What parents need to know about Kik, the messaging app popular with tweens and teens

Kik is an app that is very popular with tweens. It's also not intended to be used by tweens and can be dangerous for kids with sexual predators using Kik to request naked photos or inquire about a tween user's sexual experience. Here's what parents need to know about Kik, the hugely popular app that has 90 million users.
* Kik is an instant messaging app that is similar to texting but users have multiple options of talking with individuals, with groups and within a social networking environment.  Users can also use Kik to send photos and files and send greeting cards.  It combines texting with a social network.

* Users are supposed to be age 13 or older. This is because it is not compliant with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) requirements of specific features for a website designed for children, meaning those 12 and under. Kik itself states, "Children under the age of 13 are prohibited from having a Kik account by the Kik Terms of Service." The site has no age verification.

Read this complete article at Tween Us http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2013/11/what-parents-need-to-know-about-kik/

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