Zift Advisory
The Viber app is a free messaging and calling app that connects people all over the world through an internet connection. This app can be found in the App Store and the Google Play Store and is rated for users 17 years of age and older. The Viber app features in-app purchases and advertisements. Viber is not safe for kids.
What is Viber Messenger: Chats & Calls?
The Viber app is a free messaging and calling app that connects people all over the world through an internet connection. Users are able to use a WiFi connection or a use data, but data charges may apply.
This app can be found in both the App Store and the Google Play Store and is rated for users 17 years of age and older. The Viber app features both in-app purchases and advertisements.
Once downloaded, users will be asked to confirm their phone number and their age. Users are asked only to input their age but the app will not allow you to proceed if you are younger than 16 years of age. Following this, users will be asked to allow notification, access to contacts and to your phone’s microphone for the calling feature.
From here users are free to get chatting both with their friends and public figures and brands. In order to chat with public figures and brands, users will receive a pop-up asking them to confirm that they are over the age of 13.
The Viber app offer a slew of a features including encrypted messaging, voice and video calls, group chats, self-destructing chats, GIFs and stickers, and more.
In-app purchases are in the form of credits that allow users to make calls to landlines and non-viber users. Users can choose to purchases in-app or through their iTunes account. Viber offers users to purchases either one time packs or subscription bundles that will renew weekly or monthly.
Is Viber Messenger: Chats & Calls safe for my kids?
Viber is not a safe app for kids and there are numerous features that may cause parents to worry.
Viber offers self-destructing chats which is worrisome because self-destructing chats could mean that users are trying to hide something. Parents will have no access to who their child has been messaging nor the topic of discussion and though this may be innocent for some kids, parents should beware of this feature.
Additionally, users are able to encounter strangers through the public discussions and through communities where kids can interact with any number of strangers, making them vulnerable to child predators as well.
Viber also includes a feature in which users can send money to other users, not something that parents will likely want their children to connect to their bank accounts. This feature can lead to some children making poor choices or getting into a bad situation with friends or strangers.
Parents, this is an app that you will likely want to keep your kids far from. While it does feature convenient messaging and calling features, there other apps available that will avoid the features that will cause you worry.
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