What is Houseparty?
What is Houseparty?
Houseparty is an app that many young people are using to stay in touch with their peers and play games during the school closures and lockdowns. Many young people see this app as a fun and exciting way to talk to their friends in a time where they can’t speak face to face.
How old do you have to be?
Users must be 13 years old and above in order to create a Houseparty account.
How does the app work?
When a user makes a video call within Houseparty, the screen splits so that you can see everyone at the same time.
As well as the video chat feature, the app has quizzes and games that can be played with others during a video call.
Houseparty is available to download as an app on phones and tablets. Once you have created an account and downloaded the app to these devices, you can also log in to an online version on a laptop or computer.
Many young people and adults are using Houseparty across the UK as an easy way to chat to several people at once, the app is free to join and allows users to stay in touch no matter how far away they are from their friends or family.
What do you need to be aware of?
As with any other social media, the behaviour of the users plays a big part in how safe Houseparty is. Cyberbullying, giving away personal information, inappropriate images or messages and peer pressure are universal issues that can pose a risk on any app.
Talk to your child about their internet use and take an interest in why and how they want to use Houseparty. You could frame this conversation around our Family Agreement to help set out boundaries and expectations, but also give your child the confidence to talk to you about any issue they come across online, so that you can help.