Yee
App Profiles
updated 1/19/2021
In December 2020 we noticed that Yee is not available on the Apple App Store. However in Google Play, both the Monkey app and the Yee app are available. To confuse things even more, an app called Monkey Monkoy (with an icon almost identical to Monkey) that is the same sort of video chat with strangers app is available on the Apple App Store. As far as we know, these apps are not affiliated with one another. Bottom line: there are lots of risks in these types of apps (read below)!
What are the Yee, Monkey, and Monkey Monkoy apps?
Description: Monkey has been one of more popular social media apps. But as of the weekend of April 25, Monkey no longer exists in the Apple App Store and we now have its clone, Yee. Strangely, Monkey AND Yee still exist in Google Play.
Just like Monkey, Yee allows kids to have fun chats with new people from all over the world. Users are randomly matched with other users for a brief, introductory video call or random text chat. When matched with a new person, you can add more time or add the person on Snapchat to continue the connection.
Their catchy marketing phrase is “Social at a Distance.” We have to admit – that’s creative.
Corporate website: Â https://monkey.cool/;Â https://yee.chat/; no website available for Monkey Monkoy
Category: Social networking
APP Store rating: 17+ on Google Play for Monkey and Yee; 17+ (finally they raised the age; the previous rating of 12+ is WAY too young) for Monkey Monkoy (12+ on Apple App Store and Everyone on Google Play) and the generic words used to describe the app in the App Store below aren’t accurate:
What so parents need to know about Yee, Monkey, and Monkey Monkoy?
For an app that caters to teens, there’s no age verification. We are more and more of the opinion that apps who cater to kids must have some sort of age verification in place in order to provide a safer environment for young users, but Yee doesn’t have any of this.
Bullying and user safety are monitored. The app is trying to do the right things. They claim to have 24/7 content moderation (https://yee.chat/safety). It’s a copy and paste of Monkey’s Safety Center.
No real privacy. Teens who use the app will be sharing three types of information, including personal information (name, profile picture, date of birth), user contributed content (the photos, texts, videos, and screen shots shared with other users), and automatic information (browser, I.P. address). Each of these is covered in the App’s Privacy Statement and has different levels of protection.
In summary, Yee does collect a lot of data about its users and shares all three types of information with third parties as needed. Teens need to remember that nothing is private and there’s always a risk that what is done is secret could be made public. This statement from their privacy statement summarizes this thinking:
Due to the inherent nature of the internet and related technology, we do not guarantee the protection of information under our control against loss, misuse, or alteration.
– Yee Privacy Statement: https://yee.chat/privacy
The app’s ecosystem (look and feel) resembles Snapchat, which makes it comfortable for kids to use.
Sexualized content is possible. The app’s owner explained in great detail the steps the app is taking to analyze and moderate potentially sexualized content in the app. They currently engage two image recognition companies to scan user content for anything inappropriate. This is a great step.
But, Monkey did the same, and we received emails from very concerned parents about what their children are being exposed to. One mom told us her daughter was contacted by a man who sent her a video of him masturbating to her videos. Another dad said, “Within 10 minutes of logging into this app my child was inundated with sexual requests, mostly by men of age 19 to 29. This is a very unsafe app for kids.”
There’s only so much that can be controlled.
Anonymity = good thing/bad thing. This is both a benefit and a detriment. The app’s creators want Yee to be a place where kids who might benefit from finding a listening, non-judgmental ear is there for them (they shared a few comments from users who struggle with bullying who found solace in the app), but we just don’t believe that most teens have the wisdom to know how to navigate anonymous environments.
The bottom line: are Yee, Monkey, and Monkey Monkoy safe?
Parents, we just don’t think teens need either of these apps. Although we appreciated the information shared by the app’s creators and the efforts they’re taking to protect kids, we can’t condone random conversations among teens. In fact, we would like to do this to all anonymous chat apps:
Now what? Have you heard of Bark?
Are you interested in having greater insight into the social media platforms that your kids are using? Bark is one of the best platforms we’ve tested. If your kid is using social media, then they need Bark. We trust them and we think you should, too!
[Click here or the logo above to learn more – free to begin!]
*There may be affiliate links throughout this post because we’ve tested and trust a small list of parental control solutions. Our work saves you time! If you decide that you agree with us, then we may earn a small commission, which does nothing to your price. Enjoy! 