Smartphones and Child Safety in 2025
Handing a smartphone to a child in 2025 feels a lot like sending them into a junkyard and claiming it’s a playground. Sure, there are useful tools in the mix, but only for those who know how to navigate the chaos.
Adults typically come with knowledge, awareness, and a bit of protective gear. They understand where to tread carefully and what to completely avoid. Even if accidents happen, they usually have the life experience to handle the fallout.
But kids? Well, they’re naturally curious. They want to explore. And, it turns out, about five out of ten kids in that “playground” could end up facing serious, sometimes life-threatening, consequences.
This surge in children using smartphones is a big part of the problem. These devices weren’t designed with young users in mind, yet over 60% of kids aged 5 to 11 and an astounding 84% of teenagers in the U.S. have one.
I mean, look at the Apple App Store, which boasts around 1.8 million apps. According to Apple’s 2023 Transparency Report, a staggering number of experts—about 500—are tasked with rating approximately 132,000 apps each week. That boils down to roughly 265 apps per reviewer weekly, allowing them about nine minutes to evaluate an app.
In just nine minutes, reviewers must assess how an app collects data, manages account creation and deletion, meets technical standards, and whether it contains harmful content or promotes risky activities. Not to mention, they have to decipher the app’s overall design and user safety, which is a lot to ask for in such a short time.
With this pressure, it’s no wonder that many seemingly innocent apps can transform into dangerously inviting spaces for predators.
Recent reports have indicated that apps like Wizz, which is marketed to users aged 12 to 18, are being used inappropriately by adults. Dubbed as “Tinder for teens,” Wizz connects minors with strangers, including potential predators posing as peers. There have been troubling incidents of adults exploiting this very platform to meet underage girls.
But it doesn’t stop there. Just recently, a 42-year-old man in the UK was found guilty of encouraging a child to self-harm by using fake profiles on platforms like Discord and Snapchat to target young girls.
The chilling part? Many of these apps allow messages to be automatically deleted, leaving no evidence for investigators when abuse takes place.
Apps like Kik gained notoriety for providing anonymity, becoming a popular choice for those with harmful intentions. Even after reported intentions to shut it down, Kik remained accessible on Apple’s App Store, linking to numerous cases of child exploitation.
Social media aimed at young users seems inherently vulnerable to exploitation; parents often aren’t clued into the dangers until it’s too late. We place our trust in the so-called expertise of professional reviewers.
Unfortunately, if an app is listed in an app store, we might assume it’s been scrutinized adequately, but that’s not always the case. Often, app stores just take the developers’ self-reported age ratings and safety claims at face value.
This is alarming. Missing warning signs isn’t just a possibility; it’s practically guaranteed. There’s definitely an urgent need for Congress to step in and pass the App Store Liability Law.
This proposed legislation would hold app stores accountable for how they handle user data, interactions, and accurately define their target audiences. It aims to clarify liability when apps that are marketed to minors are misused for grooming or exploitation. This would help ensure that companies benefiting from these child-directed platforms can’t simply deflect blame when issues arise.
The App Store Accountability Act won’t eliminate every risk, of course, but it represents a significant step towards enforcing responsibility in the tech industry, ultimately benefiting families everywhere.
