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'Disappearing' apps: Why teens cover their online tracks
What is the common thread that ties apps like Snapchat and Burn Note together? A message sent through these apps disappears after the receiver has read it, which shows that teens are looking for ways to hide their digital footprints from prying eyes
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On Snapchat, teens can send photos, videos and text captions that will self-destruct after the receiver has seen them. (Shutterstock.com/focal point)
Teens use a wide range of social media platforms, but recently a common theme has gained popularity.
What is the common thread that ties apps like Snapchat and Burn Note together? A message sent through these apps disappears after the receiver has read it, which shows that teens are looking for ways to hide their digital footprints from prying eyes.
On Snapchat, teens can send photos, videos and text captions that will self-destruct after the receiver has seen them. However, the receiver can easily take a screenshot to preserve the message, something many users are unaware of. Burn Note is limited to text messages, but this app allows the sender to delete a sent message before the receiver has read it.
What draws teens to apps such as Snapchat and Burn Note? The disappearing message feature on both of these apps gives users a greater sense of freedom. Photos that teens would never think about posting on Facebook or Instagram for the world to see indefinitely are sent through Snapchat; as the message will disappear and therefore is seen as harmless.
(Read also: Why verbal harassment is more menacing than physical bullying)
Teens also feel like they need to escape the watchful eyes of their parents and other family members who, by this time, have probably joined Facebook and Twitter. Apps like Snapchat and Burn Note that make messages disappear allow teens to engage in behavior they wouldn’t want their parents to see; and that sometimes leads to serious trouble.
Two teens in Florida are now facing felony charges after filming and sending out a Snapchat video that showed them waving around a gun in their high school’s bathroom. Another case of teens misusing Snapchat occurred in California, where two teens now face charges for alleged terrorist threats, hate crime and criminal conspiracy. The two teens reportedly sent a Snapchat video of a noose around one of the teen’s necks, verbally threatening to kill an African-American classmate.
These two cases show the recklessness in which teens behave when they feel their messages are hidden from public view. So, just how many teens are hiding their online behavior? Many, it turns out.
In 2012, McAfee conducted a study to determine how many teens were hiding their online behavior from their parents, and how they chose to do it. Seventy percent of teens responded that they actively tried to hide what they do online from their parents, with the top methods being clearing the browser history, closing the screen when their parents walk in and hiding or deleting messages and videos.
(Read also: Oversharing isn’t caring: Consider this before posting about your kids online)
Although it’s only been a few years since this study was conducted, times have changed. Unfortunately, today teens’ techniques have become even more advanced. Instead of minimizing a screen or clearing the browser history, teens can now rely on hiding apps or media files from their phone with the help of certain apps.
Parents who check their child’s smartphone for inappropriate photos won’t be able to find them with the Vaulty app, for example, which allows users to store media files in a separate, password-protected location within the phone. If you try to break into Vaulty, the app quickly snaps a picture of you to report back to the phone’s owner.
As times change and teens’ methods to hide their behavior from parents continue to evolve, it is up to the parents to educate themselves about what their teens are doing online and protect them from making life-changing mistakes.
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Hilary Smith has writing in her blood and communications on her brain. This yoga enthusiast appreciates a daily workout and loves keeping time with two children. A mother by day and writer by night, Hillary keeps abreast of the latest tech apps as she focuses in on the field of digital parenting.
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