Family Tech Blog

Tag: parents

A.R.K. Survival Evolved Mobile Lets You Ride Dinos and Fight Other Cavepeople Online

A.R.K. Survival Evolved is a PC survival game that has come to iOS and Android for free. In the game, you are dropped onto a jungle island full of dinosaurs, plants, resources, and even other players. You have to explore, scavenge, craft, and hunt to survive. You can build shelters and even tame dinos and other animals to serve as your mighty steeds. The game was wildly popular when it released last year on computer and has climbed the charts on iOS to be in the top five in only four days since release.

What Parents Should Know

A.R.K. is rated 12 + for violence and “fear themes.” The violence in the game is mostly committed against animals and dinosaurs for self-defense or hunting. There is a vs multiplayer mode in which you can play against up to 60 players from all over the world. Remember that online multiplayer modes are never rated because the content changes depending on how the users behave.

This game also has ads and features in-app purchases. You can pay to have the ads removed or purchase resources to speed up your development in the game. This game is “free to play” but is considered a “freemium” game. If you haven’t turned off in-app purchases on your devices, this game is they type that will make you want to do so immediately. It doesn’t take long to realize that by spending a few bucks you can advance in the game much faster. It is easier for kids to spend those bucks when they belong to mom and dad.

A.R.K. isn’t a horrible game, I recommended it before your typical first-person shooter or battle royale game. The violence is mostly not committed against other humans and there are a real story and survival element involved in the game. There are even dinosaurs and animals that you can be kind to and tame instead of just killing everything in site. If your children meet the age recommendation for the game and you feel like you can manage the amount of time they spend playing (survival games have a way of making you spend a ton of time playing without realizing it) then A.R.K. is a pretty fun option.

June 18, 2018
Now You Can Instantly Delete Messages You’ve Sent in Snapchat

I’ve done it, you’ve done it, everyone has sent that message you immediately regret. Snapchat’s new feature will allow you to message “regret free” by adding a delete feature. You can now delete a message after you’ve hit that send button. Maybe there’s just a dumb typo, perhaps what you said could come across differently than how you meant it, no matter the reason, they’ve got you covered.

To delete a message just long press it and select the delete option. Everyone will be alerted that you deleted the message but they won’t see the message itself. Previously, Snapchat only made messages disappear when everyone in the group had seen them but this will change that up quite a bit. Obviously, screenshots can be taken of your message if someone sees it before you’ve eliminated evidence, but you’ll be notified of that as well.

Also Read: Snapchat allows x-rated material from cosmo.

What Parents Should Know

This is a small change for Snapchat but it speaks volumes about the nature of a messaging app like this one. The idea has always been to remove regret, apprehension, and maybe even responsibility for the messages you send online. Our kids should understand that there are consequences for what we do on the internet, even is some of our apps try to make us feel like there aren’t.

One of my biggest concerns about Snapchat is the disappearing messages. I have heard story after story of parents reporting their kids being victimized by bullies or predators on Snapchat only to be told by police that there is nothing they can do because there is no evidence of the messages that were sent. Snapchat has always been on my uninstall list and it most likely will never be taken off that list. If your kids are under 16, think long and hard before you allow them to use a disappearing messages app like Snapchat.

June 11, 2018
You No Longer Have to Be Friends with Your Kids’ Friends’ Parents on Facebook Messenger Kids

When Facebook Messenger for kids was released several months ago, I immediately installed it for my kids and began to test it out. I like that parents have to approve every single friend request. I was glad that it is encrypted, no data is collected, and that kids don’t have to open their own Facebook account. Finally, I was impressed that they built it with its own kid-friendly GIF library and camera filters. Now, Facebook has made a small change that could be helpful for many parents.

You no longer have to be Facebook friends with the parents of the friends your kids want to contact on Messenger. The approval requirements haven’t changed. Your children aren’t allowed to make contact with anyone you haven’t pre-approved and any request will be sent to your Facebook account for easy approval or denial. This update will just free parents up to allow their kids to chat with friends regardless of being mere acquaintances with that friend’s mom and/or dad.

What Parents Should Know

I still think that Facebook Messenger for Kids is one of the better messaging apps for kids. It’s easy to set up and use and there is no data collection, account setup, or advertising.

Here, however, is my warning: You should probably know your kids’ friends’ parents if they’re going to be chatting online. I’m not saying you should follow them on Facebook and be online BFFs, just that you want to be sure your children are chatting with other children. You give up a certain level of security when you aren’t looking out to see who your kids are talking to. With Facebook messenger kids the only way to find out who they’re talking to is through the account of their parents. Friend request their parent and then unfollow them if you must but you should be able to see what you can about their family to make sure your kid is only messaging other kids.

May 30, 2018
Facebook to Release Dating Feature

Facebook is getting into the dating game. At their developers’ event in California last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new dating feature for Facebook. The feature will be opt-in only and will feature only the users’ first names. You can scan through people’s dating profiles (separate from their FB profile) and select whether or not you’re interested in them. If you both see each other and show interest, you’ll be connected through a built-in messenger feature.

Tindr has had the dating app scene under control for a while, but like Snapchat, Facebook seems to be out to take some of the spotlight. This foray into online dating isn’t surprising since many (1 in 3) relationships already begin online. It is an obvious move towards Facebook becoming the one-stop app for most of your social media needs.

What Parents Should Know

There hasn’t been a release date announced for Facebook’s dating feature. It is, however, said to be completely separate from your Facebook account and it’s a feature that you have to opt-in to so it isn’t automatically available. If your kids or teens are on Facebook, they will likely have the option to join the dating feature since the age limit is set at 13 for the social media service.

I recommend not allowing your younger kids to use apps like Tindr since they are meant to make contacts for face to face meetups. There are many healthy relationships that have started on dating apps but there are also many stories of young people being tricked into accepting invitations from people who have no business contacting them. I would put Facebook’s dating option on my list of dangers for your kids under 18. It is a feature that is intended for adults and should only be used by adults. I also warn against messing around with it as a married person. As crazy as it may sound, many people who aren’t interested in dating use these apps to just check what kind of people would be interested in them. Facebook is already one of the leading topics of dissent in the marriage counselor’s office. The dating app could (I submit that it definitely will) increase the frequency of marriage problems caused by social media.

May 8, 2018
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.

April 26, 2018
YouTube Boasts 8 Million+ Flagged Videos Removed, is That Enough?

A new report from YouTube has disclosed the removal of over 8 million videos that didn’t lineup with their content guidelines. Most of the videos were removed by their algorithms system. Videos that contained sexual content, extreme violence, hate speech, or terrorism all made the list of removed content. Some had been flagged by the system, some by viewers, and a few by YouTube employees who watch for non-compliant material on the video site.

Many of the videos that were flagged by YouTube’s software were removed before they even received a single view. These algorithms can scan the videos through the processing system and deny them before they’re made public. Does this mean that YouTube is a lot safer for Felix?

Check Out: Youtube Kids

What Parents Should Know

This is a major step in the right direction for YouTube. Unfortunately it’s never going to be full proof. The only real way to monitor inappropriate content is for human eyes to be on that content. Also, as parents it’s tough to allow another person, much less a company, to decide what is appropriate for our families and what is not.My advice, as always, is that parents have their eyes on the stuff their kids are watching whenever possible. If not possible then be sure to use tools like Guided Access or android family link or kid mode to be sure kids can’t explore YouTube unmonitored or unfiltered. YouTube does have a safe mode as well as a separate app for kids (YouTube Kids) and I recommend these tools as well.

April 24, 2018
Top “Family” Android Apps Found to Collect Kids’ Data Without Parental Permission

It’s so nice to just head to the Google Play store and grab a couple of free apps to keep your child busy for a few minutes. There are a lot of free options and Google Play has a “Designated for Families” section to help you know if the app will be safe. Unfortunately, many app developers haven’t been following the rules. Android’s compliance rules are very specific about requiring apps to stay true to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA.) That means there are certain types of data they aren’t allowed to collect without parental permission and other types they can’t gather at all. A recent research project has found that the majority of these apps ignore the rules of COPPA entirely.

Overall, roughly 57% of the 5,855 child-directed apps that we analyzed are potentially violating COPPA. – Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies

The study found that most apps collect the data of their users, even though the apps are geared towards an audience under 12 years of age. The research group formed from North American and European universities developed an automatic system to study nearly 6,000 apps. They looked at data such as ad tracking, location tracking, ID sharing, and wifi address tracking. Many of the transmissions were unsecured which put data at a greater risk.

What Parents Should Know

When an app is free there are some things you need to consider. There’s a reason it is free, not because they want to give you free access but because developers make their money in other ways. Obviously, advertising is one of the ways, the other way is your personal information. Things like your location, device type, web search habits, and internet history are very valuable resources to advertisers. App developers are able to gather this information and sell it for marketing purposes. The common phrase is data is the new currency.

There are certain laws concerning the collection and use data of people under the age of 13. This study shows that many android app developers are ignoring the rules. This proves that the method of self-regulation may not be viable when it comes to protecting our information and privacy.

My recommendation is that parents pay very close attention to the privacy practices of the apps they use for their kids. Read the terms and agreements. Read their privacy policies. Most importantly, understand that a free app is free because they are selling something else. Namely, your and your family’s personal information.

April 16, 2018
Fortnite is Free; and also the Highest Grossing Game on iOS

Freemium games aren’t new and there is a reason that that category has graced the top of the charts on iOS for a long time now. Fortnite: Battle Royale, however, has rushed into the Freemium Game Revenue lead, making $15 million in the first three weeks since launch. The game, in which you fight it out against 99 other players to be the last man/team standing, is free to download on iPhone. You don’t buy items to increase your skills or character’s strength, you just buy costumes and dance moves. Obviously, the lack of game-changing in-app purchases hasn’t hurt the bottom line for Epic Game’s wildly popular third-person shooter and crafting game.

SensorTower.com

What Parents Should Know

For my thoughts on shooter games and kids, you can read my game reviews and listen to this BecauseFamily Podcast episode. As far as in-app purchases go, it is up to you. You should know how to set up your kids’ devices to not allow purchases without approval. Failure to set this up will likely lead to surprise expenses as the temptation for that new dinosaur hat or “Carlton” dance moves becomes too great for your kid to withstand.

My advice is for you to talk to your kids about the time they spend playing games on their devices. Make sure you have an understanding of what a healthy amount of time on devices looks like. Also be sure that you have your credit card settings secured to keep unwanted purchases from surprising you next month. Again, talk to your kids about spending your money on the games they play. I agree that these developers deserve every dollar they make from their games. I also strongly believe that if a kid is underage, it is up to the parents to regulate whether or not their child can spend money on their favorite games. That is up to you as mom or dad.

April 9, 2018
How To: Encrypt Your Facebook Messenger Conversations
Facebook’s data mining habits have been in the news for the past few weeks and today they’ve admitted that they’re reading your private messages in FB Messenger. They use some of this information to better your experience, they scan images and text to be sure you’re not breaking any of their policies and to check in on reported users. They also, however, scan your messages to receive more data about you. Advertising has been in messenger for a while and your private conversations are being used to customize that info for marketers.

Check Out: How to download your Facebook Data…

Facebook messenger has had a way for you to encrypt (or hide info in) your messages for a while, the above video is a walkthrough on how to turn those settings on. Unfortunately, you have to opt-in per conversation but once it’s on your messages are encrypted “end to end” meaning they can’t be read by Facebook’s AI and should they be intercepted by a third party, they would come through as gibberish-like code instead of the messages you’ve sent.

Here is a step by step guide for turning on “secret conversations” in messenger.
1. Select the conversation you’d like to make secret.
2. Tap the name of the group or contact above your conversation thread.
3. Scroll down and select “Secret Conversation.”
4. That’s it…you’re encrypted.
April 5, 2018
New Snapchat Feature Enables 16 Person Video Chat

Group chat has been available for a long while now, even in Snapchat, but now you can hang out with a large group of friends on video without ever leaving home. Snapchat’s new group video chat feature is now available and allows you to include 15 of your friends. You can sign on to a regular chat and add friends as you go or set the chat up with your large group from the beginning. Of course, Snapchat’s AR filters and masks will be available during these chats as well. Another feature that is available with this update is tagging or mentions. You can “@” tag a friend in your posts so they’ll be notified that you’re mentioning them.

What Parents Should Know

Parents should already know how much time their kids spend on social media. If unsupervised, they’ll chat with friends and creep their timelines all day long. In fact, many teens say they feel addicted to social media, while not doing anything to curb their own addictions. Addiction isn’t the only problem with extensive social media use. Social contact over our devices has proven to be far less beneficial than face to face interaction. There have been countless studies comparing video chat to actual conversations with someone in person and the conclusion is always the same. Spending time in the same room as someone is better for your development than only texting, calling, or video chatting. Take this excerpt summary from ScienceDirect.com’s 2014 study.

When engaging in face-to-face communication, social information is conveyed by vocal and visual cues within the context of the situation. Nonverbal communication, defined as communication without words, includes apparent behaviors such as facial expression, eye contact, and tone of voice, as well as less obvious messages such as posture and spatial distance between two or more people (Knapp & Hall, 2010). The understanding of these kinds of nonverbal social cues is particularly important for social interaction because of the need to modify one’s own behavior in response to the reactions of others (Knapp & Hall, 2010). – ScienceDirect.com

With apps such as Houseparty and Snapchat’s group chat out there, we have to be more intentional than ever about the time our kids spend on their screens. Hanging out with friends through our devices is becoming easier and more acceptable. Kids aren’t going out as much, the malls are closing, arcades are few and far between, and movie theaters are having to serve food like restaurants to attract the older generations because the younger ones aren’t as interested. Why go out when you can stay in and hang out with your friends online? Video chat can be an awesome way to stay in touch with long-distance family or friends but when our kids leave school and go home to do their homework while video chatting with six of their best buds all evening, something is missing from their life experience. We have to monitor their online activity and set time limits. Use unGlue or Circle to set some boundaries. Talk to your kids about the importance of face to face interaction. Don’t deny them opportunities to go spend time with friends (in families you trust). Drive them to that get-together or youth group event. Say yes when a friend wants to come over. Give them opportunities to spend face to face time with friends, outside of school, and you’ll be giving them the best chance you can to develop the skills they need to succeed.

April 3, 2018