"Ghost Apps" are on the rise. And if the Colorado sexting scandal is any indication, the use of these "Ghost Apps" for rather risqué purposes is spreading.
As reported by Business Insider, the recent sexting scandal drew a lot of attention not only because of its huge scale, but also due to the way the students have allegedly spread hundreds of sexually explicit photos.
These so called "Ghost Apps" are applications that are disguised as usual or normal apps but can turn into a secret photo vault.
Mike Harris, a Jefferson County District Attorney investigator said, "Ghost apps, hidden apps, they're everywhere and kids know about them."
By doing just a quick Google search for a vault application, the search will give one a myriad of results with different options but with almost the same functionality.
For example, some of these "Ghost Apps" look like a normal calculator app, but when you enter a secret code, it takes you to a hidden page where you can store photos, videos and all kinds of personal information.
According to WKBW Buffalo News, parents and school administrators were clueless because the students are using these disguised apps on their smart phones to unlock a vault to stash and share the sexually explicit photos.
Harris added that too many parents claim that their kid is not included to those involved in the Colorado Sexting Scandal, but he commented that he's heard the "not my kid" line from parents too many times.
He said that one father in particular even wept so hard, he thought that he was a failure as a parent because he could not believe that his 12-year-old daughter would be sending out risqué photos of herself.
But Harris was quick to comfort the grieving parent and said, "you're not a failure, our environment is failing our children, not just from us as parents, but our environment as a whole.'"
And although this scale of "sexting" may be uncommon, the act is not rare for teens. In fact, according to a study held last year, 54 percent of teens say that they have done "sexting" even before their 18th birthday.
According to investigators, at least 100 Canon City High School students have used such apps to share and store hundreds of nude and semi-nude pics with each other, including students as young as 13.
The said students involved in the case could even face possible charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.
As early as 2012, a report by the New York Times said that these "Ghost Apps" have already been in circulation in the market and some are very popular like the app "Private Photo Vault."
Although this is not the first time this has happened, what makes this case notable is because this may be the first accounted sex scandal of this scale.
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