Parents' Guide to Marco Polo - Video Chat

Marco Polo - Video Chat Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Chris Morris By Chris Morris , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Video messaging more fun and personal than text.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 13+

Based on 26 parent reviews

Parents say this app is highly effective for staying connected with family and friends, especially across distances and time zones, fostering deep and meaningful relationships. However, some users have reported privacy concerns and technical issues, including unwanted contact invitations and subscription disputes, detracting from the overall experience.

  • effective communication
  • family connection
  • privacy concerns
  • technical issues
  • subscription disputes
  • user-friendly app
Summarized with AI

age 6+

Based on 4 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Data are not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Data are not shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
  • Data are collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
  • Data are not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.

What's It About?

Users of MARCO POLO - VIDEO CHAT can stay in touch with friends (and anyone else on their contact lists), exchanging video messages in real time or when it's convenient. For example, one user can send a video message, and the recipient can respond when it works for them, continuing the conversation. In contrast to FaceTime or Skype, where users have to be present at the same time, this app lets users have a video conversation on a delay. To spice things up, you can add filters to the videos and add text messages and doodle on-screen. Users can also easily create groups for group video chats.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 26 ):
Kids say ( 4 ):

Creating group video chats across platforms can be tricky, but this app makes it easier. Teens can create video chat with individuals or leave video messages for friends to view later. The notable advantage with Marco Polo - Video Chat is the ability to watch videos from your contacts at your leisure, which can help people on different schedules connect more easily. And the conversation is archived, so you can go back and rewatch it whenever you'd like without searching for a video on your device. Parents will want to ensure they know everyone in their child's contact list and talk about limits around how many messages are OK to send and when to send them.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what's appropriate to share using Marco Polo - Video Chat -- even with friends. What's fun and interesting to send?

  • Talk about the advantages of in-person communication versus text and video clips. Though the app allows people to see body language and hear tone of voice, how is sharing through video different from a real-life conversation?

  • Discuss using this type of app in balance with other forms of communication and other activities. What are your family's limits on device use?

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

Marco Polo - Video Chat Poster Image

You May Also Like...

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