Common Sense Media Review
30-second videos with cool features; no comments, likes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Firework: A New Way to Watch
Parent and Kid Reviews
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
FIREWORK: A NEW WAY TO WATCH is a freemium social media app with some similarities to TikTok that lets you create 30-second videos in both vertical and horizontal format, just by turning your phone. It also contains filters that let you add visual and time effects to your videos, as well as music (from an existing library of songs) and text. Tools also let you "collaborate" with other users indirectly by splitting or editing their videos or making screen-in-screen videos of you reacting to them. Videos can be posted to the app and shared across a wide range of the most popular social media apps, but there's no "Like" option or comments -- only "Not Interested" or "Share." The app asks you a series of questions to determine your interests, and then curates videos related to them. You can browse videos by swiping left and right, or search by creator or hashtag. You can also follow other users, message them directly, and share their profiles. Sponsored Challenges encourage you make videos regarding specific subjects and buy products from third-party vendors using a "Buy Now" button.
Is It Any Good?
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about age-appropriate content on Firework: A New Way to Watch and similar apps. Do your kids understand what kinds of videos are right for them to create and share?
Think about how your kids share online. Do you know which apps they have on their phone and whether they're old enough to use those apps?
Discuss contacting strangers online. Do your kids know what to do if a stranger messages them directly?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : April 3, 2018
- Genre : Photo & Video
- Publisher : Loop Now Technologies, Inc.
- Version : 5.2.1
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 11.0 or later; Android 5.0 and up
- Last updated : September 30, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate