{"id":177707,"date":"2025-12-10T12:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/177707\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T12:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:25:13","slug":"alternative-communication-apps-for-teens-surge-in-the-australian-charts-as-kids-move-from-banned-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/177707\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative communication apps for teens surge in the Australian charts as kids move from banned platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alternative social media platforms have surged to the top of Apple\u2019s App Store as young people flock to apps not currently listed under the eSafety Commissioner\u2019s age-restricted platforms.<\/p>\n

This morning, the top three free apps were Lemon8, Yope, and Coverstar \u2014 all of which are not included on the restricted list.<\/p>\n

Lemon8, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which also operates TikTok, is now the number one free app in Australia.<\/p>\n

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Described as \u201cInstagram meets Pinterest,\u201d it allows users to post photos and videos while saving them to collections similar to Pinterest boards. Instagram is on the restricted list, though Pinterest is not currently part of the ban.<\/p>\n

In second place is Yope, a private, friends-only photo sharing platform likened to Snapchat, which is restricted and WhatsApp. Coverstar, promoted as \u201cthe safest TikTok alternative for kids nine to 16,\u201d rounds out the top three.<\/p>\n

\"AlternativeAlternative social media platforms like Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar have soared up app store charts. Credit: The Nightly<\/p>\n

Under the new eSafety rules, any platform that is mainly about sharing pictures and videos still counts as social media and must ban under-16s, regardless of how small or new the app is.<\/p>\n

Communications Minister Anika Wells addressed the shift last week, noting authorities are monitoring where young users move online.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we find that because they\u2019ve been logged out of Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok (or) what have you, they end up on Lemon8, then we will look at whether the harm has transferred there and whether we need to add them to the list,\u201d Ms Wells said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould any particular platform like Lemon8 \u2026 become the new source, I will not hesitate to act.\u201d<\/p>\n

These apps are not included in the ban: Discord, GitHub, Google Classroom, LEGO Play, Messenger, Pinterest, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, WhatsApp, YouTube Kids, Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took to social media to kick off the world-first ban, saying \u201csocial media can be a bit overwhelming for all of us\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our kids, it can cause real harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why from this week, we\u2019re banning social media accounts for those under 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will mean more time for children to learn, grow and just be kids, without algorithms getting in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Year six student Isla Rose told Sunrise on Wednesday morning that the ban felt like a \u201cbig change\u201d after using social media consistent as a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, to be logged out of something I\u2019ve been using consistently for years is just a big change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the older kids especially, because they\u2019ve been using it for way longer.<\/p>\n

Isla expressed concern for more vulnerable children who live in challenging conditions or unstable home, saying social media had become a lifeline for them to escape their families.<\/p>\n

The year six Aussie said she understood why politicians were trying to keep kids safe, however, said they were getting it wrong with this ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see what they\u2019re trying to do, they\u2019re going about it the wrong way,\u201d she told Sunrise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alternative social media platforms have surged to the top of Apple\u2019s App Store as young people flock to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[972,85,46,321,5087,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-177707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-society","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}