CyberSmartz

What Problem are We Solving?

Teens are being targeted by scammers on social media and messaging platforms. They send unsolicited messages, try to befriend the teen and then find a way to get some personal information or access to some accounts that they try to use for extortion or other nefarious purposes. While the top social media applications like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Discord have some safety settings, they are often buried deep within the app, so many people are not aware of them and do not utilize them as much as they could.

What does CyberSmartz Do?

As opposed to current products out in the world, namely parental control apps, we help ensure teen safety not as an authoritarian figure, but as a helpful voice. Some of CyberSmartz’s features include:

• Reviewing and suggesting improvements to passwords
• Flagging unsafe Wifi networks
• Blocking phishing links and sites
• Flagging mobile malware and suspicious activity on the device
• Review message and follow requests against a safety database and flag issues

Where Are We Now?

Currently, we are in the research phase, as all the social media companies have extremely limited APIs, and mobile platforms, especially iOS, make accessing security settings difficult. A web plugin seems to be the best option, but the web version of these platforms are often the least used.