Here are some key things to keep in mind about Likee:
All profiles are automatically public. There is no way to make them private. Your location is automatically shared. The app has an abundance of graphic, sexualized content that is difficult to avoid. It’s way too easy to get into contact with strangers. This can lead to phishing scams and online abuse. Parental controls don’t work.
Moreover, the parental controls in the app are entirely ineffective. On top of that, you don’t need an account to gain access to the app, even though Likee has an official 16+ age restriction. Hence, anyone with a phone can become exposed to inappropriate videos. In this guide, we detail the risks that come with Likee, plus how to optimize the few safety settings that exist.
Is the Likee App Safe for Kids?
Unfortunately, the Likee app is not safe for kids at all. In theory, it’s a fun video-sharing platform that lets you browse short videos, upload your own posts, and connect with users based on shared interests. In reality, it’s a privacy nightmare that puts younger users in direct contact with strangers and exposes them to adult content without any sort of protective barrier in place. Likee has risky settings, lacks privacy protection, and hosts an over-abundance of explicit content. Moreover, any parental control options that the app offers are ineffective. While children must develop their digital literacy skills, an app like Likee won’t teach your kids any safe social media skills. In fact, the dangers of Likee go beyond the usual risks that social media can pose to young users (such as cyberbullying, increased stress and anxiety, and a negative self-image). New social media apps designed specifically for children are introduced each year, such as PopJam. Even YouTube has its own kids’ version, following in the footsteps of Facebook Messenger. And now Likee has joined the fray.
How Does Likee Work?
Like any other social network, Likee has evolved considerably over the years. On the outside, it appears to be a fun social media app that allows you to create videos with editing tools such as added filters, stickers, and music. Harmless, right? Unfortunately, no. In recent years, social media has become increasingly popular among younger users. Experts are worried about teenagers spending excessive time chatting on Discord or posting photos on Instagram. Likee, however, is a different beast altogether. First, let’s take a look at the mechanisms of creating an account, as well as the app’s privacy and default settings.
Creating an account
The official age restriction for Likee, as specified in the Privacy Statement, is 16+. In the App Store, however, Likee is categorized as a 12+ app. In the Google Play Store, this is 13+. Strikingly, as soon as you download Likee from the app stores, you can consume content, even without an account. In previous versions of the app, new users were able to indicate choices for personalized content. This feature has been removed. There is no age verification, either: you can immediately access the Likee feed that’s visible to everyone. Instantly, it became clear to us that this video-sharing app has no issue showing graphic content. Trying not to assume the worst, we looked through the feed. Unfortunately, all the videos were of the same character. And all of this was visible to us without an account. To create a Likee account, you can use your phone number, choose to connect Likee to your Facebook, Google, or Apple accounts, or create a new account. For this last option, you have to choose a username, enter your date of birth, and select your gender. Supposedly, you have to be 16 years or older to get into the uncensored Likee app. If you enter a younger date of birth, you are shown the following message: However, it’s easy enough to enter any date of birth you want. Moreover, as we found out, the “kid-friendly” version of Likee is just as bad as the regular one. Either way, the lack of age verification provides easy access for anyone. Once you’ve got an account, you are consistently asked to “complete” the process by linking it in one of the following ways, even when you opted out before. here are two important things to keep in mind:
Creating an account means you automatically agree to Likee’s terms of service and privacy policy. Unfortunately, Likee’s privacy policy is very invasive and allows the app to collect way more data than what’s necessary. On top of that, by linking your account to any other account, you give Likee access to all the personal information and contacts that go with it.
Once you start using the app, it quickly becomes clear that there are even more risks.
What Are the Dangers of Likee for Kids?
A quick Google search of Likee’s app reviews shows that many other people consider Likee to be an unsafe and risky app. We’ve listed the most prominent dangers below.
Inappropriate content
This app has no reservations about exposing kids to inappropriate content. The Likee Community Guidelines state that content that “engages in, promotes, or glorifies sexual seduction or sexual objectification” is prohibited. Additionally, they claim that they are “committed to the safety of minors” and “prohibit the publication of content that puts minors at risk.” Unfortunately, the For You page tells a different story. There’s suggestive language and sexualized content all over the app, to the extent that it’s actually impossible to avoid it. Within minutes of using the app, we’d seen dozens of explicit videos, many of them featuring teens posing and dancing in front of the camera in provocative ways. We didn’t even need an account to see this explicit content. On top of that, users can customize their feeds by searching for certain hashtags and filtering by gender. This puts underage girls, in particular, at a heightened risk of grooming and being exposed to harmful content.
Easy access to strangers
When it comes to finding friends on Likee, you can add them by syncing your contacts from your phone or other social media accounts. You can also share a personal QR code or scan someone else’s QR code. This might seem innocent enough. However, since it’s impossible to make your account private, any Likee user will be exposed to people they don’t know in real life. There’s a specific tab in “Messages” that shows other users who have seen your page. This type of environment is perfect for people who are looking to get in contact with young users. All over social media, online predators are flocking to platforms that are popular among kids and teens. Likee makes it exceptionally easy for them to take advantage of the lack of age verification. Besides sexual exploitation, continuous interaction with strangers online can also expose individuals to phishing or malware scams. For kids, the need for validation and the desire to get popular on social media won’t make them hesitate twice to add strangers to their contact lists. Since Likee has substandard reporting functions, it creates a risky online world.
Financial rewards
An additional risk for children is the fact that Likee allows in-app purchases and has a giving/receiving feature that allows users to exchange real money for virtual gifts. Likee refers to this in-app currency as “Diamonds/Beans.” You can buy these virtual gifts and send them to other users if you like their videos. The exchange rate is currently $1.00 for 210 Beans. This facilitates pathways for grooming and extortion. Teens on the app may be enticed by the prospect of making some money and not realize the potential consequences of what they post. Additionally, Likee uses a “level up” system, where the more you share videos, the more followers you have, and the more Diamonds you send and receive, the more recognition you get. Teens are easily tempted by the promise of going viral, which might lead them to post riskier content than they might be comfortable with.
Ineffective parental controls
In an attempt to give the Likee app a final chance, we enabled “Parental Controls.” Likee claims that enabling the parental control feature will filter out inappropriate video content and disable private messaging and cash withdrawals. You have to set a passcode and change this every seven days to keep your child from changing the settings. Unfortunately, the parental controls made no difference whatsoever. In fact, we got the exact same feed as we did previously. What’s worse is that we could easily change the settings back to normal without ever using the passcode. In other words, this feature is completely useless.
How to Keep Kids Safe on Likee
After testing the app for ourselves, it’s become extremely clear that Likee is not an app for kids. We don’t recommend letting your children use it. However, if you find that your kids are already using it or want to create an account, anyway, it’s best to take a few precautions.
1. Use the app first before letting your children try it
If your child wants to be on Likee, make sure you understand how the app works and what the different features are. You can download the app and try it for yourself. That way, you know exactly what to talk to your children about.
2. Practice general internet safety
It’s important that your child develops a degree of independence in their digital life. This is best done by practicing general internet safety. To improve your child’s online habits, talk to them about privacy concerns, data collection, and what is and isn’t appropriate to post. Additionally, make sure they understand the risks of talking to people they don’t know in real life. Rather than forbidding them from going on social platforms completely, explain to them how they can do so in a safer way. Build mutual trust.
3. Change the privacy settings
The default settings on the Likee app are very unsafe for children and put users’ privacy at risk. Since you can’t have a private account, we recommend changing certain settings in order to improve your safety:
Make sure that your location is not visible on your profile. Disable the feature that recommends your account to others. Prevent people from being able to save or screenshot your content.
4. Set boundaries and time limits
When it comes to any social media platform, it’s generally a good practice to come to an agreement with your child about how and when they are allowed to use the app. For example, they can only use the app for 20 minutes, and they have to be in the same room as you. While the screen time specifics depend on your child and your family dynamic, it’s good to try and find a way of using the app that you can both agree on. This is often more effective than outright banning the app.
5. Consider a parental control app
While we don’t always recommend parental control apps due to the way they can make children feel spied on, an app like Likee might require it. It’s best to be open with your child about why you’re using an external parental app to keep an eye on them. Reach an agreement with your kids, and make them feel included rather than monitored. Being familiar with internet safety tips is essential, especially for children.
Deleting Your Likee Account
Of course, deleting your Likee account is the best thing you can do. Unfortunately, this isn’t a straightforward process, either. This is why we’ve included a step-by-step process to help you out. Here’s what you need to do to delete your Likee account: Make sure to check after one week whether this is really the case. If not, you may want to follow up with customer support.
The Bottom Line: Is Likee Safe for Kids?
The simple answer is no. Likee has been made out to be a rival of the popular video-sharing platform TikTok. Though TikTok users face different challenges, in our experience, Likee is much more dangerous for kids and teenagers. Here’s our round-up:
The privacy settings are sub-par. It’s way too easy for strangers to get in touch with minors. It’s very difficult to get past the amount of sexual content on the app. Likee drives users towards in-app purchases. The parental control tools are absolutely ineffective.
All in all, we can’t recommend Likee as an app for young users as there are too many privacy concerns. If you’re looking for more information on kids and social media, you can take a look at the following articles:
The Ultimate Guide to TikTok: Is TikTok Safe for Kids Is Snapchat Safe for Kids: Advice for Parents Is Instagram Safe for Kids: What Parents Need to Know
What stands out about Likee is that it’s not possible to have a private account. The default privacy settings make it very easy to get into contact with strangers. Additionally, there is a lot of graphic content on the app. The content on Likee is predominantly sexual and graphic. Even when you activate parental controls, this content is still visible. Additionally, the content on Likee is less varied than on TikTok: it really is an app that’s overflowing with graphic, inappropriate content.
