GREEN BAY — The Brown County Sheriff's Office is reminding parents to keep an eye on what their children are doing on their phones.
They posted an image from the National Sheriff's Association, noting 15 different cell phone apps that could pose danger to children, especially if they connect with the wrong person.
There are common apps like Snapchat and Tinder, ones most parents are aware of and know what they do, but there are other ones, like Calculator and MeetMe, that some parents might not know.
Sgt. Matthew Wilson with the Brown County Sheriff's Office says most apps allow users to see where other users are located. The verification processes can be easy to work around and it’s easy to pretend you're someone you aren't on the app. In some cases, using these apps can lead to human trafficking. He says it's easy for a child to say they're 18 if they aren’t, and predators are able to anonymously reach out to younger people.
“The parent, we always encourage to know the passcode so they can take a look at the phone once a week, once a day, and see what their kid is doing,” said Sgt. Wilson. “Obviously, children know how to use phones and manipulate things, again we encourage parents to look at what kinds of hidden apps there are."
He says one of those hidden apps is called Calculator, which looks like a normal calculator, but if you type in the right numbers, it takes you to hidden photos and videos the user and keep in the app without them being in the camera roll on the phone.
Sgt. Wilson says it's important to keep up with the most recent apps out there, even if that means searching "worst teen apps" on the Internet to educate yourself on what your child could be accessing.
