Is the Wizz app safe? Wizz app reviews for parents
Overview
Recommended age: 17 years
You may not want to install the following app on your child’s device: the Wizz app. It’s designed to be a place to make online friends anytime, anywhere. Just like dating apps, you’ll see other people’s profiles and have the option to slide them away or swipe to start a conversation. The app claims to be for users over the age of 13, and they even try to verify your age when creating an account (more on that later). But there are more than enough reasons why this app is best suited for the mature crowd.
Harmful Content😲
Wizz tries to encourage a positive environment and claims that anyone who violates its guidelines will be banned. Unfortunately, however, harmful content is easy to spot. Users can expect content that includes profanity, sexual content, violence, drug/substance content, and more. While the app is not marketed as a dating app, it seems that many people are using it in this way. This means that some people’s profile pictures are obviously pornographic and inappropriate, and chat conversations can quickly turn into sexting. As for drug content, it’s common to see users smoking and implying it with emojis like “🌿🔌” (meaning drug dealer).
Predation🚨.
When you download Wizz, it asks for your age and includes a notice that says only people over 13 can use the app. Wizz will then verify your age by scanning your face with artificial intelligence technology to make sure you look the age you gave. According to Wizz’s privacy policy, this allows users to be placed in “clusters” and matched with “people of the appropriate age. In other words, minors and adults won’t be able to chat with each other. That actually sounds good, right? Well, there are still some problems.
Age verification is certainly a step in the right direction – more than we can say for countless other apps! However, no matter how you think about it, using AI to scan faces isn’t foolproof – or better yet, child-safe. There are too many variables. What if a child looks older than they actually are? What if an adult looks younger than his or her actual age? What stops the AI from tricking the AI by placing another face in front of the camera for scanning? Can the AI detect whether the scan is of a real face or a picture of a face? So while we applaud attempts at validation, we can’t recommend that parents rely solely on this feature to protect their children.
Needless to say, the risk of predation is huge.The whole purpose of Wizz is to chat with strangers – and with no guarantee of accurate age verification – phishing, luring, and ultimately online sexual abuse are all possibilities.
Just in time 💙.
Making online friends isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a daunting task when there are so many dangers to be aware of and avoid. For kids, Viz doesn’t seem to have any worthwhile benefits.
Privacy🔒
To create an account on Wizz, you must sign in with a Google account or Apple account. You must create a username and upload a picture. The biggest concern is the default setting, which shows your location in your profile, although it can be turned off in the settings. Additionally, Wizz’s privacy policy explains what information is collected, stored, or shared.
Parental controls ✅
Wizz doesn’t have any parental controls, but Bark fills that gap!
With Bark, you can:
Block Wizz completely if needed.
Manage the time your child has access to Wizz throughout the day.
Receive an alert if your child tries to download it.
So, should my child download it?
Bark does not recommend that parents allow their children to use Wizz.There are too many dangers associated with the app involving harmful content and predation.