Two in Three 10-Year-Olds Already Use More Than One Chat-Enabled App, Findmykids Data Shows
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CYPRUS – October 28, 2026 – Two in three 10-year-old children in US families using Findmykids use more than one app that allows them to message or communicate with other people in a typical week, excluding YouTube and standard text messaging. By age 12, most use three or more such apps.
Findmykids is a family safety application that helps parents understand their children’s location and smartphone usage. On a child’s Android phone, parents can see which apps were opened and how much time was spent using them. This study analyzes aggregated usage data from 30,778 children aged 10 to 17 over four weeks in August and September 2026.
By age 10, a child’s online life often spans several platforms, including games with chat features, messaging services, and social applications. Most of these platforms are mainstream apps. Applications designed for meeting unfamiliar people reached 1.5% of children in the sample, while Roblox alone reached 57%.
For parents concerned about children’s online safety, this changes the conversation. Asking whether a particular game is appropriate remains important, but parents should also understand how children communicate across different apps.
One important limitation: Findmykids records which apps were open on a child’s phone, not the content of conversations or the identity of the people on the other end.
The Number of Chat Apps Climbs Fastest Between Ages 10 and 13
Roblox counts as a chat-enabled app in this analysis because players can message one another. TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Discord are also included. YouTube and the phone’s built-in texting application are excluded, making the figures conservative.
When standard texting is included, 87% of children across all age groups use at least two communication apps, compared with 77% when texting is excluded.
The typical 10-year-old uses two chat-enabled apps in a week, while the typical 12-year-old uses three. From age 15, the typical number rises to four, while the share using two or more apps levels off at approximately 82%.
One in Three Children Aged 10–11 Uses a Chat Game and Messenger in the Same Week
Games with chat features and messaging apps frequently appear together on children’s phones. In a typical week, 34% of children aged 10 and 11 used both types of apps. Across the full four-week period, 45% did so at least once.
The most frequent combinations involved Roblox and WhatsApp. During the four-week period, the most common combinations among children aged 10 and 11 were:
App combination| Share of children aged 10–11
Roblox + WhatsApp| 28%
Roblox + Discord| 10%
Brawl Stars + WhatsApp| 4%
Minecraft + WhatsApp| 4%
This overlap is most common among younger children in the sample. The weekly share remains between 32% and 34% from ages 10 to 14, before falling to 24% at age 17 as older teenagers use fewer chat-enabled games.
These figures show that two apps were used on the same phone during the same week. They do not establish that a conversation began in Roblox and continued on WhatsApp. A child could play Roblox with classmates and use WhatsApp to message a family member, producing the same usage pattern.
Roblox Reaches 57% of Children, While Anonymous-Chat Apps Reach 1.5%
Apps designed for meeting unfamiliar people account for a small share of usage in the sample. Mainstream platforms reach considerably more children.
App category| Children who used it during four weeks| Most-used examples
Video platforms| 93%| YouTube 88%, TikTok 57%
Social apps| 69%| Instagram 37%, Snapchat 30%
Games with chat| 67%| Roblox 57%
Messaging apps| 65%| WhatsApp 43%, Discord 25%
Dating and anonymous-chat apps| 1.5%| OmeTV, NGL
The final category represents 469 children out of 30,778, primarily using random video-chat and anonymous-question apps such as OmeTV and NGL. Among children aged 10 and 11, no individual app in this category had more than 20 users.
Because communication features are built into apps children already use every day, blocking a small number of unfamiliar applications may address only a limited part of their online activity. The FBI’s guidance on online child safety identifies social media, online games, gaming consoles, video platforms, and messaging applications as places where children may encounter unwanted contact.
By Age 13, Children’s App Use Looks Different
Social media becomes more prominent well before age 13, the minimum age for many social platforms. Approximately half of 10-year-olds in the sample already use a social app.
By age 12, Instagram is opened on 27% of children’s phones. App usage data alone cannot determine whether the account belongs to the child, an older sibling, or someone else.
Time spent in these applications also increases, from a median of 27 minutes per day for the typical 10-year-old to 135 minutes at age 15, excluding games. Much of this time involves watching videos and browsing TikTok or Instagram rather than sending messages.
Why Multiple Platforms Matter for Children’s Online Safety
Findmykids does not collect the content of conversations, but other researchers have studied how online communication develops across platforms. In a 2022 Thorn survey of children aged 9 to 17, two in three respondents said someone they knew only online had asked them to continue a conversation privately on another platform. This measures requests, not harmful outcomes.
The FBI has also reported that some individuals who target children online encourage them to move conversations to applications with video-calling features. Research published by Thorn has similarly examined how online conversations can move between social and messaging platforms.
In 2025, NCMEC’s CyberTipline received more than 80,000 reports involving online coercion and blackmail, including more than 50,000 reports involving financial demands. The FBI has identified boys aged 14 to 17 as a group frequently affected by these incidents.
Findmykids’ data shows that children may already be using multiple communication platforms by age 10. This does not establish that these children are at greater individual risk, but it highlights an opportunity for parents to introduce online safety conversations early.
What Parents Can Do
No single application provides a complete picture of a child’s online activity. Roblox’s parental controls do not cover WhatsApp, and WhatsApp’s settings do not show activity in Roblox. Looking at app usage across the phone can help parents better understand the range of platforms their children use.
Parents using Findmykids can view information about their child’s app activity and screen time, including time spent in individual applications and which app is currently open, depending on the device and available features.
If Discord appears on a 10-year-old’s phone, for example, it can be an opportunity to ask what the child is using it for. Its presence alone does not indicate a problem. The app activity data does not reveal private messages or identify the people a child communicates with.
These conversations are most useful before a problem occurs. Parents can discuss a familiar situation: a child plays a game with someone they meet online, and that person later suggests continuing the conversation on WhatsApp, Snapchat, or Discord. Moving between apps is not automatically suspicious, but children should understand how to recognize inappropriate requests.
Parents can encourage children to seek help if someone they meet online asks them to keep conversations secret, share private information or images, send money, discuss inappropriate personal topics, or meet without a trusted adult’s knowledge.
Children should know that asking for help will not automatically result in losing access to their devices. A supportive response makes it easier for them to speak up when something feels uncomfortable.
As applications and communication habits continue to change, online safety may depend less on identifying one problematic app and more on understanding the wider network of platforms a child uses.
If a Child Is Being Pressured or Threatened Online
Parents and caregivers should remain calm, reassure the child, and avoid blaming them. Do not send money or provide additional material in response to threats. Preserve relevant messages, usernames, and other evidence before blocking and reporting the account.
In the United States, suspected online exploitation can be reported to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678, or to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. If a child faces immediate danger, contact 911 or local law enforcement.
NCMEC’s Take It Down service helps eligible users request the removal of certain private images of minors from participating online platforms. Outside the United States, families should contact their national child-protection service or local police.
Methodology and Limitations
Data: Aggregated app usage statistics from Android phones belonging to US children whose parents use Findmykids. The analysis covers four full weeks, from August 31 to September 27, 2026. It includes 30,778 children aged 10 to 17 with usage data for at least 14 of the 28 days. Ages come from the children’s profiles in the app. The average age is 13, and 58% of children with known gender information are boys. Groups with fewer than 50 children are not reported as percentages.
Android only: Apple’s restrictions prevent third-party apps from accessing iPhone app-usage information in the same way. Because many American teenagers use iPhones, the sample may not represent all US families.
Not all US children: The sample consists of families who chose to use Findmykids and is not a nationally representative sample of every child.
Different children, not a timeline: The study compares children of different ages at one point in time. Age differences describe the sample and do not show how an individual child will change over time.
Definitions:
– Chat-enabled app: An application that allows users to communicate with others, including social apps, messaging services, games with chat features, and apps for meeting new people. YouTube and built-in texting apps are excluded from the app count and time figures.
– Used: At least 60 seconds spent in an app during a day.
– Typical week: The share calculated across child-weeks with sufficient data, with each week counted equally.
– Game with chat + messenger: Both types of applications used by the same child during the same week.
– Time: Median daily minutes in chat-enabled apps, excluding games. This includes watching, browsing, and reading, not only messaging.
– Category reach: The share of children who used at least one app in a category during the four-week period.
What the data does not show: Findmykids does not access message content or a child’s contacts. The study cannot identify inappropriate contact, coercion, exploitation, or individual victims. Using an app does not necessarily mean communicating with a stranger, and using multiple apps does not automatically indicate increased individual risk. Using a game and a messenger in the same week does not prove that a conversation moved between them.
App figures reflect usage on a child’s phone rather than account ownership. They therefore cannot establish whether a child under 13 has their own social media account. The study describes the structure of children’s communication-app usage, not the prevalence of online exploitation. Findings from Thorn, the FBI, and NCMEC are based on separate samples and methodologies and are not directly comparable with Findmykids data.
FAQs
Why does online safety matter around age 10?
Many children begin using several communication platforms around this age. Introducing healthy online habits early, including protecting personal information and speaking to a trusted adult when uncomfortable, can help children navigate new applications as they grow.
What information should children avoid sharing online?
Children should protect their full name when combined with school details, home address, phone number, passwords, verification codes, and current location. Images may also reveal identifying information through school logos, street signs, or house numbers. Sharing passwords or verification codes can put accounts at risk.
Are parental controls enough to keep children safe online?
No single tool can address every online risk. Parental-control applications such as Findmykids can help families understand app usage, manage screen time, and apply available restrictions. However, they cannot replace communication, age-appropriate supervision, and a child’s confidence in asking for help.
Sources
– Findmykids app usage data, US, Android, August 31–September 27, 2026 (30,778 children aged 10–17)
– Thorn research on online grooming and digital safety
– Thorn research on online financial coercion, June 2024
– FBI guidance on online child safety
– NCMEC CyberTipline data
– NCMEC online safety resources and Take It Down service
About Findmykids
Findmykids is a family safety application that helps parents stay informed about their children’s location and smartphone usage. Depending on the device and available features, the service provides information about app activity and screen time to support family communication and age-appropriate digital supervision.
Media Contact
Company Name: Findmykids
Contact Person: Media Relations Team
Email: Send Email
Country: Cyprus
Website: https://findmykids.org
Press Release Distributed by ABNewswire.com
To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Two in Three 10-Year-Olds Already Use More Than One Chat-Enabled App, Findmykids Data Shows
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