Apps for teens to make friends: what to check first
Before a teen joins an app to make friends, check who can contact them: whether adults can, what strangers see, and how photos and links work. Many friend apps are swipe-to-chat with people online now, and several are rated 17+ on the App Store. Sea Pals starts with letters, and teens meet only teens as strangers.
How the apps work, side by side
Sources: the apps’ US App Store listings (checked 20 October 2026). An App Store age rating is not an account minimum age or a safety guarantee; read each app’s own age and contact rules before joining. Read how we check comparisons.
| App | How you meet people | Age rating or rules |
|---|---|---|
| Sea Pals | Mochi carries a letter to a few people with shared interests; a reply starts a friendship | 13+ (14+ in South Korea, 16+ in Australia); teens meet only teens as strangers |
| Wizz | Swipe to find people online now, then chat live | App Store: 17+; the listing describes age-matched chatting |
| Yubo | Swipe to find people online who share interests, then chat | App Store: 17+ |
| InterPals | Pen pals and language exchange; chat with people worldwide | App Store: 12+ |
| Slowly | Letters that take time to arrive | App Store: 17+ |
| Bumble BFF | Profiles with interest tags, friend matching and meeting up | App Store: 17+ |
Four things to check before joining
Look for these answers in the app’s own rules, not only on its store page.
- Who can write to them: can adults contact teens, or are ages kept apart?
- What strangers see: a birthday, school, exact location or username can be enough to find someone. Look for what is hidden by default.
- Photos and links: can a stranger send a photo straight away, or ask to move to another app? Leaving the app also leaves its block and report controls behind.
- Block and report: find both before the first conversation, not after.
Swipe-to-chat or letters
Swipe apps show people who are online now, and a chat can start in seconds. That suits quick conversations; there is less time to get to know someone first.
Letters are slower. A first letter is about a shared interest, and a friendship only starts when someone writes back. Slowly makes the wait part of the exchange; Sea Pals uses letters to start friendships that continue on your island.
How Sea Pals keeps teens with teens
Sea Pals has two seas: people aged 13–17 meet only teen strangers, and adults aged 18 and over meet only adult strangers. The birthday decides the sea; it is not proof of age, and country minimums apply. Friends added by link or code can cross age bands, so invites are for people you already know.
Strangers never see a birthday, exact location, online status or username, and distances are rounded. Letters cannot contain links or social handles, and words sent to strangers pass a rules filter. Photos between friends who met by letter need 5 messages from each side and the receiver’s yes. More in safety.
For parents
Ask what they enjoy writing or talking about, then look at the app’s age and contact rules together. Agree that new friendships stay inside the app, and that asking for help is never trouble, even after replying or sharing something. The pen pal safety guide has words for both of you.