Spotafriend Meet Teens App: Is It Safe?

Spotafriend is a swiping platform that connects teenagers to help them make friends. Due to its similarities with Tinder, you, as a parent, might wonder if the app is safe for your teens. In this article, you'll find the answer.

Overview of Spotafriend

As mentioned eariler, Spotafriend works like Tinder, using swiping to match strangers.

Swiping left on the picture of the user means not your cup of tea, on the contrary, swiping right shows this person is who you want to make friends with. However, its developers claim it is not a dating app. Now, here are somethings you might want to know about this app:

How to Make Spotafriend Safe for Teens

If you are wondering, "Is Spotafriend safe for your teen?", just like every social app, it can be safe with the right security measures. Here are some safety measures to make Spotafriend safer for your teens:

Set Rules and Guidelines

You can avoid the risks of Spotafriend for your teenager by establishing ground rules for them. These safety guidelines should be clear and practical. Here are some ground rules you can ask your teen to abide by:

• Use different photos for their social media profiles
• Avoid sharing private information like their address or live locations on the app
• Be wary of strangers who suggest sexual activities to them
• Be wary of strangers who suggest meetings offline
• Block and report accounts suggesting sexual activities or meetings in private places

Monitor What Your Teens Do on Spotafriend

The most effective way to know if your teens are at risks and make Spotafriend safer is to monitor their activities directly. Doing so, AirDroid Parental Control can be your best assistant.

The app has a "Screen Mirroring" feature that helps you monitor what they do and who they interact with on the Spotafriend app. If this app puts your teens at risk, AirDroid also helps you to block this app thoroughly. It also detects if your child searches or browser inappropriate content on 10+ social media.

Talk to them About the Dangers of Meeting Friends Online

Inform your teenager about the dangers of meeting strangers online, like cyberbullies and sexual predators. This can help them understand these risks or know how to respond to them when they appear.

Before that, you'd better create a safe atmosphere for them to always speak with you about their experience on social apps.

Top Dangers of Spotafriend for Teens

Social apps like Spotafriend make it easier for online dangers to prey on your little ones. What's worse, this app encourages children from 13 years to use. (App Store and Play Store clarify this app for 17+) As such, these under-aged teens may be more susceptible to the following online attacks:

1Sexual Activities and Content

While Spotafriend has a strict verification process, it lacks auditing on the content from chat. As a result, online strangers, also called "friends" on Spotafriend, expose teens to sexual content and lure them into carrying out sexual activities like sending nude photos.

2Cyberbullying

Bullying doesn't end offline; it can also happen online through the online communication platform like Spotafriend. Your teen may face ridicule, harassment, and hate-talks, which can eventually affect their emotional health.

3Security Concerns

The Spotafriend app uses geo-location, which employs users' location to help them find their peers in their community. This means that users' locations are available to strangers. This can compromise your teen's safety and put them at risk of malicious physical attacks.

4Negative Self-Esteem

The only way for teens to choose who to connect with on the Spotafriend app is via a display image and a short bio. As a result, choosing who to be friends with occurs based on how appealing their image looks. This can cause significant self-esteem problems for some teens as some may begin to dislike their looks.

The Appeal of Spotafriend for Teens

Since the internet is their primary means of contact, many teenagers spend a significant amount of their days socializing and chatting with their friends. That is why a friend-finding app like Spotafriend appeals to so many teenagers.

Also, it has been dubbed as Tinder for teens. This may explain why many teens use the app. Since they are too young for Tinder and other dating sites, they may see it as a miniature dating app for friends of their age.

Additionally, it is super easy to use by swiping.