Firework: A New Way to Watch

An elegant, user-friendly interface and easy-to-use editing tools make this one of the better video creation apps out there, but there are still some risks for teens. You can make short-form videos with music, text, and visual effects, but other apps let you do that. This one's patented "REVEAL" technology also lets you shift between horizontal and vertical video just by turning your phone. Used intelligently, it's pretty nifty (used randomly, it's stomach-turning). Uploading and sharing videos is easy, and the absence of likes and commenting minimizes the negativity and creepiness video makers receive. That said, users can still message you directly, but it's easier -- and more desirable to teens who want feedback -- to block or report specific users than to turn off comments entirely.

If you're more of a browser than a creator, easy swipe controls let you comb through different categories, or you can search for specific subjects by people, hashtag, or music. One cool feature: If you like the music someone uses on a video, you can hit View Soundtrack and see what the song's called and even save it to your Favorites. However, the app's music library isn't exactly packed with Top 40 hits. In fact, it seems to be made up mostly of work by composers who make royalty-free music or by unknown (possible up-and-coming?) indie artists. All told, the app is well-organized and functions well, but it suffers from the same safety issues so many social media apps do. Though the content that's served up on the surface is pretty tame, there's a decent number of "sexy" videos if you dig in a bit further, with young women in skimpy clothes or performing suggestive dances. And though the app's meant for users over the age of 13, there are definitely users younger than that. Because of this, Firework: A New Way to Watch is a good app for you and your kids to make short-form videos, but only if you keep kids younger than 13 away from it and keep a close eye on the content that older kids create.