More and more children are getting cell phones at an early age, and more and more parents are realizing how complex it is to try to control their cell phone use. iOS and Android’s parental controls help, but little ones can bypass these limitations for a long time. Like? Let’s see him.

safe applications. As mentioned on ElDiario.es, there is a method that has gone viral among the smallest when it comes to bypassing parental controls. It is about using hidden apps, also called vault apps. They’ve been around for years, but now they’re back in fashion. With them it is possible to hide photos, files and even other applications, and it is precisely through them that children can bypass parental controls.

A simple search of Google Play reveals how there are various app options that hide data under the guise of a harmless calculator.

other calculators. These safe apps usually take the form of a regular app like a simple calculator. They have a calculator icon and offer these features when run, but if the user dials a certain string of digits, the “vault” is replaced by that hidden desktop with other apps and unseen files.

TikTok disguised as a calculator. Thus, by enabling this stealth mode of operation, the user can access other content that is not usually visible, but also use apps that evade parental control, since what is used for these tools is just a calculator.

In fact, the user may be using TikTok or a browser to access adult content without their parents knowing. Any hidden app installed in the vault will be hidden as an activity in the calculator, just like this one. Of course there are those who use these apps in other equally sensitive scenarios.

dangers everywhere. The use of these tools may be convenient for people who really need to store certain data on their devices, but they pose a risk to minors. The reason is clear: without parental controls and the control they offer parents, children and teens are much more exposed to the dangers of the internet.

How to detect these vault apps?. Because it’s a gateway to files, photos, videos, and other apps, one of the easiest ways to detect these apps is to check how much space they take up on mobile storage: a calculator app often “weighs” less than a megabyte, and these vault apps can easily be tens or even hundreds of times. MB can be “weighted”.

An old app… Such apps have been around for years. As early as 2015, warnings were made about the problems these apps, which went viral among teens, could pose for parents. Apple even removed one of them called “Calculator%” after their risks were revealed in a UK police investigation.

… that would be new. Now, thanks to the videos appearing on social networks such as TikTok, these tools are back in fashion. Such posts have made these vault apps popular with kids and teens who can hide photos, videos, data and other apps from their parents.

Picture: paul hanaoka

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