worst apps Archives | Cool Mom Tech

Is the FaceApp safe? Read these tips from experts first.

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Photo Apps, Tips and Tricks

Our social media feeds are blowing up photos from the FaceApp, thanks to the new FaceApp Challenge, but is it safe? If you’e missed the buzz, this hilarious (ish) app lets you upload a photo to the app, then edits it using AI filters so you can see how...

Here’s what I learned after letting my tween daughter use TikTok (formerly Musical.ly)

by Kristen Chase | Fun Apps

Feeling inspired by Jordan Shapiro’s interview on NPR with our former Spawned guest Anya Kamanetz, and reading his book for our upcoming interview with him on Spawned, I decided to let my tween daughter give TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) a try. I’ve decided...

Apps parents should know: The Burnbook app, bringing Mean Girls to a school near you. UPDATED.

by Julie | Internet Safety

See below for a breaking update about the Burnbook app If you haven’t yet heard of the Burnbook app, it’s the latest anonymous social app that’s causing a stir among teens and parents and even law enforcement around the country. Next in our series of...

The Frozen Games online that you want your kids playing, never.

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety

It’s been a whole year since we discovered unlicensed Plastic Surgery Barbie apps for kids that made wonder what the freaking heck is wrong with people, and now, hooray! Here comes another series of games to file under Kids Games That Make Us Want to Scream WTF,...

Web Coolness: Big Minecraft news, the worst apps for privacy, and geeky DIY snowflake patterns that will amaze you.

by Cool Mom Staff | Link Roundups

Here are some of our favorite tech links from around the web this week. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. These geeky holiday cards (like the one pictured above from shopsaplingpress) are cracking us up. Is your privacy at risk? You’ll want to check...

The Barbie Plastic Surgery App and the other worst apps for kids on iTunes from Corina Rodriguez

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety

This week, parents–and anyone else with an iota of common sense–expressed outrage over the discovery of the Barbie Plastic Surgery App, whose name was soon changed to Barbara for legal reasons. As for ethical changes? Not so much. The app, rated for kids...

Aaaand the Snapchat copycat apps are here with the Selfie.im App

by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety

As if we haven’t already learned that everything lasts for ever, even a selfie on Snapchat, another app developer is pushing boundaries with a copycat version though this one gives the user a little more control. Presumably. If you have kids on social media this...

What is SnapHack? It’s the reason we warned parents about Snapchat.

by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety

Just a few weeks ago, we featured four apps kids are using that parents should know about, and noted that SnapChat was decreasing in popularity–which gives us a small sigh of relief. But with a brand new app release this week, we’re thinking kids might...

4 apps kids are using that parents really should know about

by Julie | Internet Safety

Parenting tweens and teens is challenging enough, but the prevalence of tech in most kids’ lives makes it that much more important for parents to try and stay one step ahead. Where safe internet browsing was once our biggest concern, now smart phones and social...

Talking to your kids about the Snapchat App. A.K.A. “The Sexting App.” (Eek.)

by Cool Mom Staff | Internet Safety

This morning, our editor Liz Gumbinner talked to the TODAY Show about the pitfalls of SnapChat, the most popular app you’ve probably never heard of. But you should. Especially if you’re the parent of a teen. Also known as the “sexting app,”...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

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