Village-Safe Social for Family

App review by Debbie Gorrell, Common Sense Media
Village-Safe Social for Family Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Social tool gives parents oversight and kids some privacy.

iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android Free Social Networking
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Parents say

age 7+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

No reviews yet.

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  • Village Social App: Screenshot #2
  • Village Social App: Screenshot #1
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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this app.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Village-Safe Social for Family is a social networking app for iOS and Android devices. Kids need an email address to sign up and can do so without a parent account. The parental controls are fairly comprehensive, allowing parents to link with kid profiles so they can opt to monitor the number of messages sent each day and receive notifications when messages or images are flagged as inappropriate. Parents can also choose to block a kid's ability to follow hyperlinks received in messages. However, details of the flagged messages are not shared with parents, giving kids a certain level of privacy. This approach may work best with teens, as it may encourage parents to talk openly with kids about any issues that may arise while allowing kids to have a certain level of independence. When kids sign up independently and use it without oversight, it's best for teens, but the app is definitely appropriate for kids. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your kid’s information is collected, used, and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.

Community Reviews

Gramps6565
Gramps6565 Adult
January 12, 2020
age 5+

Great app. “Did you get my Village?”

I love the new Village app- it is a robust, easy way for me to text and share pictures and thoughts with family and friends all over the world. Most of all it is a very safe platform for my grand kids to allow them to experience the Internet without the predatory aspects. I love that the fact that i can upload pictures and rest assured that they will not persist or be shared elsewhere. When you upload a picture, you can set a time frame for when the picture will be available and then it is gone. The picture updates are one hour, one day one week or one month. It is an awesome app, very robust and fun to use. Now instead of saying "Did you read my text?" I say " Did you read my Village?".
GMACAA20
GMACAA20 Adult
January 12, 2020
age 7+

Village Social: the best app to keep in touch with your friends and family!

As a grandmother of six whose entire family uses the Village Social app, I take great comfort in the knowledge that the kids are safe from the adverse affects of traditional social media. It is very reassuring to know that Village does not have ads, vanity metrics or any adult content. We have so much fun sending gifs to each other and I appreciate that only kid-friendly gifs are available! During the past few months, my extended family and friends from across the country have become Village fans. Our favorite way to share pictures is via the Social Post- where you can select the length of time for your post (e.g. 1 hour to 1 month) and where you use your contact list to select exactly who will see these pictures. The Social Post is so easy and convenient to use that my sisters in the Midwest now have more pictures than they ever wanted of "Grandma Day". I love that the pictures disappear after a predetermined amount of time, so I am not contributing to my grandchildren's digital footprint. In my opinion, the best features of Village Social are: it can be used on multiple devices such as the family computer or a kindle, it's free, it's very easy to use and it provides a safe online environment for children.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
See all 3 parent reviews

What’s It About?

VILLAGE-SAFE SOCIAL FOR FAMILY offers parent and kid profiles, both of which require an email address to get started. But, if a parent creates the kid account, the kid account does not need an email address. It’s important to note that kids can set up an account without parent permission. They can connect with friends and family members who use the app, but they’ll need to search using an exact username, phone number, or email address. Kids can also send invites from other social and messaging apps or send an invite via text or email. Social posts, or "stories", automatically expire in an hour, a day, a week, or a month – whichever a user chooses. Parents can link with kid profiles and have access to a fairly comprehensive list of controls. The basics allow parents to be notified of new conversations, give kids permission to send and receive messages and edit their profiles, and set ratings for images (G, PG, etc.) Parents can also set daily limits on messages, receive alerts when kids receive new messages, and receive notifications about content that is flagged as inappropriate. Explicit images are blocked automatically; no parent account needed. There’s an insights section that shows a graphical display of daily total messages as well as a record of who a kid is messaging.

Is It Any Good?

This social networking tool offers many options in terms of parental controls, but since kids are given some privacy, they’ll need to learn to take charge of using it responsibly. It’s a refreshing change to see that public content and feeds are not allowed, nor are likes, follows, or streaks. Parents and kids should work together in order to fully benefit from the safety aspect of Village-Safe Social for Family. The actual content of messages and images isn't shared with parents, and kids can create an account without a parent profile. Although parents have the option to receive alerts, kids can opt to delete social posts within the hour. Therefore, it’s best suited for teens who have knowledge about the potential dangers of social networking and who have demonstrated responsible use of media in the past.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the pros and cons of using social networking apps like Village-Safe Social for Family. In what ways are they useful? What are some of the concerns?

  • Talk about how you will monitor kids’ use of the app. What are the expectations? What are consequences of sending inappropriate messages or overusing the app?

  • Encourage open conversations about socializing and the challenges of being a teen. How can we all use social networking in a responsible way? What questions do you have about using the app?

App Details

Our Editors Recommend

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