Omegle is a free chat platform that connects two complete strangers. Each person could be from a completely different part of the world.
The benefits of using Omegle kids are they can learn about different cultures, make friends, improve their social skills, and many more. While all this is good, do you as a parent feel safe about the idea of your kid talking with a complete stranger?
It’s a very valid question to ask because in the age of digital world crimes such as cyberbullying, identity theft, hacking, and leak of private information in all forms, text, video, and audio are pretty common.
We’re going to answer this question by giving you all the details about the safety of kids on Omegle. Read them all thoroughly and decide whether or not your kid should use this platform.
Why should parents be concerned with Omegle?
In this section, we’re going to give you all the reasons why you as a parent should be concerned about your kids’ safety. In the next section, we’re going to tell you all the precautions you can take for protecting your kid.
Online Predators
One important Omegle safety tips is to be aware of predators. Predators understand the technology very well, and they are good at misleading people. If they’re good at misleading grown ups, just think how easy it would be for them to get a gullible kid to give an address, credit card, etc.
Hackers
Any information that is available online isn’t completely safe. Although Omegle doesn’t allow its users to upload images and videos in public, (which makes the platform safe) it does autosaves all chats.
Hackers can get their hands on these chats which could contain private images or videos that can be used for blackmailing and cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is not uncommon on Omegle. Actually, it’s not uncommon on most dating apps. The reason for this is the ease of use. Most dating and chatting apps are designed for better user experience, and for that the companies have made the app easy to use.
Bad people do use this platform, and some of them are good at forcing or bullying kids into a chat with them. It’s not rare for kids to get bullied for their appearance or personality. You cannot specifically protect your kids on Omegle from cyberbulling, therefore it is a good idea to forbid Omegle completly.
Adult Content
Use of adult content is very common on Omegle. Many use sexual language that can be very inappropriate for kids. Plus, pornogrophy and sharing sex-related issues are pretty common. Therefore Omegle is not for kids.
Nudity
As we covered in the previous point, sharing of adult content is pretty common. This isn’t only restricted to porn videos. There are pedophiles that join the platform for fulfilling their sex fantasies with minors.
That’s the worst-case scenario with nudity. The good thing is this one is rarely the case. But offensive language and double meaning nasty talks are very common. Again, the most important Omegle safety tip is to protect your kids from the chat in the first place.
Data Leaks
While Omegle says their chats are anonymous, some studies suggest otherwise. They say that Omegle saves the private chats in their web-server. If that’s the case, then someone who is familiar with the structure of the website can use a good bug-hunter to find the so-called private chats.
Violence
As we’ve covered before, sexual abuse is not uncommon at all on Omegle. It’s almost a guarantee that your kid will interact with someone, let’s just say with bad manners.
If that person uses violent or threatening language with your kid, the chances of your kid having a traumatic experience are not very low. If this is the case with your kid he/she may keep these awful memories with them for years or maybe even decades.
These were all the potential dangers you can expose your child to on Omegle. By reading these potential dangers, it should be obvious that Omegle is not a place for people under 18.
If you’ve noticed your kid talking about Omegle, there is a good chance that your kid will use this site, and of course they can use it without asking for your permission.
In the next section, we’re going to talk about how to make sure your kid doesn’t use Omegle behind your back. We bet you’re thrilled to read the next section, so let’s get to it.
Parental Control
There are two things you can do to prevent your kids from using Omegle. One is to make them aware of the dangers of using the website.
For this approach you don’t have to talk with them as a parent only, but you’ll have to talk to them as a friend as well. We’ll dig into details later.
The second thing you can do is install a parental app on their phone that allows you to decide what apps the kids can download and what apps should be banned. Some of the best parental control app for android are FamiSafe, Kaspersky Safe Kids, Norton Family Parental Control or FamilyTime.
Now that you’ve got an idea about what to do, let’s get into the details.
Use a parental control app
Downloading a parental control app on your phone and your kid’s phone will help you keep an eye on what your kids install. Furthermore, you can decide to block certain apps so your kids can’t download them. But please be aware that online chats like Omegle can be accessed by browsers. Please be aware, there is no official Omegle app, which you can simply block.
There are many more features a parental control app can give you access to. You can select the amount of time your kids can spend on the internet, you can select a specific time for when the internet becomes available, and more.
These are some of the best parental control apps available in the Play Store. Qustodio, Net Nanny, and Norton Family.
While parental control apps can be very beneficial for your kids’ safety, we only recommend using them if your kid is being 100% unreasonable.
We highly recommend using a parental app, especially using multiple features, as a last resort. The reason for this is your kid deserves privacy and hard actions such as what’s stated above can make some kids very rebellious or resentful.
In the next section, we’re going to talk about the more lenient approach. It involves communication.
Communicate with your kids
Sit down with your kid and have an in-depth conversation about the topic. Be polite but also firm and tell them every detail about why using such a platform can be extremely harmful for them and the family.
Walk them through each step in as detail as possible, because the more they can see the harm in that behaviour, the more likely they are to ignore it.
If your kid is not too young and is somewhere around the age of 15, they might make a not so bland argument about using a platform. They may try to convince you by promising that they will be extra careful.
You can turn them down completely, but as we mentioned earlier, you should use a more friendly approach, because if your kid is 15 years old and they feel like they have no say in their behaviours, they could create a very resentful mindset which can be extremely bad for their life and growth.
This is why, before taking a tyrannical approach, it’s best to solve the problem in a civil manner. So if they believe they can handle such platforms, if they’re being extra careful, tell them that they’re only allowed to do it if you get to be with them as well.
The point is to tackle all the problems in a positive and soft manner first.
We’ve covered everything that needs to be covered in this post. If you’ve found the post helpful, feel free to share it. Plus, if you’d like to ask any questions or share your own thoughts as a parent, go straight to the comment section.