The more you know about each, the better you'll be able to communicate with your teen about safe choices. The bottom line for most of these tools? If teens are using them respectfully, appropriately, and with a little parental guidance, they're mostly fine. So take inventory of your kids' apps and review the best practices. GroupMe is an app that doesn't charge fees or have limits for direct and group messages.

Users also can send photos, videos, and calendar links. The embedded GIFs and emojis have some adult themes, such as drinking and sex. Without fees or limits, teens can share and text to their heart's content, which may mean they rarely put the phone down. Kik Messenger is an app that lets kids text for free. It's fast and has no message limits, character limits, or fees if you only use the basic features. Because it's an app, the texts won't show up on your kid's phone's messaging service, and you're not charged for them (beyond standard data rates). Kik allows communication with strangers who share their Kik usernames to find people to chat with. The app allegedly has been used in high-profile crimes, including the murder of a 13-year-old girl and a child-pornography case. Kik specializes in 'promoted chats' - basically, conversations between brands and users. It also offers specially designed apps (accessible only through the main app), many of which offer products for sale. WhatsApp lets users send text messages, audio messages, videos, and photos to one or many people with no message limits or fees. Lots of younger teens seem to be using the app, but this age minimum has been set by WhatsApp. After you sign up, it automatically connects you to all the people in your address book who also are using WhatsApp. It also encourages you to add friends who haven't signed up yet.ĭiscord started as a place for gamers to chat while playing video games but has become a bigger platform where users can use text, voice-chat, and video-chat to discuss a wide variety of topics. There are public and private 'servers' or discussion groups. Teens can join public groups, ask to join private ones, or start their own. The safest option is for them to join a private group with people they know in real life. Some groups are more moderated than others, some are NSFW, and some are hate-filled. There are plenty of groups that are meant for adults only, and some are totally tame and well moderated. If your kid is in one of the latter, the risk is much lower.

Instagram lets users snap, edit, and share photos and 15-second videos, either publicly or within a private network of followers.

It unites the most popular features of social media sites: sharing, seeing, and commenting on photos. It also lets you apply fun filters and effects to your photos, making them look high-quality and artistic.

Teens are on the lookout for 'likes.' Similar to the way they use Facebook, teens may measure the 'success' of their photos - even their self-worth - by the number of likes or comments they receive.

Posting a photo or video can be problematic if teens are posting to validate their popularity. Photos and videos shared on Instagram are public unless privacy settings are adjusted.

Hashtags and location information can make photos even more visible to communities beyond a teen's followers if his or her account is public. Instagram Direct is like texting with photos or videos and you can do it with up to 15 mutual friends.

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