Is Coverstar Safe for Kids?

If your kids love the cute animal videos and lip sync battles on TikTok, but you don’t love the inappropriate content and exposure to strangers, Coverstar presents an interesting alternative. 

The app bills itself as “The Safe TikTok Alternative” and promises a kid-friendly experience. But is Coverstar safe for kids or not? We investigated how it works, what parental controls are offered, and how it stacks up against TikTok. 

What is Coverstar?

Coverstar is a short-form video social media app designed for tweens and teens. It promises a safe and supportive environment for kids in the following ways:

• Preventing bullying and explicit material
• AI and human content moderation 
• No direct messaging 
• Strict community guidelines 
• Reporting tools 
• Privacy controls 
• Parental consent required for users under 13 

How does Coverstar work? 

Similar to TikTok, Coverstar lets users create, share, and watch short videos with the option of adding music, sound effects, voice-overs, and visual effects like filters and masks. Users can create and participate in challenges, and the app is often swept by viral trends. 

Does Coverstar have parental controls? 

Despite requiring parental consent for users under the age of 13, there aren’t any parental controls. 

The app's design reduces some of the need for parental controls, but parents are unable to do things like set time limits. It also means kids can change their privacy settings without parental permission. 

Should I be concerned about my child using Coverstar?

Although Coverstar is generally safe for kids, all social media comes with risks. Here’s what to watch out for: 

• Self-esteem issues. Social comparison and chasing likes are hard to avoid when using apps like Coverstar. This can lead to self-esteem issues in kids. 
• Marketing. Coverstar allows games and other apps to market to kids on the platform.
• Cyberbullying. Coverstar takes bullying seriously. However, kids can be really sneaky, especially if they’re using sneaky ways to get around Coverstar’s human and AI moderators.
• Addiction. Coverstar’s algorithm isn’t as infamously addictive as TikTok, but all social media is designed to be addictive, regardless of the platform. 
• Predation and catfishing. With no age verification, adults can easily pose as kids. A lack of private messages mitigates much of the concern, but adults could still engage with your child in the comments section and lure them into another app to message privately. 

Is Coverstar safer than TikTok? 

All things considered, Coverstar is a much safer option than TikTok. Here’s how the two apps stack up:

Feature	Coverstar	TikTok
Parental controls	No, but the app's built-in protections reduce most reasons for parental controls.	Yes
Direct messaging	No	Yes
Comments on videos	Yes, but moderated	Yes
Content moderation	Robust	Yes, but plenty of explicit and unsafe material sneaks through
Community guidelines	Strict and geared toward keeping kids safe	Yes, but not geared specifically toward kids
Explicit material	Prohibited and strictly monitored	Technically prohibited, but frequently found on the app
Bullying	Prohibited and strictly monitored, but can sometimes still occur in comments	Bullying is prohibited and monitored, but far less strict than Coverstar
Predation	Prohibited and monitored, but adults can still pose as kids	Comments and direct messages are risky for kids
Reporting tools	Yes	Yes
Search feature	No search feature, limiting accidental exposure to inappropriate material	Yes
Age verification	Parental permission required for users under 13, but no age verification when signing up	Yes, but easy to bypass

How can I help my child use Coverstar safely? 

Here are some ways to help make Coverstar’s experience even safer for your child: 

• Check their settings. Make sure their account is set to private, and periodically spot-check to ensure they haven’t changed it. 
• Talk to them about online privacy. Explain the risks of oversharing and the importance of not putting any private information online. 
• Discuss stranger danger. Educate them on the dangers of interacting with strangers online and teach them to spot the signs of grooming. 
• Monitor their use. Don’t rely solely on Coverstar’s moderators to keep your child safe. Periodically sit down to look at their account together, use a monitoring app like BrightCanary to keep an eye on what they’re typing on the app. 

Final word

Coverstar positions itself as “The Safe TikTok Alternative,” and the app largely lives up to that promise. Strict community guidelines, robust moderation, and no direct messages all add to the safety of the app. 

But no social media is without risk. Parents should discuss the dangers of social media with their child and stay involved in monitoring their use.

BrightCanary helps parents monitor what their children type and search on the apps they use the most, including Coverstar and TikTok. Download today to get started for free.