Zigazoo Kids

What is Zigazoo app?

We've all heard about adult-focused social media's risks to kids. It can let kids connect with individuals you would rather they did not and expose them to content and ideas you'd prefer they did not see.

These risks are very real and only partially addressed by the general social media services available. Zigazoo intends to let kids enjoy something similar to the creative and social aspects of an app like TikTok while protecting them from the risks.

Like TikTok, Zigazoo lets kids create videos for others to view, but unlike TikTok, the whole process is human moderated with kids' safety placed at the heart of the overseeing. Challenges to inspire kids are educational as well as fun, only positive responses are permitted, and everything needs to be passed by the moderation team.

Kids under 13 should still be surpervised when using the app as it is not only inappropriate content that can place kids at risk. However, the supervision becomes an easier task with the apps safety measures.

How does Zigazoo keep kids safe?

Algorithms and artificial intelligence moderate and check other social media posts with varying degrees of success, rarely getting close to perfection. Zigazoo has strict processes to ensure content is kid friendly.

Everything posted within Zigazoo is checked by a human against guidelines.

Zigazoo only allows verified sign-ups and insists that parents are involved. Children under thirteen should use the app from their parents' devices with supervision.

Zigazoo puts each user's content and who can view it in the hands of the users and their parents.

Zigazoo asks for verifiable and explicit proof that parents consent to their kids posting videos. This involves parents and kids sending a shared video to the app for approval. Without this approval, kids can view but not upload videos.

Zigazoo invites kid-friendly brands and creators to contribute only if they apply and are approved.

Zigazoo emphasises positivity by allowing users to respond only with positive emojis and stickers, not comments.

The Zigazoo platform is KidsSafe Coppa Certified.

What we love about Zigazoo app.

Kids see other people, older siblings, and parents using social media and want the same. They want to communicate, share and create a network of like-minded online friends. TikTok's terms do not allow young kids to have an account, and parents should respect this limitation as the service does not have the safeguarding such an app needs to be suitable for kids.

Zigazoo opens up many similar experiences for kids too young to have an approved TikTok account.

Zigazoo's designers have done an excellent job of identifying what makes social media attractive, engaging and appealing to kids. It has taken these aspects and put a kid-friendly spin on them. For example, challenges on social media have long been popular but not always safe or advisable.

Zigazoo has challenges that reward kids' creativity and effort (lately with prizes). However, they are fun, often educational, and safe. Their friends can still respond but only with positivity. Nobody can upload an inappropriate video because they are always moderated before appearing in users' feeds.

Denying kids access to desired apps is a difficult and tiring process, and we love that Zigazoo gives parents an alternative to just saying no to social media apps. With Zigazoo as an outlet, kids will be less interested in trying to circumvent their parents' rules on social media and more time having safe fun with Zigazoo.

Is Zigazoo app easy to use?

Your kids will have no difficulty getting to grips with Zigazoo. It is well-designed and clear to use, with a row of icons along the bottom taking the user to the different sections. At the sign-up stage, kids can choose their interests, and the app will start them off with some accounts to follow.

How easy you find it to understand depends, to an extent, on how familiar you are with modern social media. Signing up for an account is easy via your phone number, Google, or Apple accounts. Zigazoo's terms only allow accounts to be created with a parent's consent.

How will students benefit?

Kids respond to incentives, and Zigazoo offers them to its kid creators. Digital and physical prizes are available to kids who join in with the app's challenges.

Kids who feel alone during time off school, whether during weekends or school breaks, have Zigazoo as an option to stay safely connected.

How will parents benefit?

Nagging can wear down the most resilient of parents, and access to social media is one of those things that modern kids feel they need to push parents to allow. Zigazoo is an excellent compromise as it gives kids the social interactions they desire without taking away their parents' peace of mind.

It is also worth remembering that social media is more than a world of potential danger. Minimising potential risks lets the good shine through. Kids can feel part of something with social media, and they can exercise their creativity and build their confidence. 

How will teachers benefit?

A safe online space like that provided by Zigazoo could help student community cohesiveness as users share, communicate, and build common experiences with the app.

Schools have a duty to help kids understand the digital world, but it is difficult to explain some social media concepts when kids haven't (or shouldn't have) had experience with it. Using Zigazoo as a safe basis, it will be possible for kids to discuss how less protected social media could be misused or make people unhappy.

Schools can access a Zigazoo Classrooms option which lets them operate a school group accessible by invite only. Schools that do this must ensure that parents provide their consent before kids access the app's services.

How much does Zigazoo app cost?

Zigazoo is free to download but has optional in-app purchases. These are not compulsory but offer kids things such as collectables and fan passes. These allow holders to access extra content, tools, badges, rewards, and merchandise discounts.

This is the one area where Zigazoo and parents might diverge in what they think an app like this should have. The passes have time limits or fixed quantities, which places a sense of urgency on getting them, and they are quite expensive, with new ones appearing regularly.

They are by no means required purchases, but it is a shame that the app might contain its own driver of kids' nagging, having done so well at offering an alternative to other social media.

What can Zigazoo app improve on?

The app's first challenge is to select five best friends from their device's contact list. We'd prefer the option to skip this to be a little more prominent as it seems compulsory at first but can, in fact, be skipped. There are multiple reasons why kids might not be able to complete this section, and for those who can't, it feels like starting the app with a failure.

The app's supporting website is very clear about its safety features, but we'd like it to be a little clearer about its commercial content. It does not hide the presence of brands on the site, but we think it would be beneficial to parents and the app itself for the prevalence and nature of brand presence on the app to be detailed.

Safety and privacy considerations for this app

Our reviewers report any features or options they encounter through typical use which could have safety or privacy implications. These are listed below but should not be considered an exhaustive list. Parents should exercise their judgement and provide appropriate supervision depending on their child's age and maturity in relation to what an app's features permit.

Brands and creators must apply to engage with the Zigazoo network, which allows another lever of control over the content on Zigazoo. The successful applicants' content will feature promotional and awareness elements for kids and family brands.

The companies partnering with Zigazoo contribute good-quality, entertaining, and safe content while raising awareness of their products. Branding is an intrinsic part of today's social media, and Zigazoo's intent is to replicate this as much as possible within a safe and secure environment.

We don't view commercial influence as a negative as it is very much within Zigazoo's aims to give kids the social media experience they want within a safe and secure environment. Brands are popular with kids, and stripping them out would make the app less attractive, less relevant and less likely to capture kids' interests.

Social interaction is unpredictable, whether in digital or physical form. The moderators of Zigazoo can ensure its users do not respond negatively by only allowing positive emojis, but no response is also negative, and there is nothing moderation can do about it.

Most kids will shrug off their posts not receiving stickers or emojis from their contacts, but some will take it to heart. We don't count this against Zigazoo, as whether to respond is in the hands of its users, not its moderators.

There is also the pull factor of all social media, which Zigazoo matches with its content and features. Kids will want to use it and check for responses. Parents must be careful to ensure their kids balance their screen time and access it at the appropriate time.

We mention these not to criticise Zigaroo but to remind parents that even a safe platform like Zigazoo still requires them to oversee how their kids use it and to help them resolve any issues or distress their interactions might cause.

Zigazoo's privacy policy states that the app ignores do not track requests within browsers.

Zigazoo has grown rapidly and its privacy policy and terms of use have adapted to match new features. We'd like these and the main app description to make it clearer how much parental supervision the app recommends for users of different ages. 

In the absence of Zigazoo's guidance we've determined that kids under the age of thirteen should only use the app with supervision on their parents' device.

Overall rating of the app.

Zigazoo hits a near-perfect balance between the social media experience kids want and keeping them safe from harmful content. Its human moderation, safety features, and engaging approach have distilled the TikTok experience into one that retains much of its kid appeal but with reduced risk.

If you are unsure, download the app and use it alongside your child. You can share some challenges, get them interested, and be reassured. Zigazoo isn't especially educational and its in-app purchases seem a bit too much so we've awarded Zigazoo four stars for offering an experience kids want within a safety structure parents need.

You can download Zigazoo Kids on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Zigazoo Kids app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.