Wizz App Review: A Guide for Parents
Many parents are unaware that there’s a dating app for kids. Those who have heard of Wizz app feel concerned about their child’s safety and asked for a wizz app review that includes questions like:
“What are they being exposed to?”
“How can I protect them?”
“Should they be using the app at all?”
At Game Quitters, we’re not only experts in screen addiction, we’re also knowledgeable about other potential online risks. In this review, we look at the potential dangers of the Wizz app and how parents can make it a safer experience for children.
What is the Wizz app?
Wizz is a social networking app that enables users to connect with people from all over the world, chat live, and share images and videos. They can select friends based on age, gender, location, and interests. The community feature brings together like-minded people who are into the same things: gaming, sport, music, film and much more. The Wizz app can be downloaded on the App store (where it’s described as “a safe space”) and Google Play.
This all sounds fairly innocuous, right? Well, maybe not.
Wizz has a swiping feature similar to adult dating apps and is sometimes called ‘teen Tinder’. Users can look at strangers’ profiles and choose to swipe one way to dismiss them or the other way to start a conversation. This is one aspect of the app that’s potentially risky for impressionable youngsters, especially with apps like OnlyFans out there as well.
But there are other reasons why the Wizz dating app may be an unsafe environment for children and teens. Let’s look at some of the risks…
Dangers of Wizz app
Here are some of the potential dangers of the Wizz app and what parents need to know:
Age verification loopholes
Children as young as 12 can have a profile on Wizz but it varies by country of residence. Anyone who wants to download the app must provide their date of birth and upload a picture (which Wizz scans using AI technology to check they look the age they claim to be). But this system isn’t foolproof. There’s nothing to stop younger kids from asking someone older to take a selfie for them and inputting a fake date of birth.
Stranger danger
As a parent, you probably know most (if not all) of the friends your child hangs out with in real life. But stranger danger – with no guarantee of a robust age verification process – is one of the main risks of using the Wizz app. This means that scamming, stalking, blackmail, phishing, catfishing (luring someone into a relationship by pretending to be someone else), grooming, and sexual predation are all a potential perils.
Explicit content
Anyone using Wizz can be exposed to inappropriate and harmful content. Although it’s advertised as a place to “meet new friends”, most people perceive it as a dating app. This means that some users’ profiles are sexually explicit and live chat can quickly turn into sexting. But it’s not just words that can be damaging. Children and teens can be persuaded to share or swap intimate selfies with people they’ve grown to trust on the platform.
Foul language
If your child regularly uses the Wizz app, you may notice swear words and other profanities creeping into their vocabulary. This isn’t ideal in most situations at any age but it’s particularly inappropriate for younger kids to use this type of language and think it’s acceptable.
Drug-related conversations
Some Wizz profiles feature drug slang emojis which glamorize drug taking and drug dealing. And users can be exposed to seedy conversations about drug use via the app’s live chat feature with strangers from all over the world.
Ineffective blocking system
It’s possible to block another user for inappropriate or offensive behavior by tapping the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the screen. But some users have complained that it’s not 100 per cent effective: “I blocked someone on Wizz but they still requested a chat.”
In-app purchases and subscriptions
Although Wizz is free to download, in-app purchases and weekly or monthly subscriptions are available – and they are heavily advertised on the platform. Users can buy ‘coins’ to add more friends, or pay a subscription to avoid advertisements or be the top profile for a limited time. Vulnerable younger users may feel pressurized to succumb to these temptations.
No parental controls
Many parents are amazed to discover that the Wizz app does not have any parental controls. Read on to find out how you can make it a safer experience for your child in our wizz app review.
How can I make the Wizz app safer for my child?
At Game Quitters, we’re often contacted by concerned parents on our Facebook support group asking “Is Wizz a dating app for kids?” and “Is Wizz safe for my kid?” So we’ve put together these safety tips:
1. Download and explore the app
Set up a Wizz account so you can see the type of people and content your child is exposed to. It’s also a good way to familiarize yourself with popular acronyms. For example, you may wonder, “What does NFS mean on the Wizz app?” (It means ‘not for sale’ and is mainly used by gamers.)
2. Make privacy a priority
Check the Wizz privacy policy and your child’s privacy settings to see what they’re sharing. Make sure their location is turned off as a minimum.
3. Have an open discussion
Talk to your child about the potential dangers of Wizz (as outlined above) and the risks of sharing personal information with strangers. Encourage them to let you know if they’re concerned about something they’ve viewed or been asked to send.
4. Set screentime rules
If you feel that Wizz is a positive way for your child to be sociable and expand their circle of friends, help them manage their time on the app responsibly with our healthy screentime guidelines.
5. Delete the Wizz app
You may decide, after reading this review, that Wizz has too much harmful and inappropriate content, and decide to delete the app from your child’s phone.
If you’ve found these safety tips helpful, please share them with other parents asking “Is Wizz a dating app and do I need to be concerned?” or parents looking for a wizz app review.
Need help with screen addiction?
Wizz is a popular app with teens. If your child is spending increasing amounts of time on the Wizz app and it’s having a detrimental effect on other aspects of their life, they may need support.
If they’re also suffering from screen addiction, we can help.
Take the first step and apply for a Gameplan strategy call.
On this call, we’ll see if your family is a good fit for our coaching program where we get control over screen time in your child’s life.