OoVoo is a high quality video chat application similar to Facetime or Skype. It allows people to connect with up to 12 friends at one time and video chat or have a voice call. You can download it on an iPad, iTouch, iPhone, Android phone, etc. And you must be 13 years old to set up an account, which doesnât slow anyone down who can subtract 13 years from 2015.
What are the concerns for your child using ooVoo? As with all social media, the main concern is who can search out your child easily. The easier it is to find the child, the faster a predator will find them, start talking to them and find a way to connect with them without the child realizing what is happening. The second concern is the way in which ooVoo is being used. Young children (pre-teen) find this app through their peers or older siblings. Itâs Internet-based and often used at home in the YP or childâs bedroom. It has been the case that whilst talking with friends an adult has entered the group chat.
How do you manage your childâs ooVoo account?
1. Always know your childâs password. This will allow you to ensure that they are using ooVoo safely.
2. Make sure that the privacy settings are properly set up. Without using the privacy settings, your child can be contacted by anyone at anytime and anyone can see the profile of your child. (I have my daughterâs set to âNobodyâ so that only people who know her ooVoo ID can contact her).
3. You can review the history of your childâs account. You will be able to see who they are chatting and messaging with. Ensure that you know all of these people and are comfortable with it. Note that your child can erase the history.
4. If your child receives an unwanted friend request, ignore it AND check the box to Also block this person from contacting me again.
5. If your child experiences a more serious encounter with an adult contact CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) Command https://www.ceop.police.uk/
6. With young children (pre-teen) You can frequently review your childâs friends to ensure that you know them all.
7. Remind your child to always log out when they are finished using ooVoo, especially if another personâs device is being used.
8. Learn how to use the product! If your child knows that you are involved and understand the technology they are using, they will not feel free to do whatever they please because âMum doesnât have a clue how this works!â
ooVoo is not necessarily bad. Like most social media apps, there are some great uses for teens. For example, working on a group project would be a great use of ooVoo, given the ability to have multiple users on the same video chat session. However, the dangers come when children and young people use them in unproductive ways and when the privacy settings are not set tightly. This is where our job as parents is so critical. This is where if you drop the ball you could end up dealing with a lot more than an unwanted friend request.
Thank you.