MEDICINE HAT, AB — A new app has the Medicine Hat Police Service reminding parents to always be aware of what their children and teens are accessing online.
Cake is a live streaming app that connects users with strangers through video or chat rooms.
The police service said the app encourages risky behaviour.
Users are asked to do different things and if the people watching like what they see, they can leave virtual diamonds, which can be exchanged for cash.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection put out a warning after creating an account and receiving four explicit messages in the first 12 hours.
Sergeant Kirt Murray with the Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation unit said the app isn’t monitored and even though it says it’s for anyone over the age of 13, he disagrees.
“I don’t even think it should be anyone under the age of 18 using it,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it says 13 and then also it’s not policed in any way so you could put in any age. There’s no consequences, so we have young youth using it.”
Murray adds parents should be checking in with their kids, and going through their friends lists, deleting anyone you don’t know.
