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  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Invitation-only social network limited to real-life friends.

On this site kids can:   blog, chat, connect with friends, express themselves

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Journal writing and decorating photos provide a creative outlet.
  • User-created content:

    Girls can create a "diva" -- their online alter ego -- complete with customizable facial features, clothes, and accessories, and choose among different colorful backgrounds. They can write in an online journal, which can be locked or shared with others, and draw and write on uploaded photos.
  • Messages:

    The product promotes wholesome online activities with friends. However, parents might want to monitor how their daughters handle inviting other girls to participate. The product's built-in exclusivity, echoed in the name, the use of the word "diva" to describe members, and the awful theme song that plays every time the key is inserted -- "You’re in or you’re out!" -- has the potential to cause hurt feelings.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    There are no ads, but kids have to spend an extra $14.99 for a headset with special USB cap in order to use one of the main features on the site, voice chat.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

How safe is it?

  • Personal privacy:

    Far more stranger-proof than other social networks, the site restricts members to friends to whom the child has given a unique, one-time-use-only code. The site is completely invisible to the online world and kids can't leave to browse other parts of the Web. Inside the site, users can lock their journal entries.
  • Online interaction:

    Girls are able to interact only with friends to whom they've given a unique 12-digit "friend code." To ensure girls invite only people they know, the product encourages users to print out the code and a small pink envelope to personally hand to friends. If the circle of friends changes, users can delete members of their network.
  • Parental controls:

    Parents must purchase a special My Secret Circle USB key in order for kids to use the site.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About My Secret Circle

Parents need to know that this private social networking site -- actually a program that loads only when a special USB key is plugged into the computer -- is super secure.  A completely closed environment, My Secret Circle is invisible to the rest of the Internet and has no links to other sites. The only people who can see a child's profile are real-life friends who have been given a set of numbers to type into their own copy of the program. My Secret Circle doesn't have the breadth of features or the richness of, say, Miss O & Friends, a real Web site where girls from all walks of life can meet. However, it does give tweens a cute gadget to show off and a safe place online to hang out with BFFs, including a cool voice chat option with headset. Parents just need to make sure girls don't give in to the temptation to use the product as a social weapon. 

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Discuss whom girls intend to invite to join their My Secret Circle social network. Should they talk about their special online group at school? Why or why not? Read our social networking tips.    
  • Diaries are usually places to record private thoughts, dreams and gripes. Discuss how writing in an online journal can give people a false sense of privacy and make them less careful about what they say and who sees their entries. Is it ever a good idea to let someone else read your journal, even if you're best friends?

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    I rate this title and give it 0.0

  2. I rate this title on for age 17 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Educational
    • Positive messages
    • Safety isn't an issue
    • User content is age appropriate

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