Protect your kids from the dangers lurking in vast WhatsApp ...

BERLIN: "Join this group and invite all your friends," is a message that children and young people are increasingly seeing on WhatsApp when joining new groups. These can be hubs for illegal content and can be dangerous, says Kira Liebmann, a family coach in Germany advising parents on how they can protect children from threats online. What are these sprawling WhatsApp groups about, how do they work? Kira Liebmann: In WhatsApp groups, many people can exchange text messages, pictures and videos at the same time. These groups can include up to 1,024 members. They are very popular among schoolchildren who often create them without their parents knowing. Kids can just add other children - often classmates - to these groups, sending "invitations." Whether these come from their classmates or from distant acquaintances. Often these come with the request, "Join this group and invite all your ...