List of Harmful Apps You Should Keep Kids Away From in 2025

In today’s digital world, children have unlimited access to entertainment, social media, and messaging apps. While this offers many benefits, it also exposes them to serious online dangers, including cyberbullying, inappropriate content, privacy breaches, and online predators.

According to a 2024 study by Common Sense Media, children aged 8–18 spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes daily on screens, excluding school-related work. This staggering screen time increases exposure to harmful apps, making parental supervision more critical than ever.

Former Google design ethicist Tristan Harris warns:

“Technology is not neutral. It is designed to keep kids hooked, often at the expense of their well-being.”

With these risks in mind, we will explore harmful apps in 2025 and discuss how parental control solutions like Mobicip can help create a safe digital environment for children.

Why Parents Must Stay Informed About Harmful Apps

Children’s online safety is a growing concern. Apps designed for entertainment, socialization, or gaming often lack strong moderation, exposing young users to:

• Privacy Risks – Some apps collect excessive data, putting kids at risk.
• Cyberbullying & Harassment – Anonymous platforms allow bullies to target children.
• Inappropriate Content – Many apps fail to filter out explicit material.
• Online Predators – Some apps allow strangers to message kids without verification.
• Addiction – Social media and gaming apps use psychological tricks to keep children online longer.

The following table shows the percentage of parents with minor children classifying which app is dangerous for children:

Jean Twenge, psychologist and author of iGen, states:

“The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.”

List of Harmful Apps in 2025

1. Social Media Apps

Snapchat

🚨 Dangers:

• Disappearing messages encourage risky behavior.
• Snap Map reveals kids’ real-time locations.
• Explicit content in Discover & Spotlight feeds.

🔍 Parental Tip: Disable Snap Map and monitor friends’ lists.

Whisper

🚨 Dangers:

• Anonymous messaging makes it easy for predators to target children.
• High rates of cyberbullying and explicit discussions.

🔍 Parental Tip: Block this app entirely.

2. Video Sharing Apps

TikTok

🚨 Dangers:

• The algorithm can expose kids to harmful content.
• TikTok challenges can be dangerous.
• Privacy concerns due to data collection.

🔍 Parental Tip: Use TikTok Family Pairing Mode and limit direct messages.

Triller

🚨 Dangers:

• Less content moderation than TikTok.
• Weak age restrictions, exposing kids to explicit videos.

🔍 Parental Tip: Encourage safer alternatives like YouTube Kids.

3. Messaging Apps

Discord

🚨 Dangers:

• Unmoderated chatrooms expose kids to strangers.
• Some servers contain explicit or NSFW content.

🔍 Parental Tip: Enable Discord parental controls to block DMs from strangers.

Children can stumble onto a lot of adult content. Some of it is perfectly fine for an adult, but there are plenty of servers that openly violate Discord’s user agreement. More than 17,000 Discord servers were removed from the platform for the below reasons:

Kik

🚨 Dangers:

• No age verification, making it a hotspot for predators.
• Anonymous messaging with little oversight.

🔍 Parental Tip: Block this app completely.

4. Gaming Apps

Roblox

🚨 Dangers:

• User-generated content includes inappropriate material.
• In-game purchases lead to excessive spending.

🔍 Parental Tip: Use Roblox parental controls to disable chats and in-app purchases.

Fortnite

🚨 Dangers:

• Addictive gameplay affects sleep & academics.
• Toxic voice chats expose kids to cyberbullying.

🔍 Parental Tip: Limit screen time & disable voice chat.

How Mobicip Helps Parents Protect Kids Online

Given these risks, parents need a robust parental control solution to keep kids safe. Mobicip is a trusted digital parenting tool that allows parents to monitor and manage children’s online activities.

Key Features of Mobicip:

✅ App & Website Blocking – Blocks harmful apps like Kik, Whisper, or TikTok.
✅ Screen Time Management – Helps set healthy digital habits by scheduling usage time.
✅ Activity Reports – Provides insights into how kids spend time online.
✅ Real-Time Alerts – Sends notifications for risky behaviors.

How to Protect Your Child from Harmful Apps

🛑 Set Digital Boundaries: Establish clear rules for screen time and online behavior.
🔍 Monitor App Downloads: Regularly check installed apps on your child’s device.
🛡 Use Parental Control Tools: Apps like Mobicip help enforce restrictions and monitor online activity.
📢 Educate Kids About Online Safety: Teach children about cyberbullying, privacy, and online dangers.

Conclusion

Children today face more digital risks than ever before, making it essential for parents to stay informed and proactive. Harmful apps like Snapchat, Kik, TikTok, and Roblox expose children to privacy risks, cyberbullying, and predators.

By implementing parental controls, setting clear boundaries, and using tools like Mobicip, parents can create a safer online environment for their children.

For further reading:
📌 Families Sue TikTok Over Harmful Content
📌 How Screen Time Affects Kids’ Mental Health – Harvard Study

Let’s work together to protect our children in the digital world!