Brooklyn Park Police Warn Of Risks Posed By Adult Hookup App "Sniffies" To Minors

Brooklyn Park Police Warn Of Risks Posed By Adult Hookup App "Sniffies" To Minors

The Brooklyn Park Police Department has issued an urgent warning for parents about a new application called Sniffies that may pose potential hazards to minors. Designed with adults in mind, this location-based hookup app could inadvertently put younger users at risk by sharing their exact location information with others on the platform.

The concern arises from the app's default setting that enables location sharing, which, according to a statement from the Brooklyn Park Police Department, "immediately shares your exact location with other users." This feature poses a dual threat – the risk of being followed and the possibility of being approached by strangers with dubious intentions. The police highlight that such an app can draw in predatory individuals who are then privy to a child’s location in real time.

In response to these dangers, the police department's post, accessed through their Facebook page, lays out several steps that parents can take to minimize risks. Among these are closely monitoring the applications that children download and use, engaging in open dialogue about the perils of location-sharing applications, verifying that location services are disabled across all apps on the device, and educating children about the potential perils of exposing their whereabouts through various applications.

In addition, it’s crucial for parents to know that, beyond the potential for unwelcome encounters, apps like Sniffies raise significant concerns over privacy. When children, often unknowing or uninformed about the ramifications of online exposure, share their location, they render themselves vulnerable to a spectrum of online risks, making it imperative that parents stay informed, remain vigilant, and persist in safeguarding their family from these digital perilous.

SOURCE: hoodline