Parents’ guide: Dangers of music streaming apps for kids

YouTube, Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music are just a few of the popular music streaming platforms used by hundreds of people worldwide, including kids.

Music plays an important role in our wellbeing, and exposing kids to song during their development can improve social skills and literacy and helping strengthen their memory, besides many other benefits.

While music-streaming apps are considered (generally) safe for young kids, there are some potential risks they may be exposed to while browsing for audio content online:

1.     Explicit lyrics, album art or graphic content – Young kids and teenagers can easily be exposed to music that’s not suitable for their age, possibly with references to sexual behavior, violence, drugs, and bad or discriminatory language. Parental control features (where they exist) can help minimize the risk of your kids being exposed to sexually explicit songs or album covers.

2.     Age-inappropriate podcasts – digital music streaming apps are also home to thousands of podcasts with stories and interviews covering a variety of topics, including some that are for adults or not suitable for your young ones.

3.     Grooming and predators – Yes, music streaming apps have been linked to predator-like grooming tactics aimed at children. According to reports, an 11-year-old girl from the UK was persuaded to post explicit photos of herself as the custom photo of one of her Spotify playlists. According to the report, the predator was exchanging messages with the young girl by editing song titles and descriptions and even asking for her email address.

What can parents do to keep kids safe:

• Start by talking with your kids and young teenagers about conscientious listening to music, podcasts, or other live materials on streaming apps, and why they should not listen to explicit or inappropriate content online.
• Educate children about basic online safety, cyberbullying, the importance of keeping their personal information safe, and not interacting with strangers online.
• Check the privacy and parental control settings. Most music streaming apps allow parents to customize their child's profile, including limiting access to explicit content. If the music app lacks any of these features, it’s recommended you switch to a kid-friendly platform where your children can sing and dance to their favorite tunes.
• Take some time to create a dedicated family playlist with a curated song list you can enjoy with your family.
• Encourage your child to always report any issues or concerns when using the streaming service, and alert you to any age-inappropriate content.
• Limit screen time and always monitor your child’s activity when using the app.

Bitdefender solutions provide parental control tools that give you peace of mind by allowing you to limit screen time, and easily block websites or apps entirely to keep your young ones safe and focused on other activities within your household.

Parental Advisor automatically chooses the best privacy features based on your child's age. These can be fine-tuned for you and your child’s needs.

The parental control feature can be found in most of our standalone security solutions or all-in-one security products.