Viber

Viber
Threat level – Low

It doesn’t take long to realize this app is a very popular one. With 14,000 reviews on the App Store (most being 5 stars) this one is not going away for a long while.

Viber is a texting and phone call app available for mobile devices. The app uses your wireless connection to the Internet to make phone calls or send texts without using your phone plan. This means the app only uses the data plan on your phone.

This app is free and had very high reviews over the past 3 years on App Store. When you first download app, it wants to send you a text message to verify that you have an active phone. Once it sends you your code, you can finish the setup. One feature that is different from most voice over Internet apps where you can send and receive texts is that you and whomever you are communicating with must both be using Viber. It will not allow you to use this app to make phone calls or texts to other people that don’t have. The app uses your telephone number as your Username.

Some pros of this of course is free long distance and another way to save money on your phone plan. Kids probably will be interested in some of the features that make this app unique.

It allows you to set a profile picture under the user account and also allows you to save your existing contacts or your Facebook contacts to the contacts inside the Viber app. This helps the user with who else is using Viber so you can send them a message or call them.

Some features of Viber state that it allows tele conferencing up to 40 people which is more than the standard three way calling a lot of kids use to utilize to talk to friends at the same time.

Another feature of Viber is the text messaging. It has different pictures you can send other users called stickers to communicate. Kids think this is a cute and different way to communicate through pictures similar to Emoji characters and is becoming more and more popular. Via texting inside the app, your child can also send pictures and videos that will only show up from inside the Viber app. Monitor this closely. There may be a reason they don’t want this show in the regular messaging side of their device.

This app has no ads that I could see and also has push notifications that allow your messages to show up on screen if you are not actively using the app.

If you find this app on your child’s device, go to the contacts button at bottom of screen. These are the only people they can contact back and forth with and make sure you know who they are communicating with inside the app.

If you do not approve, deleting this app deletes everything inside of it also. Once it is deleted, the other people they had been communicating with will be gone as well.

The low threat level I gave this app is due to the reason your child would want an app like this on their device. Does it have a legit purpose? Do you know who they are communicating with inside it? If not find out quick.

Purple app, purple, white phone