This App Marketed For Teens Only is a Parent’s Worst Nightmare


Some lovely screen shots from the After School app. Photo: TechCrunch

3.The After School app;s filters and moderators don’t work well enough
The After School app purports to use filters so that users under 17 can’t see any adult content and so bullying comments will be flagged and not discoverable, but… a quick read of different parental reviews of the app show that they just do not work to keep our kids safe. One parent of a 15-year-old told Common Sense Media,

“I’m not sure who’s monitoring it because my daughter is 15 and the app was showing short porn videos that other students posted. If the students write their own post they can choose pornographic images and videos to post along with their comment. These images are provided by the app. It’s disgusting and I can’t believe this is allowed. After School is providing porn to underage children. I’ve also seen several posts that kids post about other children saying that they want to do certain things to them. It’s sick. They say they review each post so they should be personally held responsible for the trauma that these children experience as they are bullied, harassed and subjected to porn. By the way, the version I am viewing is the “edited” version of the app. If my daughter had access to the 17+ content I’m not sure what she would be able to view.”

Yeah, sounds REAL safe to me. Another parent complained that the child’s contact information was being used by the app to send messages to that child’s contacts (another reason to not let a child accept an app’s “Terms of Service”!!) This parent says:

“Gains access to names and phone numbers from users contacts. It is aimed at kids so it is asking minors for other minors contact info. The app then sends the new contact text messages. The site claims to be healthy and moderated but it is full of sexual innuendo and imagery. Also, it is anonymous and anonymous apps have a long history of sheltering the worst of human behavior. This is no different.”

If you need proof, do a Google images search for After School app and you will see plenty of screen shots you wish you had not seen. YUCK. And I am ONLY talking about text things kids have written, not even photos. It’s disgusting.

Bottom line: the After School app, like ALL anonymous apps, is a danger to your child. But the added component of purposely restricting parents and allowing ANYTHING to be posted about your child makes it especially so. Check out your kid’s phone and if they have After School, delete that and DON’T look back!

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—->Read this next: Not Just SnapChat: 6 More Dangerous Apps Parents Need to Know About.


Jenny Rapson
Jenny Rapson
Jenny is a follower of Christ, a wife and mom of three from Ohio and a freelance writer and editor.

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