Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Anonymous board with hateful posts lives up to its name.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Burnbook
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
The Rules of the Book, which users must agree to before reading or posting, are 1). You are responsible for the content you upload.; 2). No nudity or violence.; and 3). Don't harass other people. The next screen warns that "if you break the rules, your account will be removed and you may be help legally accountable." Users must then give access to their location so they can choose a school from the auto-generated list. From there, they can read anonymous posts. To post their own comments, pictures, videos, audio, or posts, users must enter their phone numbers.
Is It Any Good?
The fact that BURNBOOK takes its name from the mean-spirited gossip-starting book in the movie Mean Girls is a clue that this isn't a friend-making social media experience for teens. The app made headlines after kids posted threats concerning enough that schools locked down for investigation. As a result, measures were taken that don't make the experience much better for kids: They can post comments about others anonymously, but their IP addresses are tracked so they can be held accountable for what they post. Some kids have tried to reclaim the app with positive posts, but it hasn't stopped the overall culture of cruelty. Ultimately, anonymity isn't so anonymous in the cyberworld, and real people get hurt, so encourage kids to steer clear of the hate bait.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the background of burn books or slam books -- which have been around for years -- and how social media makes the impact of unkind or hateful words even more damaging.
To learn more about cyberbullying, take a look at our parenting resource full of information -- for the bully, the bullied, and bystanders.
App Details
- Device : Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : March 29, 2015
- Genre : Social Networking
- Topics : School ( High School )
- Publisher : Blushhh, Inc.
- Version : 2.5.1
- Minimum software requirements : Android 4.0.3 and up
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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