(Photo By Flickr User Aaron Yoo)
A warning for all parents, you are probably familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and maybe even Tumblr, but there is another app that your kids may be using.
It is called “MeetMe” and you have to look beyond the app’s smiley face logo.
It can be used as a hook-up app for teenagers where they can send sexually explicit messages and even meet up with strangers.
Last month, 48-year-old Andy Vogt of Oregon, was arrested after police said he met a girl under the age of 16 through MeetMe and had illegal sexual contact with her.
Police said the girl was found inside his home, three days after her family reporter her missing. In November, 26-year-old De’andre Downs, of Columbus, Georgia was charged with sexual exploitation after police said he was chatting through the app with an officer who was posing as a 14-year-old.
“I think there’s a lot of educational stuff out there and things that are like cartoons and shows that they really like,” parent, Elizabeth Phelps said.
With thousands of free mobile apps at your fingertips, it can be challenging to always know what your child is up to.
“I go through their phones,” parent, Daphney Spivey said.
If you look, you may find apps on your child’s phone, like MeetMe.
Users between the ages of 13 and 17 are supposed to get their parent or guardian’s permission to use the app, but there is no verification that the parent is the one actually signing off.
“You have to be more careful when using those kinds of apps because there are adults trying to contact kids and they don’t know the age,” Spivey said.
MeetMe is described as a social network similar to a dating app. It helps users meet new friends based on their location. Anyone a teen connects with on the site can see everything they share.
“It’s crazy out here,” Spivey said. “Grown people out here and we got pedophiles out here.”
Now, suspected predators are behind bars, accused of preying on children through the app. In addition to the recent arrests, a lawsuit was filed in San Francisco in 2014 after three separate cases where men were arrested, accused of meeting children through the app. WICS-TV reached out to MeetMe via phone and email to ask about these claims as well as their safety protocols, but nobody from the app has responded.
MeetMe does offer users the ability to report abuse on the app. Police said if you do suspect your child has been in touch with a predator, you should contact police right away, and do not delete the app or any information until it has been shared with police.
Champaign County Chief Deputy Allen Jones said it is important to set boundaries early.
“You should not be sharing private pictures, intimate pictures, you should not be sharing your address or personal information about yourself that would make you vulnerable,” Jones said.
So, what can you do to keep your kids from downloading potentially dangerous apps?
Use a family mobile sharing plan, or create one app store account for everyone in the house. Require a password for app purchases. Go into your app settings and enable notifications. That way, when a user of your account downloads an app, you’ll be notified right away.
