High-Risk Apps Parents Should Know About

When parents ask us which apps to worry about most, the honest answer is that there is no single "worst" app. Risk depends on how an app is used, who your child speaks to inside it, and the parental controls that have been set up. That said, certain platforms come up again and again in UK safeguarding reports - apps where strangers can contact children easily, where livestreaming or anonymous chat is normalised, or where spending and adult content sit one tap away from the home screen.

This page brings together the apps in our library with the strongest safeguarding signals. It is not a ranking of which app is "most dangerous" - that is rarely a useful question. Instead, treat it as a shortlist of apps that deserve a slower conversation, tighter privacy settings and, in some cases, a clear "not yet" from you.

Several recurring themes drive the risk profile of these apps: random pairing with adult strangers; livestreaming and gifting features that mix money with attention; private messaging that is hard to monitor; in-app purchases that quickly add up; and emotionally immersive AI companions that some children come to rely on. The Online Safety Act has raised the floor for what UK platforms must do, but it has not removed parents' responsibility to set expectations at home.

Five practical takeaways for parents:

• No app is "safe by default." Every platform below ships with settings that prioritise engagement, not safeguarding. Always check privacy options on day one.
• Age limits are a floor, not a ceiling. An app rated 13+ may still be unsuitable for a vulnerable 14-year-old. Decide on your child, not on the App Store label.
• Strangers find children through interests. Most contact risk does not come from a sinister-looking profile. It comes through gaming, fandoms and trending sounds.
• Livestreaming and gifting deserve special caution. The combination of real-time attention and small payments is uniquely persuasive for younger users.
• Plan an exit route. Children should know how to block, mute, screenshot and report - and that they will not lose the app if they do.

You can use this list as a starting point for a family conversation. Read the linked guide for each app, decide together what is and is not acceptable, and write the rules down. Our family agreement download gives you a printable template. If you are not sure where to begin with online safety, our parent journeys walk you through the conversations one step at a time.