Parents who hope their child is using a calculator to do better in math class might be getting fooled, according to BuzzFeed.
Pamela Casey, an Alabama district attorney, posted a Facebook video on Sept. 1 informing parents about a sly app called Private Photo (Calculator%).
According to BuzzFeed, the app's icon looks like a typical calculator. However, when a user opens it and types in a passcode, it opens a "trove" of hidden pictures that don't show up anywhere else on the device.
Parents wrote posts of surprise in response to Casey's video, Newsday reported.
"Another sneaky tool! Thanks for the heads up," one woman posted.
This is one of numerous apps that exists for both iPhone and Android that "act like a calculator, but in reality are clever photo vaults that will easily fool any parent snooping around on their child's smartphone," according to Mashable.
Searching iTunes or Google Play for "phone vaults" will help parents discover most of them, BuzzFeed's piece read. Some of the other apps include Smart Hide Calculator and Secret Calculator.
According to THV-11, these apps are growing in popularity. Experts say parents should beware these apps because they encourage children to keep their smartphone activities private, causing possible trust issues between parents and children.
But, experts say, parents can make this less of an issue if they educate themselves about the Internet and these apps, THV-11 reported.
"Go to the app store on the smart phone and simply search the word secret and by searching the word secret parents will learn very quickly that there are a number of apps that their children can hide pictures, videos, photographs, any number of items from them and something as simple and innocent looking as a calculator."
Casey, who posted the video, said something similar.
"Take a minute, grab that phone and look for the Calculator% app and make sure you stay on top of that with your children," Casey said in the video.
Pamela Casey, an Alabama district attorney, posted a Facebook video on Sept. 1 informing parents about a sly app called Private Photo (Calculator%).
According to BuzzFeed, the app's icon looks like a typical calculator. However, when a user opens it and types in a passcode, it opens a "trove" of hidden pictures that don't show up anywhere else on the device.
Parents wrote posts of surprise in response to Casey's video, Newsday reported.
"Another sneaky tool! Thanks for the heads up," one woman posted.
This is one of numerous apps that exists for both iPhone and Android that "act like a calculator, but in reality are clever photo vaults that will easily fool any parent snooping around on their child's smartphone," according to Mashable.
Searching iTunes or Google Play for "phone vaults" will help parents discover most of them, BuzzFeed's piece read. Some of the other apps include Smart Hide Calculator and Secret Calculator.
According to THV-11, these apps are growing in popularity. Experts say parents should beware these apps because they encourage children to keep their smartphone activities private, causing possible trust issues between parents and children.
But, experts say, parents can make this less of an issue if they educate themselves about the Internet and these apps, THV-11 reported.
"Go to the app store on the smart phone and simply search the word secret and by searching the word secret parents will learn very quickly that there are a number of apps that their children can hide pictures, videos, photographs, any number of items from them and something as simple and innocent looking as a calculator."
Casey, who posted the video, said something similar.
"Take a minute, grab that phone and look for the Calculator% app and make sure you stay on top of that with your children," Casey said in the video.
