Overview
Overall Rating: ⭐ 2.0 / 5
Recommended Age: 16
Have you heard about the Gas app? It’s currently super popular with high schoolers. Curious what its name means? Gas is teen slang for a person who tries hard and goes out of their way for someone they like. To gas someone up also means to “pump someone up” with a compliment. It’s mostly used in a romantic sense, but not all aspects of the app are about crushes. Its creators describe its purpose as “an app to compliment your friends”
Here’s how Gas works: After adding friends or contacts, you get to vote multiple-choice style for the person you know who most fits the answer to polls like “Looked at the eclipse without eclipse glasses”, “Down to date them”, or “Most likely to be Batman.” If someone selects you, you’ll get an anonymous message in your inbox that “a girl” or “a boy” chose you for an answer to one of their questions. You then can share a screenshot on Instagram or Snapchat — but you don’t ever find out exactly picked you. We’ve got all the details on Gas below, so keep reading.
Harmful Content 😲
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While Gas isn’t nearly as dangerous as other apps we’ve reviewed lately, it has its share of issues. The app prompts you to add your contacts from your phone, and if you choose to, you can then see all kinds of people in these polls, which could get messy. And while nothing super explicit or identifying is revealed through these polls, kids could get very attached to the idea of someone liking them or vice versa.
Some people online believe that the app is somehow connected to child trafficking, but we can find no definitive proof of this.
Predation 🚨
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One good thing about Gas is that there’s no direct messaging or chatting. Because of this, the app’s potential for online predation is greatly lessened. It’s not zero, however, as kids could have internet friends — ones they met on Discord, for example — who aren’t who they say they are.
Positive Value 💙
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Most of the polls on Gas are harmless and fun, and a big chunk of these polls are about pumping up and recognizing your friends. This could make teens feel good about themselves. The app can help young people boost their friends’ self-esteem, as well.
Privacy 🔒
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Despite being a quasi-anonymous app, Gas will access your contacts and insert them into the polls. It will also allow you to join a local school group based on your location if you’re in the right age range. That being said, no real identifying information is revealed beyond your name. However, this is a paid “God mode’ that enables curious users to reveal names.
Parental Controls ✅
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Because of how little functionality Gas has, there are no parental controls. If you’re worried about your child using the app, however, Bark can help. Our service lets you block Gas if needed, or manage when they can use it throughout the day. Bark can also alert you if your kid downloads the Gas app.
So, should my kid download it?
For high schoolers, the Gas app isn’t terrible, but you know your child best. It’s not nearly as dangerous as other apps like Snapchat or websites like Omegle. Keep in mind, though, that it may cause stress and anxiety about figuring out crushes, and may even prompt cyberbullying if used nefariously.
FAQs
It's not nearly as dangerous as other apps like Snapchat or websites like Omegle. Keep in mind, though, that it may cause stress and anxiety about figuring out crushes, and may even prompt cyberbullying if used nefariously.
What is the Gas app parent rating? ›
The Gas app offers very little functionality and therefore there are no parental controls. There is no chatting or direct messaging on the app whatsoever, so according to parent safety app Bark, this makes predation less likely on Gas than other popular social media apps such as Snapchat.
Are gas station apps safe to use? ›
Gas stations may also offer their own rewards and payment apps, which you can use to pay for gas and earn rewards. These can be a safe option because you never have to insert or swipe your card.
Is gas see who likes you a safe app? ›
Jordan adds that while nothing "super explicit or identifying is revealed through these polls," the possibility exists for kids to become "very attached to the idea of someone liking them, leading them to obsessively using and checking the app." Jordan also warns against a portion of the app that charges money.
Does Gas app track you? ›
We will never track you across online services. We only request your approximate location once at signup to suggest nearby schools. We do not store location data on our servers. We do not link location data to your account.
Is gas relief safe for kids? ›
Brand-name Gas-X products contain higher doses of simethicone intended for adults. Adolescents ages 12 years and older can take the adult dosages for Gas-X Maximum Strength and Gas-X Total Relief. At lower doses, simethicone is safe for younger children and babies.
What is gas kid friendly? ›
A gas is a substance made up of high energy particles that are constantly moving rapidly. The particles are not in a fixed structure and are not close together either - they are spaced out and always moving. Gases have no fixed shape. They can flow, take the shape of a container and even be squashed too.
What happened to Gas the app? ›
On October 18, 2023, Discord announced that service for Gas would be permanently ending effective November 7, 2023, due to a steep decline in users.
Do people still use Gas app? ›
The app lost 3% of its users on October 14th at the height of the sex-trafficking rumors. Within days, Gas's creator, Nikita Bier, reported on Twitter that it still boasted 30,000 hourly users. Today, Gas sits at #3 in the Apple app store ranks.
How do I protect my credit card from being scanned? ›
Preventing Credit Card Scanning
- Buy a card sleeve or RFID wallet that blocks RFID transmissions.
- Stack your cards together to mitigate some of the scanner's ability to read information.
- Leave your cards at home and only use cash in public places.
Use tap to pay or contactless pay whenever you can. These methods are usually safer because the skimmer can't grab your card info like it can when you slide or dip. This uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which only works over a very short distance (a few centimeters).
Is the new Gas app free? ›
The award-winning app offers access to more than 9,000 manufacturers' instruction manuals, as well as digital forms such as gas inspection records, landlords' gas safety records and warning notices. Managing director Ant Provan says: “We always wanted to be free and now we can give something back to gas engineers.”
Is gas a safe app? ›
Gas eschews some of the features that have made other apps—like Snapchat or Instagram—risky for teens. Strangers can't contact kids. Users can only say nice things to each other, by participating in polls with an ostensibly positive spin, instead of writing their own, possibly hurtful messages.
How did the Gas app get users? ›
One of the strategies they used was creating gas app Instagram accounts for each high school. They would follow a bunch of people from the same high school from a private account and accept all follow backs at once. With this method, they were able to solve a critical problem.
How much money did the Gas app make? ›
Gas actually made money. Lots of money! Since launching last August, Gas managed to make its way into nearly 8 million iOS devices and earn $7M of net revenue in the process, according to our estimates. And that's what the small team behind the teen sensation got to keep after giving Apple their share.
Is Happy Gas safe for kids? ›
Few side effects: Laughing gas is generally safe for kids when given by a trained dentist. Some children might feel a bit dizzy or nauseous, but these effects don't last long.
Should kids pay for gas? ›
Living in the Real World. Unless you are rich, teen drivers should bear 100% of their responsibility for the cost of driving. This includes insurance premiums, gasoline, and repairs/maintenance.
Does gas safe have an app? ›
One-stop-shop app Gas App UK is now free to download for Gas Safe registered engineers. The award-winning app offers access to more than 9,000 manufacturers' instruction manuals, as well as digital forms such as gas inspection records, landlords' gas safety records and warning notices.
