Houseparty is a live streaming app described as a face-to-face social network where people ‘drop in’ on each other to video chat, leave messages and hang out in groups. The app is available for iOS, Android, macOS and Google Chrome and has tens of millions of users worldwide. It’s important to note that children under the age of 13 must have a parent’s permission to access the services, however, no proof of age is required to create an account.
What parents need to know about Houseparty: ( link + extract of information below)
Top Tips for Parents
TURN ON PRIVATE MODE
One additional tip is to use the app settings to turn on
‘Private Mode’ which automatically locks the room,
instead of doing it manually. Parents with questions can
always email us at hello@houseparty.com
SAFER CONVERSATIONS
With live streaming being such a popular feature on
apps, it is important that you are aware of the dangers
associated with it in order to protect your child
effectively. Have regular and honest conversations with
your child about what apps they are using and how they
are using them. It may be a good idea to have your child
show you how they use Houseparty and how to navigate
through the platform so you are aware of how it works.
CHECK COMMUNICATIONS
Also, it’s important to be aware of who is on their friends
list and who they are communicating with. Remind your
child to not communicate with people they do not know
and trust. If they experience something on the app that
makes them feel uncomfortable then they should tell a
trusted adult immediately. Remind your child that if
they get an invite to join a Houseparty room from
someone they don’t recognise, then they should ignore
the request.
‘LOCK’ ROOMS
In regards to communicating with users on the platform,
we advise that your child uses the ‘lock’ feature to make
their conversations private. This means that other users,
especially strangers, can’t join their conversations.
PROTECT THEIR PRIVACY
Your child may unknowingly give away personal
information during a live stream, including their
location. Talk to them about what constitutes ‘personal
information’ and make sure they do not disclose
anything to anyone during a live stream, even to their
friends. Advise them to remove any items in their live
stream (school uniform, street name, posters etc.) that
could potentially expose their location or personal
information. Check your child’s privacy settings
thoroughly. You have the option to opt out of certain uses
and disclosures of personal information, such as turning
of the app’s location sharing option.
PROTECTING YOUR CHILD’S
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
As the videos are live, it may lead to the misconception that
whatever happens in the video will disappear once the live
stream ends. All content shared on the app can be recorded or
screenshotted and shared to a wider community. It is
important that your child knows that what they do now may
affect their future opportunities. In addition to this, the video
chats can’t be reviewed later which means unless a parent or
carer is sitting nearby during a call, they won’t know what has
been said. It’s worth bearing in mind that parents can see
when their child has last communicated with someone and for
how long for under the ‘We Time’ feature.
REPORTING AND BLOCKING
If your child faces a problem while using the app they can
report direct to the platform by shaking their phone. A
prompt will pop up allowing you to report issues
immediately by clicking on the ‘report now ’ button. They
also have the option to report and block users directly on
the user‘s profile.
BE PRESENT
A study conducted by the Internet Watch
Foundation (IWF) found that 96% of streams showed a child
on their own, often in their bedroom or bathroom. If your
child is going to conduct a live stream, ask them if you
could be present for it. This will give you a greater
understanding of what your child is doing during their live
streams and who they are streaming to.
REMOVE LINKS TO
OTHER APPS
Users can link their account to both Facebook and
Snapchat, or can simply share a link to their profile. We
advise that your remove these links and remind your child
not to publicly share access to their online profiles as
there is the potential for strangers to get hold of your
child’s information or communicate
