Marco Polo can be considered as an instant messaging system that is actually based on videos. In this app, the child can add friends and engage themselves in video messaging like apps like Snapchat. You can get into the app by signing up with their name, phone number, and email address. The app will use the information and the child can connect to all those people who are already using the app. In this app, the messages are sent as soon as possible and the recipient can view and respond to it as soon as they receive it. Kids find it a fun activity but there are hardly any safety features in it.
Marco polo app is an instant messaging app that appears on the home page. You can find many squares in it and each square indicates a single person or group of chatters. The conversation starts when you click on any square. Conversation can be done with one person at a time or many people ay one go. There are numerous features that are built into the interface of the app. If your child is using it then they can easily use the filters on the videos and change their voice as well. Apart from that they can even add text and draw on the video. Once you complete a conversation then you will find that the app stores the conversations for an undetermined amount of time on the servers and whoever wants can watch the videos of the past.
On the respect of the security and safety of the app for children, it is like many other apps that allow the users to have communication with others by providing their contact information. That’s the reason any stranger or online predators can use the information for harassing the child. That means there is no way to seek out strangers who are not in the user’s contact list. Though there is a number of kids who hand out their user names and emails on other sites and that is the technique that online predators use to gain access to more children. The app itself does not create a problem for the child but it is the users of the app which may create a problem for the child by sending something inappropriate to them.
Such messaging apps can bring out the worst in teens because it feels more private than social media so it is essential that parents take proper care of the children when they are using such apps. They have to ensure that you are aware of all the apps that they are using otherwise you will not have an idea about the types of hazards they may encounter. When you make use of the Marco Polo app then that can drain the battery, make sure your child plans ahead about that and has a fully charged phone before leaving the house. There are numerous videos and personal information that is stored by Marco Polo on the app but the privacy policy is not clearly mentioned on it.
If your child is using the Marco Polo app then first of all check that your children have a firm understanding of what is appropriate to send in a video or chat message, even if it’s with their friends because sometimes by exchanging inappropriate content your child may get into problem. You may remind your teen that their friends can screenshot their videos and post them to other social media channels so they must be careful while having a conversation.
As there are lots of apps that are there so it becomes the responsibility of the parents to keep your child safe while using apps like Marco polo. As it is the app by which children can easily get connected to online predators who can take advantage of this well-meaning form of communication. It is necessary that you always review your child’s activity and app usage. You should use the app to familiarize yourself with how it works so that you can easily check the chat history in the app and review older videos, making monitoring past conversations quite simple. When you allow your child to use the app always ensure they are aware of how the app works and who are able to see their activity. If you teach the child what is appropriate to share on the app then there is a chance that you can prevent online hazards to some extent.
Apart from having a proper conversation, you must monitor your child. Using a monitoring app ensures that you are aware of all the safety concerns that arise during your child’s online activity. Marco Polo allows its users to find their friends who already use the app by requesting access to the user’s phone contacts. On the homepage, there are rows of squares where each one is a different contact or group of contacts that users can click and start a video chat. While starting a video chat, you can see their chat history and tap on old videos to watch them again. If anyone of the group can watch videos in the chat history, even if they weren’t the person that created the video or uploaded the video. Not only that users of the app can even filter their videos and filter their voice to a lower pitch or sound like a robot.
If your child wants to have a day out with the friends then make sure that you are aware of the location that they are going to visit. The best thing that every parent must do is install a parental monitoring app on the device of the child so that you are aware of their online activities as well as you easily check their whereabouts. The monitoring app like iKeyMonitor also allows you to block inappropriate apps and games which can bring problems for your child.