Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Social network adds a few good privacy tweaks for teens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 12 parent reviews
Based on 38 kid reviews
Kids say that while the app offers a fun and interactive experience similar to other social media platforms, it also has significant drawbacks, including inappropriate content and a community plagued by trolls. Reviews emphasize the importance of monitoring young users, as privacy concerns and exposure to unsuitable material can arise if not handled carefully.
- fun experience
- privacy concerns
- inappropriate content
- community issues
- monitoring required
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Is It Any Good?
Google+ attempts to improve on Facebook's friend concept, incorporates Twitter-ish features, and includes group video and chat features with Hangouts. Privacy settings are customizable, and the core idea is that circles give users more control about what they share and with whom. While Google+ makes it easier to group contacts into Circles, it's still somewhat difficult to navigate, and teens haven't flocked to the site as some had speculated.
Initially, the inclusion of teen users on Google+ raised a lot of questions about how teens might use the site: How would each specific feature play out (will people like instant video chat or find it intrusive)? Would the teen privacy, safety, and education features be effective in creating a safer, more teen-appropriate social networking environment than others? How would the data sharing across Google services affect the teen experience concerning marketing and advertising? And, of course, would Google+ grow to become Facebook's top social network rival?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about social networking sites and teens. Parents will need to stay updated on the status of Google+'s teen use policy and new features, as these will change in upcoming months.
Parents may want to consider getting a Google+ account of their own before it opens to teen users to learn about the privacy settings and other ins and outs of the tool.
One of the main features of Google+ is the group video chat capability. Read our video chatting tips.
Website Details
- Genre : Social Networking
- Pricing structure : Free
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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