Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Flirting app aims for safety, but it's still risky business.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Skout
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?
When using the dating app SKOUT, teens who set up an account can then view other teens, specifying an interest in male, female, or both. They can post to the buzz feed, comment on others' posts, add pictures, and private-message others. They'll get notifications when other teens near their geographic area join, and they can search other areas by cashing in points. They receive notification when someone "checks" them out but must pay points to see who it was. Teens earn points through activity -- creating a profile, uploading pics, and logging on -- or by downloading advertised apps.
Is It Any Good?
Compared to some social media targeting teens, Skout is more PG-13 than NC-17, probably due to increased moderation. Still, it's not perfectly safe, and parents and teens might want to communicate about the potential dangers of any meet-up app. The developer's blog indicates that newer safety measures implemented in 2012 would have required logging in through Facebook to provide a social verification of age, but that isn't the case. The posts, though peppered with harsh language, are mostly tame, flirtatious, and complimentary. And note that since the teen portion of Skout is intended to be teen-only, parents don't have the option of following their kids and seeing what they or their friends are posting.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about guidelines for safe social networking and staying safe online. What information should you keep private?
Review and discuss the Skout safety information, in the app or online, including tips for meeting offline.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : December 5, 2014
- Genre : Social Networking
- Publisher : Skout, Inc.
- Version : 4.5.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 6.0 or later; Android varies
- Last updated : September 26, 2024
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