Parents' Guide to IMVU

Website http://www.imvu.com
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Common Sense Media Review

Common Sense Media By Common Sense Media , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Sophisticated chat world has sexual content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 154 parent reviews

Parents say that the platform has become increasingly unsafe for children, highlighting numerous concerns over its inappropriate content, lack of effective moderation, and predatory behavior from users. Many reviewers express frustration with the poor customer service and biased moderation practices, leading to instances of banning without justification, making it clear that it's not a wise choice for youngsters.

  • unsafe for children
  • predatory behavior
  • poor customer service
  • inappropriate content
  • ineffective moderation
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 154 parent reviews
age 15+

Based on 217 kid reviews

 

 

See all 217 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What's It About?

IMVU combines a downloadable chat program and an online social networking site that includes user profiles, messaging, groups, and other common social features. Chat rooms are rendered in 3-D, and users create avatars that can chat and perform different actions. A basic membership is free and comes with a limited number of credits, which can be used to buy avatar-related items. For about $10 a month, users can upgrade to VIP status, which gives them access to a wider variety of features, enabling them to create and host chat rooms, sell virtual goods, and more.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 154 ):
Kids say ( 217 ):

IMVU gives users lots of options when it comes to avatars, rooms, and groups, but its most complex, unique features are limited to those who pay for VIP membership. Only VIPs can create content like rooms and virtual goods to sell. IMVU uses a strong verification process to keep users under 18 from getting the adult Access Pass, but there seem to be cracks in the system that allow adult content to filter out into public areas, making the site iffy for users under 18.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Internet safety and establish rules for using the site safely and responsibly. What are the potential pitfalls of sharing personal information online? What kind of information is off-limits?

  • Why are some virtual worlds better for kids than others?

Website 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

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