned where they were through images their parents had shared online. Common sense tells us never to post pictures or videos that show an address number, school name, or sign of a place you frequently go with your family. The problem is that some of the apps on our phones tag our locations by default. I recommend you look at every app’s location request and ask yourself, “Does this app HAVE TO know where I am to function properly?” If it does not, then turn off access to your location.

    Hopefully, this short video helps you make the changes you need to feel like your privacy is even more secure. I know I feel better.

  • Now ANYONE Can Make a Facebook Camera Filter!

    Now ANYONE Can Make a Facebook Camera Filter!

    Augmented Reality (AR) and Location Filters have become a mainstay of the social media camera. Snapchat started and Instagram, Facebook quickly followed suit, and before you know it, we’re all posting images and videos of ourselves with animated beards, mustaches, and hats. Your favorite fancy additions to your photos have always been created by select developers or advertisers so that those who run our favorite social media outlets can keep tabs on what’s being allowed on their platform. That has now, officially, changed. Facebook has opened up their public Filter and AR creator tools.

    “Starting today, we’re expanding availability of the platform and the AR Studio creative tool to everyone.” – https://www.facebook.com/FacebookforDevelopers/

    It’s truly as simple as going to the facebook developers site and downloading the AR software. Making non-AR overlays is even easier. The tool is built into the website. You simply upload your images and move them around wherever you’d like on the screen. You can use the tools to resize and edit your image as well as to remove the background so you get a transparent effect. While making a 3D mask takes some coding and design experience, making an overlay is a pretty simple process that just about anyone should be able to do.

    What Parents Should Know

    Obviously, there is no stopping the “AR train.” We all love taking photos with those crazy filters and it’s so neat to put some strange creature on your countertop and film it playing the guitar. Until now, we could trust that content being posted as filters on the Facebook camera had been created by legitimate developers and didn’t contain anything that wasn’t allowed by Facebook’s guidelines. Allowing public access to these tools basically makes filters and AR User Generated Content. I made one for FamilyTechBlog in about six minutes. There was no approval process (as far as I could tell) which leads me to believe that inappropriate content will only be identified by a “user flag and review” system. This could lead to who knows what kind of violent or adult-oriented filters showing up on our Facebook (and most likely eventually Instagram) camera.

    My advice for parents is to continue to talk to your kids about what content they use and see on their social media accounts. User Generated Content means that most of what has been posted hasn’t been edited or reviewed by anyone who can pull down non-approved posts. Algorithms and a flag system can only get so far in protecting our families from dangerous content. Parents should always be seeing what is posted by their kids and what their kids are seeing in the apps they use.

     

  • Released Today: Facebook Messenger For Kids!

    Released Today: Facebook Messenger For Kids!

    Kids love social media. They like sending messages to friends and family. They absolutely love using filters and masks to share silly images of themselves. The problem is that social media wasn’t created for kids. It is for grown ups. That makes the social media world dangerous for our -13 kids. Enter Facebook, who is now trying to make social media and messaging safer for our children. Messenger Kids was released in the U.S. today on ios and the new app brings some favorite Facebook messenger features to our youngest family members.

    You set up your child’s account for them and they don’t need a Facebook profile to use Messenger Kids. Once you’ve downloaded the app and logged in with your own Facebook info, it will let you add your kids to the app and then ask them to take a photo and enter some information. Then, as simple as that they’re able to chat with you. To add contacts you search or browse your friend list and give your child permission to contact them by clicking “Add.” It can all be done from your own Facebook settings without access to your child’s device. They can also ask permission to add someone to their messenger app.

    As far as privacy and settings, Facebook has to be pretty specific with their rules. For example, Messenger Kids doesn’t collect ad data, their profile won’t show up in search, there is no advertising within the app, and there is no automatic account upgrade once your kids reach Facebook’s approved age. This is good news and proves that Facebook put some thought and research into what would make the Messenger Kids app fun and safe for kids. Messages don’t disappear and can’t be deleted or hidden. If an inappropriate image is sent, the child can report and the parents will be alerted that their kid has reported something that made them uncomfortable. One of the very few cons of the app is that parents can’t see videos or messages that their kids have sent and received except for taking the device and looking for themselves.  This is also, likely, due to privacy concerns and legal issues but it sure would be nice to at least be able to see messages that have been reported by our kids.

    What Parents to Should Know

    It isn’t very often I can fully recommend an app to parents but so far, I’m feeling like Messenger Kids meets my standards. The GIF options are curated by editors, not an algorithm and the filters are carefully selected and designed just for kids. Control is in the hands of the parent and that is exactly what I’m always wanting to see when it comes to apps designed for kids. The concern about time management does remain, however, so it is important to make sure your children are spending enough time doing other things. Messaging with family and friends can be fun but it is still screen time and it has been proven that kids need more than just screen time as entertainment. Use time management apps or just your own enforcement to be sure that your kids are only using Messenger Kids as long as you’ve decided is healthy.

    It’s great to see an app that brings features that kids love into a safer environment for them. I downloaded this app and have set up an account for my 10-year-old son. He has already enjoyed sending messages, using the camera filters, and even playing an AR game that is included. Why don’t you check the app out too and send me a message or email me and let me know what you think?

     

  • Snapchat’s New Filters Can Recognize Items in your Photos

    Snapchat’s New Filters Can Recognize Items in your Photos

     

     

    Snapchat’s new camera filters can now identify items in your photo and recommend AR graphics, borders, or stickers for you to add. The action is automatic and will insert recommendations into the filter carousel. To my knowledge you cannot turn off this feature, it is now a stock part of the Snapchat camera. The camera can recognize pets, sports equipment or events, food, and even specific locations.

    These are powerful tools for Snapchat users, especially paired with their geofilters which is strictly based on your location data. Besides just making your recommended filters more relevant, these new filters will make it easier for advertisers to target their ads more specifically. Turning off your location information won’t be enough anymore, your camera can now give advertisers clues (automatically based on software and algorithms) as to where you spend your time. This is big news for advertisers and even bigger news for tech safety and security specialists. 

    What Parents Should Know

    My advice is to always turn off the location data on your kid and young teen’s phone. I recommend only sharing location information when you’ve left somewhere, never while you’re there. There are many reasons for that advice, including not alerting people that you aren’t home and not making it easier for predators to figure out where you spend your time. If your camera is using the things in your photos to tag your location then you have lost control over your location data. That, to me, is a problem. Snapchat has been on my uninstall list for a while and this news just strengthens my case against it. Snapchat’s goal is to service financially and they are now making decisions to make their product the best advertising tool available to brands all over the world. This means forsaking the privacy and security of their users and most of their users are your teens. Uninstall Snapchat now. There…I said it.

  • Superzoom on Instagram and Share Links in Snapchat

    Superzoom on Instagram and Share Links in Snapchat

    Every update announced by the developers of the apps your kids use isn’t earth shattering but you should still know what’s going on. This week has been a pretty slow internet safety update week but some teen favorite social media platforms have released some updates in the last couple of days.  These updates are mostly cosmetic seasonal features but they’ll be interesting to your kids so they’re worth learning about.

    Instagram Superzoom

    Remember the dramatic chipmunk? He’s the cute little guy on the youtube video that gave an epic, three-level zoom, dramatic (and comical) look. There was a song and everything. Instagram has added a feature to their camera that can give you that same hilarious zoom in effect. The product manager for Instagram said they’ve seen users making funny “zoom in” videos in their story and wanted to give them a tool to make this easier. The feature zooms into whatever you’ve told the camera to focus on, it will work on the front or rear facing camera, and even features the dramatic orchestration you’d expect to hear from such an epic shot. This feature comes today along with some Halloween filters and masks.

    Snapchat Link Sharing

    Snapchat will now let you share links from other apps in iOS. Pulling up the “share sheet” or sharing menu will now show you the option to share in Snapchat. This is a pretty big change for Snapchat who previously didn’t do much to affect usage outside of the app itself. Links will still open within Snapchat’s web browser but more and more content can now make its way into the app through the accessibility of link sharing. Also, Snapchat is changing the way you view Snaps from within the app by letting you press and hold a friend’s name anywhere in the app to open their Story. Finally, there is a new feature that will allow you to go into “Ghost mode” temporarily, setting your location to stay hidden for 3 hours, 24 hours, or “until I turn it off.”

    What Parents Should Know

    Every update brings more features that our kids love on their social media apps. We should know what these features are and what they mean for how our kids use the app. Camera effects and modes add interest and fun but may cause the young kid you’ve been keeping off of social media to ask you even more if they can join. Truthfully, Snapchat is late in the game when it comes to link sharing. It’s been possible in so pretty much every other social media app out there for a long time. Being able to bring links into Snapchat from any other app increases the potential for it to be used to share different sites between users. This could include sites you’d consider inappropriate. My advice is to turn on built-in filters on your iOS devices as they should make it harder if not impossible to access adult content on any browser on the phone.

     

  • Facebook Adds GIFs and Live Video to the in App Camera

    Facebook Adds GIFs and Live Video to the in App Camera

    If your Facebook feed is like mine there are only one or two people using the FB Stories feature at any given time. Instagram and Snapchat pretty much own the story market but Facebook is still chasing that “all inclusive social media app” unicorn.  Today, the app updated to include the ability to go live from the FB Story camera, to turn your images/video into a nifty GIF, and to share text over a colored background. (Much like the text status backgrounds available on your FB timeline.) It’s a bit surprising that the story feature hasn’t caught on as quickly on Facebook as it did on Instagram which has more users on Stories than Snapchat has over their entire app. There are more people using Facebook every day but they seem to prefer the timeline method to the 24-hour stories.

    One thing is certain, however, the apps that are popular with the younger crowd are the ones that get the most out of their stories feature. Facebook is, obviously, trying to attract that same crowd again since their average user’s age has increased over the past several years. Buffing up Facebook Stories is an attempt to reach out to that exact demographic. We’ve seen a small surge in the number of younger users to join or re-join Facebook but it’s nowhere near the growth that we’ve seen on Instagram and Snapchat.

    What Parents Should Know

    You still can’t take Facebook off of your apps to watch list. Your kids most likely prefer Instagram or Snapchat (if you allow them to use it) but some of these new features, which are designed to attract the teen and pre-teen demographic, could draw some kids back to Facebook. My advice is for parents to have their teen’s login information and to check in every now and then. You’ll want to see what messages they’ve received and what is showing up on their and their friend’s story. For many younger people, the fact that their parents use Facebook is a deterrent for them but some of the camera features and other new additions could cause them to change their minds. It’s important that you know if they have a Facebook account and keep an eye on what is going on there.

  • Snapchat Update Adds New Effects and Sharable Links

    Snapchat Update Adds New Effects and Sharable Links

    Snapchat’s latest update will give the camera background effects and allow you to change your voice without using one of their filters. The other major feature is the ability to share links and open them within Snapchat’s very own browser. While you can’t type a url into the address bar at the top of the browser you can click around online and end up at any website you’d like. That’s right, that means your kids can now browse the internet within Snapchat. This has always been possible in other social media apps like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook but now Snapchat will allow users to tap right on a picture and open a link without leaving the app.

    What Parents Should Know

    If the Discover Page, disappearing photos, private video chat, and SnapMap isn’t enough to put this on your uninstall list, perhaps the ability to access the entire internet without leaving the app will help you pull the trigger. Yes, this feature is available in other social media apps but when you factor in all of the other features that can be a detriment to your internet safety plan it puts Snapchat at the top of my uninstall list.

  • Interactive Advertising Coming to Snapchat

    Interactive Advertising Coming to Snapchat

    I’ve heard marketers say that it is their job to ruin everything. Well, the cameras and filters built into our favorite social media platforms are proving that. Today Snapchat announced they’re launching advertiser access to their Geo filters and camera “lenses.” This means that you can use the augmented reality settings to not just make yourself look like a puppy but also to advertise for your favorite restaurant, the latest movie coming out, or a special event.

    A few weeks ago Facebook announced that they would be opening up the lenses to more developers. This will also increase advertiser use of these products. So now Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook will all be serving up interactive advertising to our kids.


    What Parents Should Know

    These updates are just one more way that advertising can get to our kids. We know that marketers are only after our money, that’s no surprise and should be expected. However, we have to know our kids and decide if we are OK with them being advertised to in this way.

    My advice is that parents take a look at these Geo filters and lenses and see what they could potential be advertising to your kids. Again, Snapchat is on our uninstall list and advertising is the main reason. Today’s news only strengthens that position.

  • Facebook Conference Gives Us a Sneak Peak at the Future of AR

    Facebook Conference Gives Us a Sneak Peak at the Future of AR

    Facebook is in the middle of their F8 developer conference in Santa Rosa, California. The leaders of the Facebook company are announcing and unpacking their newest features and offerings on the social media platforms they develop. The most major announcement from day 1 yesterday was the opening of a public development platform for the Facebook augmented reality camera. Here’s what that means.

    The Facebook Camera will be the first open augmented reality platform. This means that developers will be able to make animations and images that will show up on your screen. So far, these overlays have been developed only by the company that makes the social media app itself. This means that any ideas or filter concepts must come from Facebook or Snapchat only. Any advertising has to go through the process that Facebook sends advertisers through. That will no longer be the case.

    The open platform launched in closed beta yesterday, April 18. It will still be a while before we see thousands of filter options showing up on our cameras but it is absolutely coming. You can imagine companies and programmers are chomping at the proverbial bit to start putting their projects on the Facebook camera so once it is public we will see it grow very quickly. It’s going to be a good idea for parents to keep an eye on what’s available in Facebook and Instagram’s stories camera.

    What Parents Should Know

    An open platform means developers will have the tools necessary to create their own camera overlays and animations. This will, most likely, begin with licensed developers only but it probably won’t end there. Imagine anyone in the world being able to create an overlay that you can access in your Facebook or Instagram camera. This could result in  content being available that we don’t want our children to see. Please understand that these changes aren’t happening tomorrow. This is an early warning and a reminder to always keep your eyes on what’s developing on the apps your kids use.

    Conversation with your kids is important. It’s also important to keep an eye on what your kids are installing and using. I recommend following your child or teen on social media and keeping an eye on what they are posting and sharing. With their knowledge, this will allow you to be on top of any inappropriate posts that they may share. It’s also a good idea to have their passwords so that you can see what they’ve been receiving on direct message. Eventually, you’ll want to see what their most recent AR filters have been, this will only be possible by logging in to their account. Start developing the trust now so that when there is even more reason to keep an eye on things you’ll already have a habit of doing so.