The FTC warned that three dating apps (FastMeet, Meet24, Meet4U) let adults find and contact minors. Apple and Google removed them from their stores. Security expert Robert Siciliano urges parents to monitor kids' digital activity and use device restrictions.
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Dating apps are popular. However, some of them allow adults to track kids.
Tonight, a federal warning has been issued about 3 apps, all developed overseas. Boston 25 News reporter John Monaghan standing by live for us in Jamaica Plain. And John, the only thing these apps require is for someone to say that they're over the age of 13.
That's right, and we've learned this company is from the Ukraine. Uh, it's a Ukraine-based company, and we're told tonight they have violated US child protection laws. We've also learned tonight that several individuals have reportedly faced charges for trying to contact children while using these apps. A government warning about apps aimed at teens making children vulnerable to predators.
So if you have an adult in his 30s or 40s, he can search for a 12 or 13-year-old.
Security awareness expert Robert Siciliano of safer.me tells Boston 25 that parents need to pay close attention to their kids' digital lives.
This issue is not a, a technology problem. This fundamentally is a parenting problem.
This after the Federal Trade Commission on May 6th issued a parental advisory. It warned that 3 dating apps, FastMeet, Meet24, and Meet4U, allow adults to find and communicate with children.
These specific apps, they have location-based information that would allow anyone, a predator, to find where your kid is at the time, and they can also search based on their age. Parents tonight alarmed by that news.
As parents, I think we should just make sure that they're not visiting specific sites because there are a lot of sick people out there.
I think it's very easy for anyone to just go and open up a profile.
Apple and Google pulled the apps from their stores this weekend. We searched tonight and could not find them. Robert Siciliano recommends putting restrictions on your kids' phones. On an iPhone, it's pretty simple. Open Settings and go to Screen Time. Scroll to Content and Privacy Restrictions. Turn that on, and then you can set a passcode. Those 3 dating apps are no longer available, but they could still be on your child's phone. If they are, the FTC says you should remove them. We're live in Jamaica Plain tonight. I'm John Monaghan, Boston 25 News.
