Platform risk landscapes

Marketed all-ages; huge under-13 base

A vast platform of user-made games with in-game chat, an economy (Robux), and an enormous under-13 audience. The openness that makes it creative also makes it a contact and scam surface.

Minecraft

2 advisories

Rated ~7+; very popular with under-13s

A creative sandbox whose multiplayer servers are unmoderated social spaces. 'It's just Minecraft' understates how much real-time chat and off-platform Discord activity surround it.

Rated ~12+ (T)

A competitive shooter with open voice chat and random matchmaking that places children alongside adult strangers, plus a cosmetics economy that fuels scams.

13+ per terms; widely used younger

Chat communities organized into servers and DMs. Its private spaces are central to gaming culture, and they are also where contact risks concentrate — because a private server has no bystanders.

13+ per terms

Photo and video social network where secret 'finsta' accounts, DMs, and image sharing create privacy and sextortion risks for teens.

13+ per terms

A short-video feed driven by a powerful recommendation algorithm that can amplify dangerous 'challenges' and mature content.

13+ per terms

A messaging app built on disappearing photos, location sharing (Snap Map), and quick stranger connections — features predators and dealers exploit.

13+ (YouTube Kids for younger)

The default video platform for kids, where autoplay rabbit holes and comment sections create exposure and contact risks for young children.

13+ per terms (16 in the EU)

The world's default group-chat app. Class and team chats put a school's whole social dynamic — including its bullying — on a child's phone, day and night.

Toys

2 advisories

All ages — often under 5

Not an app — the physical shelf. Toys reach a child years before any account does, and two things changed: some now hold real conversations over the internet, and a viral feed can turn an ordinary one into an injury. No age gate, no terms of service, no report button.