Lumiya

Zift Advisory

The Lumiya app is a SecondLife client that allows users to navigate and carry out functions on their mobile device. Lumiya is available only for Android devices for $2.99 and is rated for users 16 years of age and older. This app features in-app purchases. The use of this app can be safe for older teens.

About Lumiya

In-App Purchases

None

Rating

Teen

What is Lumiya?

The Lumiya app is a SecondLife and OpenSim client that allows users to navigate and carry out functions on their mobile device with a 3D worldview.

Lumiya is available only for Android devices and can be purchased for $2.99 in the Google Play store. As SecondLife and OpenSim are games rated for users ages 16 years and older, the Lumiya app is rated for teens. This app features in-app purchases.

The Lumiya app is the answer for dedicated SecondLife players who wish to play on-the-go or wherever they are. As SecondLife does not have a mobile app, acting as a third-party app, Lumiya, fills that void and presents players with an adequate mobile option.

SecondLife is a multiplayer online role-playing-game where users assume an avatar (or identity) and traverse throughout the world, interacting with other users and essentially creating a second life for themselves.

While SecondLife does feature particular areas for “residents” ages 13-15, the game is meant for residents ages 16 years and older. It’s important to note that players ages 16-18 may only access the General area of SecondLife, while players ages 18 years and older may use any public space within the game.

This differentiation is significant to note because there are adult-only areas or worlds within SecondLife, which feature explicit, pornographic and mature content and resident interactions.

Is Lumiya safe for my kids?

Parents should be aware that SecondLife is a virtual reality “game" that is more appropriate for adults, or older teens at the bare minimum. This app is safe for older teens.

Parents should know that 16 year-olds will encounter strangers and chat and that audio chats are the preferred methods of communication. Children playing the game will come into contact with strangers and socialize with them making SecondLife a game that should be on every parent’s radar.

Many real-world relationships have been formed through participants’ avatars meeting and befriending one another in the virtual world, so strangers asking to meet up is not an uncommon occurrence.

As equally disturbing to the amount of time avid SecondLifers spend in-world is the amount of money residents spend to outfit themselves and their lives within the virtual world.

Parents should be careful to set firm spending limits for teens playing the game as the spending comes on top of a monthly subscription fee of $9.95. It should be noted that players merely wanting to explore the worlds of SecondLife can do so for free.

What the Lumiya app does is allow SecondLife players to play from anywhere with a mobile device, albeit with more limited features available to them, with the 3D view they’re used to using to traverse the virtual world. With Lumiya, SecondLife residents can send and receive instant messages with other residents, teleport to their favorite locations and worlds, participate in local chats, interact with objects, manage their inventory, and see, experience and navigate their virtual world in 3D.

Lumiya doesn’t pose much concern for parents, as it’s merely a third-party viewer for a game that parents should already know their child is playing. It is important to point out, however, that SecondLife no longer supports Lumiya as an approved third-party app and the app has not been updated since 2017.