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Yellow: Is new app the "Tinder for teens" ages 12 and up?

Posted at 10:55 PM, Aug 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-15 15:20:30-04

A new social media app is being dubbed as the "Tinder for teens." It's called Yellow and it's the latest app that is used to connect people and facilitate meet-ups.

Yellow targets kids as young as 12 and is location-based, so tween and teens can message with others nearby. It encourages meeting up in person. 

You enter your name, birth date and can begin swiping left or right. Just like all the other dating, hookup and meeting apps, but this is targeted for the younger underage crowd. 

If you have a mutual connection with someone, you're able to begin a conversation. You can message on the app or through Snapchat, where messages automatically delete after they are sent.

"There is nothing to keep an older person that's interested in trying to connect with young people, nothing to keep them from doing it within minutes," said technology expert Ken Colburn from Data Doctors.

There is no way to prove your age. Colburn said you can report other uses, but that's the only accountability within the app.

"It's an honor system," he said. 

Colburn believes this is another app that warrants a conversation with your child. 

"You just have to stay on top of this stuff," he said. "You can't just say, 'I don't have time for this,' and just let things happen because that's when bad things happen." 

The app is free in the Apple Store. It is listed for ages 12 and up, and asks for parent permission when you register. However, no proof is needed to start swiping. 

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