Online Predators Are Using WhatsApp to Lure Kids. What to Do?

Have you ever seen your kid engrossed in texting on their mobile phone? Have you ever caught them off guard while they are occupied chatting with someone on WhatsApp? Did you ever try finding out who they are texting with? Well, if you are unaware of their online activities especially WhatsApp chats, you might be too late to protect your kids from impending danger.

It is true that kids and teens can be exposed to several online dangers while they are using social media and instant messaging apps. Instant messaging apps like WhatsApp have become widely popular among kids. Almost every other kid owns a smartphone now and has an account on WhatsApp.

They use the app to connect and communicate with their friends either via individual or group chats. Group chats are quite popular on WhatsApp as they allow multiple people to exchange their thoughts and ideas under one roof. However, the same WhatsApp group chats can also expose your kid’s contact number to online predators. A WhatsApp spy iPhone or Android can help keep track of your kid’s WhatsApp conversations.

In this post, we will understand why online predators are using instant messaging apps like WhatsApp to target young and innocent kids and how parents can protect their kids from this severe online danger. Let’s find out.

Online Predators Using WhatsApp to Trap Kids

It is a well-known fact that WhatsApp is free and open to everyone, including evil-minded people. That means the app can be accessed by all sorts of bad people having impure intentions towards others. This makes the app open for online predators as well.

They just need to have a smartphone to use WhatsApp on it. Once they are on the app and they know some kid’s contact number, they can add them up on their phone and send them a message. Now, there is no restriction on the app that prevents you from sending a message on WhatsApp to someone.

If an online predator has gotten a kid’s phone number, they will simply add them as a contact on their phone and send them a message on WhatsApp. If a kid is naïve and does not know how to use instant messaging apps safely and wisely, he/she would start talking to the predator.

Most online predators join WhatsApp and purposely become a part of WhatsApp groups only to get hold of contact numbers of kids. They can find kids on those WhatsApp groups and send them separate messages. They lure kids by sending them lovey-dovey and sweet messages and pretend to be their admirers. Lonely kids or kids with special kids are most likely to get trapped by online predators on social media and instant messaging apps as they lack thinking and analyzing ability.

That is the reason online predators are always looking for kids who do not have many friends or feel depressed about their lives.

What Can Parents Do to Help?

Being exposed to sexual predators on social media and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp has become inevitable. However, parents can still try to protect their kids from falling prey to online predators on WhatsApp.

Open and honest communication with kids and a little bit of online supervision can do lots of wonders in protecting your kids from internet dangers. Here’s what parents can do to keep kids safe from the evil of sexual predators:

Communication with Kids

First and foremost, as a parent, you need to start communicating with your kids about all the things that they do on the internet. Open and honest communication with your kids about their internet and social media usage can help you understand what your kids are doing online and what sort of problems they are encountering there.

Sometimes kids do not share their problems with their parents and like to keep things to themselves. You need to change this pattern and make your kids develop the habit of communicating with you. Give ample space to your kids and make them feel comfortable around you so they can come to you whenever they face any problem online or offline.

Use WhatsApp Spy iPhone/Android

Secondly, you need to supervise and monitor their online activity. If your kid is too much occupied on WhatsApp or any other social media app, then you need to know what’s keeping them busy there. For that, you can install a monitoring or parental control app on their smartphone.

For instance, if you are only concerned about your kid spending too much time on WhatsApp, you can install a WhatsApp spy iPhone/Android on their smartphone. With the help of an effective and professional WhatsApp spy iPhone/Android, you can keep track of all their incoming and outgoing WhatsApp messages. You can instantly know if your kid is interacting with an online predator on the app.

A reliable WhatsApp spy iPhone/Android can give you all the details of your kid’s WhatsApp activities. You can also find out the name of the contact person who is interacting with your kid along with their phone number.

WhatsApp Spy Online: Need of the Hour

We cannot stress the importance of WhatsApp spy online because it has become the need of the hour. Almost every kid is using WhatsApp to communicate with their friends. It wouldn’t be wise to keep your kids away from this app.

The only way to make sure your kid is not in touch with any sexual predator on WhatsApp is to monitor their WhatsApp conversations with the help of a professional WhatsApp spy online software.

You can also install the software on your kid’s computer if he/she is using WhatsApp Web. By using WhatsApp spy online, you can prevent your kid from becoming friends with an online predator and keep them away from their reach.

Online predators can be really dangerous for your kid’s mental and physical wellbeing. They can ruin your kid’s self-esteem and confidence. Suppose your kid sends inappropriate photos and videos to an online predator and the predator displays that content in front of the public for everyone to see. This can damage your kid’s reputation and crush their confidence.

Therefore, it is time to take necessary precautions to keep your kids safe from the grasp of online predators. Use a reliable and effective WhatsApp spy online software to track all your kid’s WhatsApp messages. Mobistealth is the best monitoring app that offers the best WhatsApp monitoring feature for your kids.