What Is The Best Texting App For Kids?

 

With all the dangers that exist online there is a strong need for safe messaging services. It is almost impossible to completely shelter your child but you can have some control over who they are messaging and when. This way your child can learn to be tech-savvy but can also be protected from anything inappropriate or dangerous. By the end of this article, you should be able to pick the best texting app for your child.

If you haven’t already given your child their own cell phone, tablet, or other devices yet, you should learn about the dangers of having a device.

Why Do Kids Use Messenger Apps?

Before we go into the different options out, there we need to understand why kids use messaging apps in the first place. I mean why can’t they just use the default applications on their phones? They can already send texts, make video calls and voice calls what more do they need?

– Privacy

These days kids know their parents can see their texts using monitoring technology like a cell phone spy app. By using private messaging apps, there is less likelihood of them being monitored so easily. These are some of the top private messaging apps that kids have been using.

– More Fun And Advanced Features

Unlike standard text messaging that comes with most devices, messaging apps have more advanced and enjoyable features. Some of these features include:

• • Location sharing
  • Read notifications
  • Free calling
  • Wuick reply
  • Scheduled messaging
  • Better selection of stickers, filters, and GIFs.

– Syncing Messages Between Devices

With the exception of iMessage, most default messaging apps are not able to be seen on multiple devices. With a third party messaging app, you can access this data from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Unlike iMessage, these devices don’t need to be made by the same manufacturer.

– Group Chat Across Different Operating Systems

Group chat is a useful and fun way to stay connected with multiple people in one thread. Unfortunately, it can get annoying when the people in the group all have different operating systems in their devices. The messages can show up as multiple threads from each individual in the group instead of in a single thread.  

 

What Texting Apps Are Popular Today?

These are the most used apps on the market right now and the ones your kids are most likely using.

Best Texting Apps For Android:

• • Chomp SMS – Third party messaging app that comes with advanced features and many customization options.
    • • Advanced features include pass code app lock, privacy options, scheduled SMS senders, stop a text while sending, backup, blacklisting, and signatures.

• • Pulse SMS – With high customization this app brings together all of the texts from multiple devices that you use.
    • • Paid subscription allows you to send and receive text messages from all your devices.
      • Advanced features include delayed SMS sending, advanced search, and spam blocking

• • Mood Messenger – Great alternative to WhatsApp but can also replace default SMS.
  • Textra SMS – Highly customized SMS experience.
    • • Quick replies, SMS blocking, SMS scheduling, dark, and  light and auto-night modes are some of the app’s advanced features.
  • WhatsApp Messenger – Considered the best texting app by many.
    • • Provides end-to-end encryption for privacy and security. However, make sure your phone and app are always updated, especially with issues like Pegasus.

• • Coffee – Designed specifically for Android Wear. This app has a great number of quick replies that are organized into categories which makes texting really fast and easy.

Best Texting Apps For iPhone:

• • Signal – Highly recommended when it comes to chat encryption and security.
    • • Recommended by Edward Snowden.
      • Military-grade encryption.

• • Viber – Has over 1 billion users worldwide.
    • • Color Coded encrypted messaging.
      • Self destructing chats.

• • Line – Very popular in Asia and has more than 600 million users.
    • • Encrypted chats.
      • Timeline feature similar to Facebook.

• • Telegram – Makers promise it will always stay free to use and claim to never try to generate revenue.
    • • Chat messages are secured with 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie-Hellman secure key exchange
      • Store chat history in the cloud.
      • Share files with no size limit.

Kid-Friendly Texting Apps

These are the messaging apps that are designed with your child’s safety in mind.

Facebook Messenger Kids

Facebook Messenger Kids gives parents control over almost everything on the app.

• • Every contact must be manually approved by the parents before kids can chat with them.
  • You can set a timer using sleep mode to limit your child’s usage of the app.
  • There is no way to hide or delete messages, so you can see how your child is using the app.
  • No ads or in-app purchases.
  • No need for a Facebook account.
  • Kid friendly emojis and stickers.

JusTalk Kids

JusTalk predates Messenger Kids, and was one of the first apps to use features like drawing in video calls. After gaining popularity, they launched JusTalk Kids with parental controls.

• • Doesn’t need phone number to work.
  • Rated higher than Messenger Kids in Google Play.
  • Passcode protected.
  • Cannot receive friend requests from strangers.
  • Won’t receive messages or calls from anyone parents haven’t approved.
  • Can block profiles.
  • No ads or in-app purchases.    

Google Hangouts

Using Google Family Link, you to create an account for a child under the age of 13 and set parental controls.

• • Set privacy to “Can’t send me invitations”, and strangers won’t be able to send friend requests.
  • Manually add specific friends and relatives to the account.
  • Individual messages cannot be deleted, but an entire chat history can. This isn’t perfect, but you know your child has something to hide if they do that.

Skype

Skype is the original video chatting app before Facetime. Just like Google Hangouts Skype has a similar method to protect your child.

• • Create a child account under your Microsoft account. Then, you provide it access to Skype.
  • Only people on their contact list can contact your child.
  • Certain information like age, date of birth, and gender are hidden on their profile.
  • Your child won’t show up on search results unless their name is an exact match.

By now you should have a much better understanding of the most popular messaging apps used, why people use them, and which ones are safe for your kids. Like I said earlier, it is impossible to completely shelter your kids but you can make an educated decision on which app you will allow them to use. To learn more about how you can monitor your kids online, take a look at the top 5 apps to spy on text messages.