What parents need to know about this pop messaging app.

What is the GroupMe app?

GroupMe is a messaging app that lets users send messages to others without message limits or fees. It uses Cyberspace information, either through a WiFi connection or your phone's information plan.

Why is this app so popular with teens?

It works on every device

GroupMe has apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, y'all tin can chat with your friends from your phone on the get or from your computer. Your friends also don't need to all have the same type of phone or operating arrangement to collaborate with each other.

Sharing is easy

You can easily share images, videos, GPS location, GIFs, Memes, and custom Emoji, all from one place. App developers are commencement to realize that teens don't like hopping around to unlike apps to share with their friends. This is one of the major reasons Snapchat is withal then popular.

Segmented Chat Groups

Having the ability to have dissimilar conversation groups for teens is a large deal. They might have more than one friend group that they are keeping in touch with, club groups, or even various sports teams/clubs they must communicate with regularly. This app would make that process much easier.

What are the problems?

In-app purchasing. You can buy Emoji packs within the app.

Adult/Inappropriate content. Some of the emojis feature adult themes, such as cartoon liquor bottles and sexy characters. Searches for GIFs find scantily clad people, drug utilize, and trigger-happy images tin can exist found. You are besides able to view the URL source  of the GIF, paradigm, or video via Bing without ever leaving the app, fifty-fifty if you lot have Safari turned off.

Privacy. The app asks to connect to all off your contacts. We practice not suggest people to share all of their contacts with an app. Many apps only exist to mine your contacts and and then sell or utilise them someplace else for marketing purposes. We practise not know if GroupMe or Microsoft will do that, just once yous choose to share your contacts, you can't get them back.

Should I Allow My Child Employ GroupMe?

Our cess: Maybe (high schoolhouse-anile children)

  1. If you are not okay with the unfiltered admission to potentially inapropriate content, and then you should not let your kid to have this app.
  2. If yous are okay with the issues outlined above, then this app is for High Schoolhouse-aged children, only.

Our general recommendation for parents to only permit their children use SMS text messaging – the messaging app that comes with your phone. Tertiary-political party apps come up with problems, and GroupMe is no different.

Additional Recommendations:

Countersign Protected App Store

A password-protected App Store volition stop your child from downloading GroupMe or other apps onto their devices without your permission and knowledge.

Talk to Your Kid and Filter Your Internet

Talk to your child about why you are concerned nigh online developed content. Talking to your child about porn may audio overwhelming. We have an article  that volition aid guide you through that conversation.

Yous can filter the internet coming into your habitation with OpenDNS.com  (free), CleanBrowsing  (costless), or your internet provider'due south parental controls (paid service), or your router (free and paid).

Turn on Parental Controls

You lot should likewise plow on parental controls on all of your child's devices. Our volume, Parenting in the Digital Globe , will walk yous step-by-step through this process.

Monitor, Alert, and Protect with Bark

Install Bark , the all-time parental command/notification app available for mobile devices. Utilise the promo code " cybersafetycop " to get 15% off your subscription forever!

Get Educated

GroupMe is simply the tip of the iceberg. Come up to a costless parent seminar and learn how to guide your kid safely through their digital earth. If you'd like to bring a Cyber Safety Cop instructor to your school or system, contact us  and we'll get dorsum to you lot right abroad.

*In that location are affiliate links throughout this post considering we've tested and trust a small list of parental control solutions. Our work saves yous time! If you decide that y'all agree with u.s.a., then we may earn a small commission, which does cypher to your price. Enjoy!