Yubo, Hoop, Azar… There are more and more dating apps reserved for teenagers. They seduce young people despite dangerous excesses. Overview.
The dating apps definitely not just for adults anymore. Now there are dozens of apps specially designed for teens, from 13 years old. The latter also go there to find love or to make simple friendly encounters. A tendency expanding. Most young people are mainly attracted by the fact of being able to expand their circle of acquaintances in a few clicks, and to make virtual interactions. Curiosity also pushes them to register to test, just “like that”, these new platforms. It must be said that many of them have emerged in recent years, with ever more features.
However, be careful, if the initial idea of the creators of these apps is benevolent, it can unfortunately lead to dangerous driftsmainly because of non-existent or insufficient moderation systems. Result: these meeting spaces can give rise to what are called cyberviolence, a scourge specific to digital technology. Therefore, as a parent, it is important to to remain vigilant and to raise the subject if necessary. To find out which dating apps for teens are in vogue, and the dangers to which they are exposed, we have made a selection for you:
Yubo, the Tinder for young teens
Launched in 2016 by three French engineers, Sacha Lazimi, Jérémie Aouate, and Arthur Patora, I’Yubo appformerly Yellow, presents itself as “a video livestreaming social network” to make friends, “chat with people like you and create a community based on your interests.” On Yubo the principle is simple: you activate your geolocation, a profile pleases you you swipesif it is reciprocal there is match and you can cat with the person. It is also possible to make streami.e. to directly launch a video chat alone or with others, with acquaintances or strangers…
Ultimately, “you can do everything on Yubo”, underlines the brand in its description. And the problem is there. From fake profiles can be createdfrom sexual content can be exchangedreports among other things a investigation of theObs. It’s not for nothing that the app has been renamed the “Teen Tinder”. In addition, the English child protection association NSPCC had pointed the finger as soon as it was released “an opportunity for sexual predators to target teenagers”. Today, Yubo has more than 45 million Internet users worldwide.
Hoop, the Snapchat extension
Developed in 2019, hoop is an application to find new people to add on Snapchat. Again, to meet new people, just swipe right or left and match with proposed profiles. By opening the app, users, who must have at least at least 13 years old, have before their eyes different profiles that are illustrated with photos and a short biography. If you like one or more, you can press the Snapchat icon to ask for their username and therefore add them to the social network.
If the founders of Hoop, interviewed by Le Figarodefend themselves from being “simply a gateway to facilitate new virtual friendships on Snapchat”however, people can easily lie about their age and create false identities for malicious purposes.
Azar, the new Chatroulette for teens
As indicated by his name, Azar is a video chat mobile app, which randomly matches strangers around the world. The user can interact without limits but also watch live videos. We find the same principle of the old website chatrouletteknown for broadcasting sexcams. “On Azar, you never know who you’ll meet”, can we read on the presentation. This is the whole danger of the app. It is not uncommon to come across naked usersbroadcasting sexual content or uttering gratuitous insults.
Intended for young people, aged 14 and overthe app is used by more than 100 million followers.
F3, the app to chat anonymously
The F3 appreserved for young people over the age of 17, is based on a rather simple concept: on his profile the user.rice receives messages, questions, but also photos and videos, anonymously and ephemerally. The contents erase after 72 hours, like Snapchat. There is therefore no more evidence in the event of deviations. On F3, anyone can contact anyone, but only the user can see what he/she receives. Then it is up to him to answer or not.
With this interface, the creators have imagined a new way of making acquaintances. But then again, it’s easy to bend the rules and D’being confronted with sexual predatorsor some inappropriate content.
Other dating apps are also popular with young people in other countries around the world, such as squad and yolowhich are not yet available in France.