In our ongoing effort to let you know about apps that fall under the category of “Teens Would be Pretty Ticked if Their Parents Knew They Existed,” let me tell you about the Hide It Pro.
This little sneaky wonder shows up on your smartphone screen as a couple colorful music notes and declares itself to be an innocuous Audio Manager. “You know how kids like their music, Mom. So no worries here,” it seems to say. But indeed it’s another one of those apps, for both Android and iOS, that hides away all the stuff that its user doesn’t want spying eyes to see.
On the surface of things, it is indeed a fully functional audio app. But if you give it a long press with your fingertip, the actual Hide It Pro app will launch. And, under a password lock-out, it can hide pictures, videos, and even other apps. In fact, Hide It Pro is considered one of the top apps for hiding away other unsavory apps. And if you check out the Apple app site, you’ll even note that Hide It Pro can “Enable a disguise screen to disguise the app as if it is crashed when anyone tries to access it.”
This is a sneaky one, to be sure. Here’s a video walk-through that gives you an idea of how it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsqe6BxMZTY
So how does a wily parent outfox this wascally wabbit? Well, it’s tricky. Constant Hide It Pro updates are always aiming at making things as bulletproof as possible. Some programs, like Covenant Eyes and Net Nanny (Focus on the Family has a partnership with the latter) can reportedly give parents the chance to approve of any new apps that might find their way onto their children’s phones. But without those tools, it’s pretty much a case of spotting it, giving it that long touch, and at least revealing the safely locked digital hideaway beneath. Then you can ask Junior what that’s all about.
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