Parents' Guide to

Hot or Not

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Common Sense Media Review

Chris Morris By Chris Morris , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Invasive app focuses on objectification.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 18+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 15+

Based on 7 parent reviews

age 15+

Based on 5 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.

What's It About?

After going through a surprisingly thorough sign-up process, users can rate others as "hot" or "not." They'll swipe through another user's portfolio of pictures and will also see how many interests and friends they have in common. Once they've made up their mind, users just tap a heart sign or an "x" to rank them. From there, it's onto the next person. It's possible to filter users by age range and sex, but you cannot skip a user. Tapping the "i" button in the lower right portion of the screen pulls up their location (by city) as well as other information they've provided. Should two users rate each other as "hot," they can chat via messages.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (5 ):

It's hard to know where to start when listing the problems with Hot or Not. Its focus on objectifying other people is hardly new -- the sister website has been around for years -- but it has gotten no less offensive. The signup process is especially invasive, requiring you to supply a valid email address or give the app access to your Facebook account -- and a working cell phone number to send you a validation code. The potential for trouble in unmoderated messages is immense. And, while the app might say teens can't interact with adults, there's no age verification.

There does seem to be some moderation of pictures -- as we were unable to find any nudity, though the app does warn it might appear infrequently. But even with that, it's still an inappropriate choice for kids.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • What kind of information is safe to share on social networks.

  • Families can also talk about whether it's a good idea to judge people based solely on their appearance.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

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