Amigo is a communication platform with (according to its marketing blurb) “the most intelligent algorithm”: capable of matching users with potential chat partners who could live anywhere from the other side of the world to within the same postcode. Once paired, users are rewarded for interacting with each other frequently by additional features being made available to them.
These unlockable extras include private video calling. This is an app for mature audiences. There is the flimsiest of barriers to children using it. If (as we imagine) the potential correlation between these three facts has set alarm bells ringing for you … we’d like to direct you towards this week’s NOS #WakeUpWednesday guide for the whole enchilada about Amigo.
With fewer than 500,000 downloads in almost two years since its release – not to mention an unsatisfyingly patchy user interface – Amigo is unlikely to be become a major threat to safeguarding. That said, even lesser-known apps can carry a significant risk – and Amigo’s facility to put people in private contact with strangers places it in that category. Trusted adults might also note the prevalence of in-app purchases, the incentives for repeated regular use and the proportion of apparently fake profiles on the platform as valid reasons to treat it with caution. Our NOS #WakeUpWednesday guide today brings you all the aspects of Amigo to be aware of in the context of protecting children and young people online.
