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Funding and Fear: Two Gatekeepers Barring Black Tech Startup Founders From Entering Silicon Valley

When the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley was brought to the nation’s attention, tech lovers and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds quickly began discussing exactly what was keeping Black people barred from the world of tech.

Disparities in quality of education, lack of access to resources for students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and racially biased hiring practices quickly emerged as some of the most popular ideas.

Statistically speaking, there is more than enough data to back up these claims and suggest that fixing these issues could be key to diversifying the world of tech.

As the national discourse continues, however, some tech entrepreneurs are highlighting two more major obstacles that are preventing Black people from not only getting into tech but also discouraging them from launching their own startups.

Funding and fear.

This intimidating duo could possibly be among the great adversaries for aspiring Black business owners, especially in the world of tech.

The number of Black employees at tech giants like Google and Facebook was well below the 5 percent mark in recent years. The number of Black tech-savvy entrepreneurs who launched their own startups plummets to a measly 1 percent.

One key reason for this is the lack of funding.

Even outside the world of tech, Black people have historically faced much greater obstacles than their white counterparts when it comes to seeking financial assistance via loans, grants, investments or donations.

Without the necessary funding to get a startup off the ground, it may be nearly impossible for Black-owned startups to stand a chance in the rapidly expanding tech field.

Companies like Y Combinator are hoping to level the playing the field.

Y Combinator is a major incubator for startups and provides seed money to projects that show great potential.

In the past, the company has backed startups like Airbnb and Dropbox.

Now the company is expanding its reach with a particular focus on Black entrepreneurs.

Even as other programs like Y Combinator have started to shift focus in order to find more Black entrepreneurs with promising tech startups, it’s the other enemy that is still causing many to shy away from opportunity — fear.

At least, that’s how Michael Seibel sees it.

Seibel, the first Black partner at Y Combinator, explained that many Black people have a negative perception of launching their own startups.

“We have to convince Black engineers that they have more control of their careers than they realize and they will always be in demand,” Seibel told The Root.

Statistics would also work to support Seibel’s point.

Less than 5 percent of Y Combinator applicants for the winter program were Black.

It suggests that these entrepreneurs simply don’t know about the opportunity or are convincing themselves to not even take a chance in stepping out on their own.

As frightening of a decision as that may be, it’s a decision that has already led Black entrepreneurs like Riana Lynn and Talib Graves-Manns to life-changing opportunities.

Both of the Black startup founders were announced as a part of the first class of entrepreneurs in residence under Google and Code2040.

The coveted title means they will have access to free office space, mentoring teams from both Google and Code 2040 along with a $40,000 stipend.

They are both urging other Black entrepreneurs to overcome the fear of Silicon Valley and take a massive leap forward with their own tech startup.

Lynn explained that a part of the fear could come from a lack of knowledge or not feeling like one has enough experience in the field. It may seem like a legitimate reason to stay out of Silicon Valley’s deep waters, but Lynn says the solution to such a problem is simple.

“If you don’t have the skills to build exactly what you need, then you should at least have team members or freelancers that can help you move things along faster,” she told The Root. “Then you can also understand a little more about how long the project is supposed to take or how much it may cost, and that’s really key to launching a project as a startup founder with little or no capital.”

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Google Expands Chrome-Based Empire With Portable Stick That Can Turn Nearly Any TV Into a Computer

After celebrating four years of Chromebook success and experiencing the rising popularity of Chromecast, Google has unveiled another device that could add to its Chrome-centric tech takeover.

Google recently announced the release of the Asus Chromebit, a device that adds a new level to portability when it comes to computers.

The small, sleek dongle has the ability to turn nearly any TV screen into a fully-functioning computer, and it will cost consumers less than $100.

This differs from Google’s Chromecast, which is anchored in useful apps as opposed to providing full browser-based computer capabilities.

To be clear, the Chromebit is many things — convenient, stylish, affordable and impressive overall — but it wouldn’t quite make the cut as being innovative.

Google is a tad bit late to the computer-in-my-pocket party after Intel announced its Intel Computer Stick back in January. Not to mention China-based companies have been pushing out Android HMDI dongle-computers for almost a year now.

The Intel and China-based versions of the devices boast Windows 8.1 operating systems and Rockchip RK3288 processors, respectively.

Google, after already utilizing the same Rockchip processors for its Chromebook, will continue to hold on to its Rockchip ties while adding a list of additional, impressive features.

“In addition to your Rockship RK3288 (with quad-core Mali 760 graphics) you get 2GB of RAM, 16GB of solid state storage, 2×2 dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a single full-size USB 2.0 port on one end,” Gizmodo reports.

While Google may have lagged slightly behind its competitors when it comes to the new dongles, the tech giant dealt with its tardiness in its usual ways — be fashionably late.

Of all the dongle-computers being introduced to consumers, Chromebit is the most aesthetically pleasing.

It comes in three different colors and flaunts a sleek, functional design that even Intel missed the mark on.

The Chromebit boasts a swivel design that ensures users can plug the device into any HDMI socket without much fuss or stress.

It’s also priced much lower than its Intel rival, which touts a price tag of roughly $150.

The new device is slated to hit shelves this summer and is sure to be followed by a host of other tech giants tossing their own dongle-computers into the ring.

Perhaps this tech battle will heed more impressive competitors than the much-hyped and quickly dismissed battle of the smartwatches.

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Amazon Expands Into Home Services Market, Solidifying Its Position as the Company That Just Keeps Growing

And to think, it all started with books.

Amazon.com Inc. announced its latest major move Monday, which will allow the e-commerce site to expand into the home services market. It’s yet another business venture that proves Amazon is the digital giant that just keeps growing.

For years, Amazon has dominated the e-commerce space and reigned supreme over its competitors whenever consumers were trying to have their online shopping needs met.

Now, the company is adding Amazon Home Services to its ever-expanding list of resources.

It’s a move that may have solidified Amazon as a true one-stop shop.

“Third party estimates show that customers spend four times more on services each year than they do on physical products,” Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace told Reuters. “So for us the opportunity is very big.”

Nearly 85 million Amazon shoppers purchase things from the site that require some sort of installation or servicing, Reuters reported. This often forces consumers to take on the grueling task of installing the new purchase on their own or budget additional money to find a third-party installation service that could turn out to be scam, overpriced or just provide poor quality of work.

That’s where Amazon’s new venture steps in.

Amazon Home Services now makes it possible for consumers all across the nation to purchase their brand new washer and dryer while also finding a certified professional to install the new machines.

This takes the additional work off the consumers’ hands while also ensuring better pricing and quality of service under the Amazon guarantee.

Amazon will also offer price matching to consumers who find another third-party installation or servicing company willing to complete the same job for a lower rate than what was originally quoted by Amazon.

The move will put Amazon’s new service in direct competition with companies like Angie’s List, Craigslist, and Yelp, with Amazon having a clear advantage over its new rivals.

Craigslist is still in the midst of trying to conquer years of negative publicity caused by dishonest users and scam artists on the site.

While Angie’s List and Yelp don’t have any major public relations battles to fight, they also don’t tout the same message of sheer convenience.

Amazon is offering an option that will not only attract new users but also benefit the many users who are already loyally and faithfully turning to Amazon whenever they need to make a purchase.

Yet again, Amazon proves to be the king of a successfully evolving business.

When Amazon first surfaced on the Web, it was all about selling books online. Eventually, the e-commerce site expanded to other forms of media including DVDs and CDs.

As the way people consumed media continued to change, however, it seemed like it would be nearly impossible for bookstores and media rental companies to keep up.

Book stores were forced to close their doors, and companies like Blockbusters took a major hit.

Amazon, however, adapted flawlessly.

Amazon began offering video games, apparel, furniture, toys, jewelry and anything else a person would possibly be looking to buy online.

The growth only continued as Amazon became a tech giant, releasing its collection of Kindle e-book readers and Fire Tablets.

With movie-streaming services, music download options and now a home services market, Amazon has made it clear that it is ready and willing to evolve with the rapidly changing nature of consumer demands.

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America’s Intense Focus on Boosting STEM Education Could Be Detrimental to Innovation

Is it possible to create the world’s next great social media site without understanding people’s digital behaviors? Would anyone be downloading books and magazines to tablets if there wasn’t first a community of amazing authors who made desirable, timeless content? Can anyone understand where technological advances are needed if there is not first a broader understanding of the humanities and liberal arts?

These are the types of questions that some experts are asking as the United States becomes obsessed with boosting educational efforts in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and proposing serious budget cuts and eventual elimination of more liberal subjects.

“Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists?” Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott once questioned. “I don’t think so.”

But the push to eliminate liberal programs and focus solely on STEM subjects could be extremely counterproductive and work to eliminate the years of innovation that have made America a powerhouse when it comes to technological advancements.

What many of these liberal-arts-opposing politicians fail to realize is that advances in technology do not happen in an exclusive world from the humanities and liberal arts.

While STEM subjects often lead to innovation, they are not synonymous with such.

“Innovation is not simply a technical matter but rather one of understanding how people and societies work, what they need and want,” “In Defense of a Liberal Education” author Fareed Zakaria explained in a column for The Washington Post. “America will not dominate the 21st century by making cheaper computer chips but instead by constantly reimagining how computers and other new technologies interact with human beings.”

Some of the greatest STEM success stories come from entrepreneurs who understood this definition of innovation.

From Apple’s Steve Jobs to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg’s many leaders in STEM understand that while an education in the sciences and a background in technology is important, it is not the only piece to the puzzle.

“Facebook’s innovations have a lot to do with psychology,” Zakaria explained. “Zuckerberg often pointed out that before Facebook was created, most people shielded their identities on the Internet …Facebook’s insight was that it could create a culture of real identifies, where people would voluntarily expose themselves to their friends, and this would become a transformative platform.”

It’s that sense of wondering “what if” and an imaginative mind that was able to create the vision for an online social media platform that was revolutionary in design and concept.

Zakaria also notes that while politicians may be quivering in fear about low test scores when compared to other countries, the U.S. is still a leader in innovation and that’s because it’s a leader in creative thinking.

Many countries that root educational efforts in technical studies and memorization excel on standardized tests but fall short when it comes to creating real-world innovations.

It’s because memorizing facts and theories doesn’t translate to creating new technologies, exploring scientific possibilities, imagining new ways to build and construct and unlocking the true message behind a wall of numbers and statistics.

“The dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a fundamental misreading of the facts — and puts America on a dangerously narrow path for the future,” Zakaria adds. “The United States has led the world in economic dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship thanks to exactly the kind of teaching we are now told to defenestrate. A broad general education helps foster critical thinking and creativity.”

That kind of critical thinking and creativity is what allows STEM leaders to find the truly innovative purposes for STEM efforts, such as finding the connection between 3-D printing, iconic superheroes and children’s prosthetics.

So while the nation may not be leading the way in international standardized test scores, America’s future when it comes to innovation is not nearly as bleak as the scores suggest.

In fact, it may very well be brighter than the countries that have grounded their educational achievements in such tests.

Zakaria pointed out that two other highly innovative countries, Sweden and Israel, rarely have impressive rankings when it comes to test scores.

They are both, much like the U.S., leaders in boosting real-world innovations that have revolutionized their economies.

The STEM field is a vital one and indeed many more Black children need the opportunity to get involved in such subjects. As we enter the digital age, more people will need to garner a firm foundation in STEM, but the elimination of a liberal education in the midst of this new era will only rid STEM careers of their creative, innovative potential.

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Sources: Jay Z’s New Streaming Service Could Be the Biggest Threat to Apple’s Upcoming Beats Music

The world of digital streaming may be gearing up for the battle of the decade all thanks to Jay Z’s latest business venture that may come dangerously close to stepping on Apple’s toes.

Jay Z only recently purchased Aspiro, the Swedish company behind Tidal and WiMP, but it seems he’s already transformed Tidal into a top-notch competitor with the potential to overshadow Apple’s upcoming Beats streaming service.

There are certain names, certain brands and certain businesses that are deemed undefeatable in the eyes of many — hip-hop mogul Jay Z and tech giant Apple are among the names on this list.

So who wins a battle that pits both of these giants against one another?

According to the New York Post’s sources, here is how the match is stacking up so far.

In Apple’s corner we have rap icon Dr. Dre and mega-producer Jimmy Iovine who have been teaming up to overhaul Apple’s upcoming Beats music service.

In Tidal’s corner, we have hip-hop mogul and versatile entrepreneur Jay Z, international singing sensation Beyonce, self-proclaimed creative genius and rap veteran Kanye West, the leader of her own navy and Billboard chart-topper Rihanna … need we go on?

To be fair, all of the music moguls involved have a list of connections in the music and entertainment space that could trump a full encyclopedia set in length, and it’s hard to imagine any of them wouldn’t get their phone calls answered when they’re ready to talk business.

Sources claim, however, that Jay Z is possibly the only man who is actually more connected than the Beats duo.

“There’s only one person with a bigger Rolodex than Jimmy Iovine and that’s Jay Z,” one source said.

Jay Z’s advantage doesn’t just stop at connections and contacts either.

While Tidal is earning a reputation as the streaming platform “by artists, for artists,” Apple’s iTunes service has already garnered a negative reputation for playing hardball with record labels.

That type of reputation could be difficult to overcome as the company prepares to launch its Beats service.

“Jay Z’s whole approach is, they’re created by artists, supported by artists,” one anonymous label executive told the New York Post. “The more players the better.”

With Roc Nation under Jay Z’s belt as well, he has a plethora of key players in the music business that his company represents, including Kanye West and DJ DeadMau5.

It creates a possible team roster that is not only extensive in size and impressive in the overall quality of music, but also extremely diverse.

With his own loyal following of hip-hop heads, his wife’s team of pop-loving BeeHive dwellers and DJ DeadMau5’s fanbase of both progressive-house music lovers and those who are just fascinated with his funky mouse heads, Tidal already has a diverse network ready to be tapped into.

Not to mention Tidal made a huge play by securing a deal with Taylor Swift shortly after she cut ties with Spotify.

“If you are Jimmy, you’ve got to be thinking, this guy is beating me to the punch at trying to get all the artists,” another source said.

Jay Z’s rumored guest list for his New York launch event for Tidal on Monday is yet another look into the wide span of award-winning artists who are getting behind the service.

Reports revealed that Rihanna, Madonna and Coldplay are just a few of the major stars who are rumored to be attending the lavish event.

It all signifies a few powerful first blows coming out of Tidal’s corner, but since Apple’s Beats service doesn’t plan on launching until the summer it’s hard to gauge how powerful the response will be from the opposing corner.

Regardless, one thing is already certain.

As another source put it, Jay Z is clearly “disrupting Apple’s venture.”

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Young Blerds Celebrated at White House Science Fair as President Obama Dedicates $240M to Diversifying STEM

President Barack Obama has repeatedly voiced his interest in helping diversify careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and the 2015 White House Science Fair marked the president’s latest effort to follow through on his word. 

This year marked the fifth installment of the White House Science Fair, but the gathering had a particular focus — diversity.

An incredibly diverse group of students were gathered together at the White House to present their own incredible achievements in STEM.

Students from across the nation, and even as far as the U.S. Virgin Islands, demonstrated their amazing potential to be tomorrow’s leaders in Silicon Valley.

With STEM careers being in high demand and officials fearing a possible deficit of people to fill these jobs in a few years, it’s important to get more youths into such fields.

What’s more important, however, is to make sure that marginalized communities are not continuing to be overlooked as the nation prepares to welcome the new wave of engineers, programmers, developers and more.

Silicon Valley has been heavily criticized for its stunning lack of diversity and it’s a trend that has been true throughout all areas of STEM.

The president is hoping to help change that by committing $240 million in private-sector commitments to help diversity STEM fields.

“We don’t want to just increase the number of American students in STEM,” the president said at the White House Science Fair. “We want to make sure everybody is involved. We want to increase the diversity of STEM programs as well. That means reaching out to boys and girls, men and women, of all races and all backgrounds. Science is for all of us. And we want our classrooms and labs and workplaces and media to reflect that.”

Progress is still being made in hopes to make that vision a reality, but at least that vision was realized at the science fair.

The diverse teams helped obliterate all misconceptions that Black people aren’t in STEM fields because they aren’t talented or interested enough.

“Everybody needs an opportunity to go into STEM and learn and expose themselves to such an amazing field,” Stephanie Bullock, the 16-year-old captain of the five-person crew from the U.S Virgin Islands, told The Root.

Bullock and her teammates design rockets for the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

Another group of Black youth were a part of the Village, a division of the Atlanta Children’s Foundation.

The group of young Blerds designed and built a robot that has the ability to lift and carry items on its own.

Their prowess in the STEM field will now give them the opportunity to possibly dominate the GeorgiaFIRST Robotics Peachtree Regional.

It’s an opportunity they have been preparing for with the help of Lonnie Johnson, the inventor of the Super Soaker.

Each of the young men on the team have spent more than two years in foster care but never let their circumstances dictate their own potential.

Many of the young men and women at the science fair carried similar messages.

Another young lady opened up about how her own teachers doubted her when she enrolled in an advanced class.

Tiye Garrett-Mills, 17, admitted that it was a hurtful experience but told The Root that she never let that experience alter her aspirations.

“The thing is, it hurts, but…you have to let that fuel you, you can’t let that stop you, because you can achieve amazing things,” she told The Root. “Two years ago I would not have thought this was possible. But I just shook hands with the president today. I just explained my science-fair project to Barack Obama, and that’s because I didn’t let people stop me.”

It’s a message she hopes all young Black men and women in STEM will listen to.

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Facebook’s Acquisition of WhatsApp Will Not Force the App to Sell Out on Its Ad-Free Promise

In a not-so-shocking announcement that will likely cause user delight and developer dismay, it has been confirmed that Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp will not snatch the messenger away from its ad-free roots.

Instead, however, Facebook’s Messenger app will open its doors to developers who wish to deeplink their apps into Facebook’s original messaging platform.

It’s a strategy that certainly isn’t new and was expected by many tech lovers after TechCrunch busted the myth that WhatsApp would soon be filled with annoying game invitations and third-party advertisements.

Not to mention the fact that David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s Messenger, hinted during an interview last year that WhatsApp users had nothing to worry about.

Rather than transform WhatsApp into something new, Facebook is merely adding the lovably simplistic app to its repertoire of communication tools.

This allows users to still have access to a simple, ad-free messaging option while Facebook holds on to its newest brand motto of “too much is never enough.”

So it will be Facebook’s Messenger Platform that gives developers the link to the platform’s millions of users that they’ve been looking for, not WhatsApp.

In the grander scheme of things, it seems like a fair deal.

Developers get to use Facebook’s Messenger to sink their teeth into roughly 700 million monthly users while WhatsApp remains true to the mantra that helped launch it to success in the first place.

“No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!”

In fact, it was back in 2012 when WhatsApp posted a detailed blog about why it refuses to sell ads even though that decision has left many developers with their arms folded in the corner or simply walking out in the middle of the WhatsApp co-founder’s presentation.

The latter is not playful banter or a hypothetical situation.

It’s the reality that WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton was met with Wednesday during a panel discussion at Facebook’s F8 developer conference in San Francisco.

Acton was joined by other executives on the panel, but he was clearly one subject that the group of developers had a particular interest in.

Why? Because this was the man who became a wealthy entrepreneur by putting consumer experience over developers’ desires.

During the discussion, one developer publicly pleaded with Acton to shift gears and allow his app to “connect with its large user base overseas,” CNET reported. It was a plea that was met with a roar of applause.

Acton’s answer, however, would soon spark the sound of groans, shuffles and heavy footsteps.

“It’s a very careful and difficult thing for me to say here,” Acton said. “No, we don’t have any plans right now at this time.”

Acton added that while he understood what the developers wanted and was “empathetic” to their cause to extend certain tools and services to users across the globe, he also wasn’t willing to sell out on WhatsApp’s classic mantra.

“I receive emails from people on a routine basis that want to either run their business or want to run something using WhatsApp as a backbone of their communication, but we’re balancing that with the user experience,” he said. “User experience is something we have to hold sacred … we want messages to be wanted, not solicited.”

The panel discussion had not come to a close, but Acton’s response single-handedly brought an early end for some attendees who decided to leave the room after his refusal to budge, CNET reported.

It’s unclear if developer access to Facebook’s Messenger app will be enough to ease tensions and calm the waters, but for the users who have been loyally turning to WhatsApp for all their communication needs, it was certainly the right call.

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6 Tech Giants That Signed Fat Checks to Help Black Students in STEM but Still Lack Diversity in Their Own Companies

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Google

Google has consistently donated to a variety of different causes aimed at boosting diversity in the tech space, including the Black Girls Code initiative. Google donated $190,000 to the initiative in 2014 but never did much for increasing diversity in its own staff. That same year, Google’s diversity report revealed that roughly 79 percent of the tech giant’s staff across the globe was male. Only about 2 percent of the staff was Black.

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FCC Sees First Major Net Neutrality Challenges With Two Lawsuits Accusing the Agency of Overstepping Its Boundaries

FCC net neutrality

It has been less than two weeks since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published its new net neutrality rules on its website, and two lawsuits slamming the new regulations have already surfaced, claiming that the agency overstepped its boundaries.

Supporters of net neutrality were warned not to start celebrating as soon as the FCC established its new set of net neutrality rules.

Many major telecommunications groups and corporate powers threatened to come after the agency if it tried to strip them of their power to regulate transmission speeds based on content and higher-priced plans.

The FCC barely got to sit back and admire its new legislation before USTelecom and Alamo Broadband followed up on that promise.

The trade group, which includes AT&T and Verizon, and the Texas-based broadband provider initiated separate filings in different districts of the U.S. Court of Appeals, requesting that the new regulations are not enforced because the FCC allegedly acted beyond its authority.

The suits slammed the FCC’s new set of rules as “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”

“We do not believe the Federal Communications Commission’s move to utility-style regulation invoking Title II authority is legally sustainable,” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said in a statement, according to The Washington Post. “Therefore, we are filing a petition to protect our procedural rights in challenging the recently adopted open Internet order.”

Regardless of the new filings, the rules won’t go into effect until 60 days after they appear in the Federal Register.

The FCC has acknowledged the recent challenges, but the agency doesn’t seem too concerned that the filings will result in any major changes.

In a statement, the FCC called the petitions “premature and subject to dismissal.”

Just as one side of the legal battlefield is gearing up for war, however, so is the other.

An industry lobbyist that represents smaller telecom firms is ready to support the FCC’s move toward net neutrality.

“Our side does want an early challenge so that this administration will defend it, and [FCC Chairman Tom] Wheeler will defend it,” the lobbyist told The Washington Post. “The sooner the better.”

Other groups have stepped forward to emphasize the fact that the FCC has a strong case and also don’t believe the recent filings will be any real issue for the agency.

“These companies have threatened all along to sue over the FCC’s decision, even though that decision is supported by millions of people and absolutely essential for our economy,” Matt Wood, policy director at Free Press, told The Washington Post. “Apparently, some of them couldn’t wait to make good on that threat.”

Both of the lawsuits also seem to acknowledge that their cases may not be as solid as each party hoped.

The documents noted that the filings were initiated “out of an abundance of caution” and acknowledged that the challenges might be premature.

These two challenges come after Tennessee already sued the FCC for blocking the state’s restrictions on city-run Internet services back in February.

As for consumers across the nation, however, net neutrality is a topic many have gotten excited about.

Some Internet users were shocked to even discover that their Internet service providers had the right to regulate the speed of their content based on how much they were paying or what they were doing online.

Wheeler said that’s exactly why the FCC is trying to snatch some of the power over the Web out of the hands of corporations.

“The Internet is too important to allow broadband providers to make the rules,” Wheeler said.

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Teen Sexters Lured Into a False Sense of Security by Popular Private Messaging Apps

Just as parents were finally starting to decode the many acronyms that fill their teenager’s text messages, a new digital challenge has presented itself — sexting.

It’s a problem that has been in the public eye for years, and it encouraged some parents to start checking their children’s phones to ensure no promiscuous messages were being sent or received.

But as sexting grew in popularity, so did private messaging apps that made getting away with secret, sexy photo-sharing too easy for the younger generation.

This growing trend also comes at a time when the younger generation seems completely oblivious to just how severe the consequences of sexting can be.

Parents can’t help but wonder what their child may be doing as they grin at the cellphones and mobile devices.

Unfortunately, apps like Snapchat, Cyber Dust and VaporChat are only making it harder for parents to find out.

These apps offer their users alternative ways to send messages that will supposedly vanish after the intended recipient sees them.

To be clear, these apps have other uses outside of sending sexually explicit messages, but it’s hard to deny the fact that these new apps lend themselves incredibly well to this growing trend.

Rather than sending a nude photo through a text message, they can send it through one of these apps before it vanishes from cyberspace for good, making it nearly impossible for their parents to discover the promiscuous messages.

Unfortunately, teens don’t realize that their parents seeing the message is the least of their troubles.

When it comes down to it, these apps aren’t as foolproof and secure as their young users often believe.

For one, many of the apps have not thwarted the power that is a screenshot — especially on Apple devices.

The most they can do is attempt to alert the user whenever someone has taken a screenshot of their private message and even that isn’t foolproof.

When the teen is alerted that their nude photo has now been stored in someone else’s phone and is at risk of being shared with others, there isn’t much of anything they can do about it.

The apps only promise a heads up … sometimes.

Yet again, however, bratty teens getting their hands on the photo and showing it off to friends is still not the worst of possible outcomes.

Sexting, in some states, can lead to felony charges.

Diana Graber teaches a class called “cyber civics” to middle school students in Aliso Viejo, California.

She wasn’t quite as shocked to learn that the roomful of young students already knew what sexting was, but she was more surprised that they had no idea just how severe the consequences could be.

Graber told CNN that none of her students were aware that sexting could be considered a felony under child pornography laws in some states.

“They had no idea what the consequences were,” Graber told CNN. “I mean that was a complete surprise to literally all 28 kids, so it occurred to me that no one’s ever bothered to tell these kids they couldn’t do that.”

Regardless of who is sending what to whom, some states will only see the dissemination of nude photos of underage teens.

For some justice systems, that’s all they need to consider child pornography charges.

She added that it is extremely rare for students to actually go to jail over sexting, but emphasized that it’s still a possibility and could leave some nasty scars on their criminal records — not to mention the headaches of dealing with such a case.

But yet again, private messaging apps have convinced young ones that they are safe.

Even if they were accused of child pornography, what can anyone do without proof?

What if nobody ever took that dreaded screenshot? All is well, right?

That’s the mindset of someone who doesn’t quite understand cyberspace and has already forgotten the sprinkling of celebrity nudes that fell from the cloud not too long ago.

Even Snapchat and Cyber Dust can’t get past this grim truth about the digital age — nothing shared digitally is ever gone forever.

With Snapchat being one of the most popular apps of its kind, it serves as a good example of what that phrase really means.

The app warns its users that while they may attempt to delete their images and videos for good, it isn’t a guarantee that your salacious photos aren’t sitting on their servers waiting for the right warrant to come along and allow investigators to do some digital snooping

“Although we attempt to delete image data as soon as possible after the message is received and opened by the recipient (and after a certain period of time if they don’t open the message), we cannot guarantee that the message contents will be deleted in every case,” the app warns its users.
Images taken for these apps are also typically still stored on the phone. Just not in the gallery that most people would check.

Instead the information is stuffed into cleverly named files buried deep into the dark cramped corners of the phone’s memory.

Again, it is rare that a young teen will be the center of a federal investigation about child pornography as a result of their sexting, but young people have to understand that these private messaging apps aren’t nearly as safe and secure as they may seem to be.

Images are still stored. Screenshots can still be taken. Secrets can be uncovered.

Serious risks, whether in the form of cyberbullying or a criminal investigation, are still involved.