Amherst Holds Town Hall Meeting on ‘Vault Apps’

If the technology your kids have access to has your head spinning, you're not alone.  In the Mix Morning Rush studio, we always joke that if you're confused about something on your cool new smartphone, hand it to a 4-year-old – they'll figure it out in less than a minute.

Do you know just what's on your teen's phone?

A new trend for teens is using "vault apps", downloadable apps that hide things like pictures, videos and text messages.

They look like common apps on your kids' phones, but require a password to unlock whatever they're hiding.  Here's an example of one I found on Google Play.  Here's one I found in the Apple app store.

US Attorney William Hochul says while no big WNY issues have been reported, parents should be aware of and educate themselves on such secretive apps.

If you ARE looking at the apps your kids have downloaded, the red flag tends to be multiple apps that look like calculators or cameras...things that usually wouldn't be suspect.

A town hall meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Amherst Middle School by local law enforcement to discuss.

I'll be sure to  keep you updated on any developments from that...in the meantime, were you there? Do you go through your kids' phones?  What are your concerns with "vault apps"?