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Tags Digital Wellness

What Is Monkey App

Monkey is a social networking app that allows users to chat and video call randomly with strangers. It is predominantly aimed at teens and young adults looking to meet new people. In this guide, we’ll look at how the Monkey app works and whether it’s safe. Worried that someone may be watching your online activities? Use Clario AntiSpy to keep your smartphone and other devices free from spyware.

Table of contents

Is the Monkey app safe?

Although teens created it, many parents wonder whether the Monkey app is safe. Well, Monkey doesn’t make it a priority to keep kids safe. It has sloppy age verification policies and ongoing issues with sexual content that make it unsafe.

 

In addition, Monkey has been surrounded by privacy concerns over how it handles user data and criticism for its approach to in-app purchases. The app encourages children to buy subscriptions and other items to increase their chances of making friends.

How does the Monkey app work?

Monkey describes itself as the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to meet new people. Those who remember Omegle will be somewhat familiar with how it works: users match randomly with others, and they can message, video chat, and share “Moments” with each other.

 

After pairing you with one of 30 million users worldwide, Monkey gives you a 15-second video call so that you and your random match can see if you “vibe” with each other. If you want more time to chat, you and your match can tap the Time button to extend the time limit.

 

Monkey is used for meeting new people, and unlike other social networks, it prioritizes face-to-face interaction over traditional text messaging. Monkey says this allows users to establish “immediate and meaningful” connections, but it also leads to safety concerns.

Monkey app features

The Monkey app has four key features:

  1. Moments: A short video that you can post for others to see.
  2. Videochat: One-on-one conversations with other users.
  3. Texting: The ability to send traditional text messages.
  4. Swipe to match: “Swipe” on people you like the look of to connect with them.

1. Moments

Moments is Monkey’s answer to the Stories feature found on apps like Instagram and Snapchat. It allows you to post short videos or images that appear on your profile. Others can view them either by visiting your profile or via search.

2. Videochat

Videochat is one of the key features of Monkey. It lets you have face-to-face conversations with other Monkey users. In addition to being matched with other users at random, you can also have video calls with existing friends.

3. Texting

Texting, which Monkey calls Knock-Knock, lets you send traditional messages directly to other Monkey users. It lets you stay in touch when it’s not possible to video chat—like when you have a poor data connection or you’re at work.

 

In chats, kids may be exposed to malicious texts and links, clicking which can entail getting hacked or downloading a spyware app. If you want to protect yourself or your child, use Clario AntiSpy to stop and remove spyware from all your devices. It can also identify and block nasty trackers and other things used to monitor unsuspecting users.

 

Here’s how to use Clario AntiSpy:

  1. Download Clario AntiSpy, get a subscription, and create an account.
  2. Click Run deep scan on the dashboard and follow the on-screen prompts.
How to run a deep spyware scan on your phone with Clario AntiSpy.

4. Swipe to match

Monkey lets you go through the “Cards” of others and swipe those you like, just like on Tinder. If two users swipe right on each other’s cards, Monkey matches them. There’s also a “Super Like” feature that lets you signal to another person that you’re interested in them.

Hidden dangers of Monkey

If you’re thinking about using Monkey for the first time, or your children have been speaking about an app called Monkey, it’s important to be aware of its risks and hidden dangers. Although you’ll see plenty of positive Monkey app reviews in Google Play, there are also serious concerns about it, including:

1. Risky content

Since Monkey launched in 2016, many users have reported seeing inappropriate and explicit content on the app. Although Monkey uses machine learning to block banned content, it admits that it only looks for it once other users report it.

2. Lack of data privacy

Monkey pulls personal information from linked accounts and records IP addresses and usage statistics. This puts users at risk as a potential data breach could reveal their names and locations.

 

There are also questions about how Monkey protects user conversations and handles the photos and videos users upload. It is definitely not the most secure messaging app since it does not use end-to-end encryption. For more secure conversations, it’s best to use another service. For instance, Telegram is encrypted, as is WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, and others.

3. No age verification

Monkey says users must be 18 or older to join its app, but there is no verification process in place to ensure this. That means that any user of any age can join—and could be exposed to inappropriate content—and there are no measures to block underage users.

What happened to the Monkey app?

The Monkey app is still live, though it’s no longer available on all platforms. You can get it on Android from the Google Play Store or use it in your web browser.

 

However, Monkey has been removed from iOS. Neither Apple nor Monkey have confirmed why this is the case, but many believe it is because of Monkey’s risky content. Other services have taken steps to crack down on inappropriate content to avoid an App Store ban. For instance, many parents have wondered if Discord is safe for kids and if there are measures in place to make it a safer platform. However, Monkey has not followed the same approach.

Conclusion

Although there’s no doubt that it has become incredibly popular, there are serious concerns over whether the Monkey app is good or safe. Users have reported seeing harmful or inappropriate content, while many others raise concerns about how it handles user data.

 

Monkey aims at teens, which makes these concerns even more alarming. Many parents have become concerned that Monkey could be used to spy on their children. If you’re worried about this or want to know if someone is watching you through your camera, we recommend using Clario AntiSpy to block and remove hidden spyware.

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