Viber
What is Viber?
Viber is a messaging app from Rakuten Viber with text, voice and video calls, private groups, public communities and channels, stickers, and paid calling to ordinary phone numbers. Private one-to-one and group chats use end-to-end encryption. Public communities and channels should not be assumed to have the same privacy. [3]
Age limit: The service is not intended for children under 13, and some features are restricted for users under 18. Local requirements can be higher. In the Philippines, users must be at least 21 to use communities and channels. [1] [2]
Why do kids like it?
- Family connections. Relatives in different countries can message and call over the internet.
- Friend and school groups. Group chats support everyday planning and shared interests.
- Stickers and media. Visual replies make conversations feel playful.
- Public communities. Where available, users can follow creators and topics.
What are the real risks?
- A phone number connects the account. Someone who has the number may be able to make contact, depending on the account’s settings.
- Public communities can create unfamiliar contact. Participation may make an account visible to people outside the child’s saved contacts.
- Community links can lead to harmful sites. A public post may direct users to a false offer, login page, or harmful download.
- Community content may be unsuitable. Public channels can carry sexual, violent, extremist, or misleading material.
- Some teen accounts may have fewer protective defaults. Stricter profile, group-addition, and targeted-advertising defaults apply to under-16 users in the EEA and US and under-18 users in the UK; protections differ outside those age and regional groups. [2]
Settings to check
- Review privacy choices: Open More → Settings → Privacy, and check the choices available on the account. Teen defaults and editable controls depend on age and region. [2] [4] [5]
- Limit unfamiliar contact: Review available controls in Settings for silencing unknown callers or filtering requests; some controls are platform-specific. [5]
- Review communities and channels: Open each joined public space, check its purpose and moderators, and leave it if the content or contact does not feel right.
- Block and report when needed: Open the conversation or profile menu and choose Block or Report. Blocking is a boundary; reporting asks Viber to review conduct. [7] [8]
- Turn on two-step verification: Open More → Settings → Privacy → 2-step verification, and keep the PIN and recovery email safe. [6]
- Check purchase controls on the device: Use App Store or Google Play purchase approval where appropriate, because Viber applies age-based account defaults rather than a linked guardian dashboard. [2] [4]
How to talk about it
“Who do you enjoy talking with on Viber, and how do you know them?”
“What feels different between a private group and a public community?”
“How would you like us to handle an unknown number or an unexpected purchase together?”
Last reviewed: September 2026