Here's the bottom line: Likee poses serious safety risks for children in 2025. Safety experts consistently rate it just 1 out of 5 for child protection due to rampant inappropriate content, virtually non-existent age verification, and documented predator incidents. The parental controls? They're basically window dressing that fail to filter out suggestive material.
What is Likee and Why Parents Are Freaking Out in 2025
Likee's Explosive Growth Among Kids
Let's talk numbers first. Likee has racked up 900+ million downloads globally with 33.9 million monthly active users as of late 2024. But here's where it gets concerning – January 2025 saw a massive 143% download spike and 37% usage jump right after TikTok's 14-hour US outage.
Who's downloading? Primarily Generation Alpha users – we're talking kids up to 13 years old, despite the app's supposed age restrictions.
The app itself offers the usual suspects: stickers, filters, effects, music, AR tools, and live streaming. Users can earn virtual gifts called Diamonds and Beans, which they can actually exchange for real money at $1.00 for 210 Beans. (Yes, kids are essentially earning money on this platform.)
Here's what should make every parent's alarm bells ring: there are zero profile or age requirements to browse videos. All profiles are public by default. There's literally no private account option.
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Recent Safety Incidents That Made Headlines
The incidents coming out of 2024 and early 2025 are genuinely disturbing. In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, parents discovered their kids were being exposed to explicit sexual content and receiving direct pedophile warnings targeting young girls.
South Simcoe Police reported a case where a girl under 14 was coerced into sending explicit videos, with threats that they'd be distributed if she didn't comply. The investigation hit a wall because Likee refused to comply with Canadian court orders. Let that sink in.
German reporters from STRG_F conducted an undercover investigation, posing as 12-13 year olds. The results? They encountered rapid cybergrooming on livestreams within minutes. We're talking requests to undress, send explicit photos, and arrange offline meetings. Every single perpetrator was male, mostly over 20, and they all quickly tried to move conversations to private platforms.
The Real Risks: What Parents Actually Need to Know
Inappropriate Content Hits Kids Immediately
Here's what happens when a child opens Likee: they're immediately exposed to sexual imagery, suggestive language, videos of minors in compromising situations, violence, and derogatory comments. This isn't buried deep in the app – it's right there on the main feed.
I've tested this myself (as have other safety researchers), and sexually charged content remains abundant even with every parental control enabled. The algorithm doesn't care about your settings.
Common Sense Media rates Likee 16+, while Bark – which specializes in child safety – gives it a brutal 1.0/5 overall rating and recommends 18+ only. The algorithm-driven feeds make this worse by serving up personalized recommendations based on what kids have already viewed.
Online Predator Paradise
Anonymous profiles combined with the gifting system create perfect conditions for predator manipulation. The platform has an estimated 500,000 daily active users, including countless fake accounts specifically designed to impersonate children.
Gender-filtered hashtag searches make targeting even easier, and location sharing is enabled by default. (Because what could go wrong there?)
A German survey revealed that 25% of children have been affected by cybergrooming, with 25% of those cases involving children under 12. Parent reviews consistently report incidents like 10-year-old girls being manipulated into sending nude photos through Likee.
Your Child's Data Is Being Harvested
The Common Sense Privacy Report gives Likee Basic a measly 49% score. Data Collection scores just 25%, Ads & Tracking gets 25%, and Parental Consent manages only 33%.
COPPA compliance? 48%. GDPR compliance? 57%. These aren't passing grades.
The app hoovers up location data, device information, and browsing patterns, with murky policies about selling this data to third parties. Default settings expose your child's content to the entire world with zero restriction options.
Likee's Safety Features and Why They Don't Work
Built-in Parental Controls: More Theater Than Protection
Likee's Parental Control Mode requires weekly password changes (already a red flag for usability). The controls supposedly block private messages, live-streaming, news pushes, profile views under Nearby, and in-app purchases.
But here's the kicker – extensive testing shows inappropriate material continues flooding through even with all controls activated. The controls can't make profiles private or prevent strangers from interacting through comments. That weekly password requirement? It's just annoying enough that many parents give up.
Content Moderation: Playing Whack-a-Mole
Between January and May 2021 alone, Likee took action against 42,000+ violating accounts. Think about what that number tells us about the scale of problematic content.
Their AI and human review system simply can't effectively distinguish age-appropriate content from inappropriate material. The reporting system is limited to videos only – you can't report users or livestreams, which is where most of the predatory behavior happens.
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Age Verification: Basically Non-Existent
Age ratings vary wildly: Apple App Store says 12+, Google Play says Teen (13+). Terms of service specify minimum ages by country – 13+ for USA, UK, and Canada; 16+ for Germany and EU. But remember what I said about browsing without an account? Yeah, that makes all these age restrictions meaningless.
Signup requires only mobile number verification or Facebook login. They ask for date of birth, but it's not public, and you don't even need an account to view the most popular videos.
Step-by-Step Guide: Setting Up What Little Safety You Can
Creating the Most Restricted Profile Possible
Navigate to Menu > Settings > Privacy and enable every restriction available. Set Who Can Message Me to the most restrictive option possible.
Go to Menu > Settings > Account and enable both Hide Location and Hide Online Status. Then hit Menu > Settings > Interaction and restrict messaging, commenting, and duets to the maximum extent.
Important reality check: these settings still can't create truly private profiles because the platform's entire architecture keeps all content publicly accessible.
Enabling Content Filters (Such As They Are)
Tap the menu, go to Parental Controls, enable them, and set a 4-digit code. This activates content filtering, blocks search functionality, wallet access, and messaging.
However – and I cannot stress this enough – testing consistently shows limited effectiveness against suggestive material. You'll need to supplement with external monitoring tools and device-level parental controls for any hope of comprehensive protection.
How Likee Stacks Up Against Other Platforms (Spoiler: Badly)
Likee vs TikTok: No Contest
TikTok allows private accounts. Full stop. That alone makes it infinitely safer than Likee. TikTok also provides actual built-in parental controls and implements one-hour daily limits for users under 18. Their Family Pairing feature enables comprehensive parental oversight of screen time and privacy management.
TikTok offers comment restrictions, friend-only direct messages, and human-plus-AI content moderation that actually works. Better transparency in privacy policies, stronger age verification.
Don't get me wrong – TikTok isn't perfect, and I wouldn't call it safe for young kids either. But compared to Likee? It's Fort Knox.
Industry Standards: Likee Falls Short Everywhere
Likee's 1.0/5 safety rating stands in stark contrast to higher-rated alternatives that provide private profiles, effective content moderation, and comprehensive parental controls.
That partial COPPA compliance (48%) and GDPR compliance (57%) I mentioned? Leading platforms routinely achieve compliance scores in the 80s and 90s. Likee isn't even trying.
Red Flags Every Parent Should Watch For
Your Child's Behavior Changes
Keep an eye out for increased secrecy about online activities, reluctance to discuss what they're doing on apps, or defensive responses when you ask about Likee specifically.
Sleep disruption, irritability, focus problems, declining grades – especially when these correlate with increased app usage. Changes in self-esteem, body image concerns, or sudden interest in mature topics often indicate inappropriate content exposure.
Suspicious Messages or New Friends
Watch for mentions of new online friends, especially adults or older teens. Secretive communication behaviors or evidence of gift-giving through the virtual currency system should set off immediate alarms.
Any requests to move conversations to WhatsApp, Instagram, or other platforms is a classic grooming tactic. If your child mentions meeting online contacts in person, that requires immediate intervention.
What the Experts Actually Recommend
Age Guidelines: Just Say No
Experts consistently recommend against Likee usage for children under 18. Period. Bark's 1/5 safety rating and Common Sense Media's 16+ recommendation exist for good reasons – the platform's fundamental design conflicts with child safety principles.
Dr. Justin Patchin recommends open discussions about online interactions and maintaining skepticism toward unrecognized profiles. But even he acknowledges that supervision cannot eliminate the fundamental safety risks built into Likee's architecture.
Better Alternatives for Creative Kids
YouTube Kids provides curated content with robust parental controls that actually work. Educational apps like Scratch Jr. or Toca Boca offer creative outlets without the social media risks.
For older children who absolutely must have social video content, supervised TikTok usage offers significantly better safety features than Likee. But honestly? Consider whether they need these apps at all.
When Things Go Wrong: Reporting and Getting Help
Reporting Through Likee's Limited System
Use the platform's reporting system for videos, though it's frustratingly limited. Contact abuse@likee.video with detailed violation information including screenshots, usernames, and specific behavior descriptions.
Document everything before reporting because content has a habit of disappearing once reported.
When to Call the Authorities
Contact law enforcement immediately for any grooming attempts, requests for personal information, or offline meeting attempts. Preserve all evidence including screenshots, messages, and account information.
For immediate support, contact the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Don't wait if you suspect your child is in danger.
2025 Updates: Too Little, Too Late
New Features That Still Miss the Mark
Likee has rolled out enhanced AI content filters, improved age gates supposedly restricting under-16 signup, expanded parental control features, and stricter live streaming restrictions (18+ only).
Testing shows these improvements fail to address the fundamental issue: mandatory public profiles that expose children to the entire world.
Policy Updates Don't Fix Architecture Problems
Updated Terms of Service clarify age restrictions and strengthen child protection language. Privacy policy updates provide clearer information about data collection, though the platform's privacy score remains stuck at 49%.
Enhanced content policies promise faster response times for serious safety reports. But you can't policy your way out of a platform designed without privacy in mind.
FAQ
Is Likee safe for 12-year-olds? Absolutely not. Safety experts rate it 1/5 for child safety due to immediate sexual content exposure, predator risks, and mandatory public profiles.
What age should kids be to use Likee safely? Experts recommend against usage for anyone under 18. The platform's design makes safe usage impossible for minors regardless of age.
How do Likee's parental controls compare to TikTok? They're significantly weaker. Likee offers no private profiles, limited filtering, and basic messaging restrictions. TikTok provides private accounts, Family Pairing, time limits, and better moderation.
Can parents monitor their child's Likee activity effectively? No. Parental controls fail to filter inappropriate content or prevent stranger interactions. Public-only profiles expose children globally without adequate protection.
What should parents do if their child encounters a predator on Likee? Immediately preserve evidence, contact law enforcement, and report to abuse@likee.video. Block the user, document all interactions, and seriously consider removing the app entirely. Contact Crisis Text Line (741741) for immediate support.
Are there safer alternatives to Likee for creative kids? Yes. YouTube Kids offers curated content with controls that actually work. Educational apps like Scratch Jr. provide creative outlets without social risks. If you must do social video, supervised TikTok usage is significantly safer than Likee.