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Parents' Guide to

Hive Social

By Chris Morris, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Instagram imitator with full-frontal nudity.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Free Social Networking
Hive Social Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Hive Social App: Screenshot #1
  • Hive Social App: Screenshot #2
  • Hive Social App: Screenshot #3

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

The design and user experience of HIVE SOCIAL is a lot like Instagram. You scroll downward through visual elements based on your friends list or subjects of interest. The app strives to be a place where everyone is welcome -- and it displays that in its browsable topics, which include Anime Fans, LGBTQ+, Crafts and DIY, Health, Celebrities, and Tech/Science. Rather than following an algorithm, it displays new posts in chronological order and doesn't limit itself to visual elements, letting users pick personalized songs that play when users visit your page. The app also encourages users to monetize their pages, which has made it popular with influencers, who can post links in their caption (along with hashtags, of course), and users can comment with sites they want to promote.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This social media platform is supportive of underrepresented communities, but its "anything goes" attitude might feel unsafe to some. The addition of music to pages is a unique feature. It's not forced on visitors (they have to actively choose to listen -- and they'll need an Apple Music subscription as well), but it's a new way to express yourself. That said, full-frontal nudity and pictures of erections and bodily fluids make it an automatic no-go for kids. The sexually explicit anime photos add to its mature status, as does strong language and substance use. Letting people comment with links and encouraging clicking from posts could lead to all sorts of security issues, and users include handles to their other profiles, which is risky. All in all, it's definitely not for kids.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what's appropriate to post publicly on Hive Social -- and how anything posted online can follow you through the rest of your life.

  • Talk about communities. Where are some good places to find people with similar interests?

  • Discuss the mature content in the app: Why do people post nude pictures? Are some people selling those pictures via the app? How can you avoid seeing those pictures?

App Details

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 suggesting a diversity update.

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