For parents5 min read
A parent's checklist for choosing a social media app
Before your teen signs up for another app, these ten questions tell you more than any review will — and most of them can be answered in a couple of minutes.
Check the design, not just the content
Content moderation matters, but design decides how much content a young person is exposed to in the first place. These four questions can be answered in about two minutes with the app open.
- Does the feed end, or does it scroll forever?
- Does video autoplay, or does it wait for a tap?
- Are like counts public, so every post becomes a visible score?
- Is the audience for a post chosen before it is published?
Check the defaults
Most people never change a setting. What matters is the state a young person lands in on day one, before anyone has adjusted anything.
- What is visible by default — posts, profile, contact list?
- Do younger accounts get a more protected experience than adult accounts?
- Can strangers start a conversation without an invitation?
Check the business model
If attention is the product, time-on-app is the metric everything else is designed around. It is worth knowing how an app pays for itself before your teen signs up.
- Is the app funded by advertising?
- Are there purchases, subscriptions or in-app currencies aimed at young users?
Check age and accountability
App Store age ratings describe content suitability. They are not the same as an app's minimum registration age, which is set out in its terms. Check both.
- What is the stated minimum account age in the terms?
- Who does the company work with on youth safety and age assurance?
- Is there a clear way to report a problem and get a human response?
How Tribela answers the checklist
Tribela accounts are for ages 13 and over. The feed has an end, video does not autoplay, there are no public like counts, and every post's audience — Only You, Connections or Public — is chosen before it is shared.
Tribela is free to download and free to use, with no advertising. Moderation weighs age, context and risk, with AI-supported systems alongside human review. We work with K-ID on youth compliance and age assurance in the UK and Australia, and Tribela was incubated at Oxford University Innovation.