Kaspersky Identified Top Children's Online Platforms

A 2026 study revealed the most popular digital platforms for children across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Internet

Isometric editorial illustration of stacked geometric prisms floating over a digital network grid, representing childhood digital platform trends.
A 2026 Kaspersky study identified YouTube, TikTok, and WhatsApp as the top digital platforms for children across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Data collected during the first eight months of 2026 identified YouTube, TikTok, and WhatsApp as the leading digital platforms for children in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa. The analysis highlighted how these apps serve as primary hubs for childhood digital activity.

Why it matters

Identifying popular platforms helps parents and educators recognize the specific digital environments where children face cybersecurity risks. These spaces remain common venues for online grooming, phishing, and the creation of deepfakes via generative AI.

YouTube accounted for 30.5 percent of mobile application usage by children, followed by TikTok at 15.3 percent and WhatsApp at 13.6 percent. Roblox and Discord were also confirmed as two of the top 10 most visited online resources for minors.

The players

Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company that provides software and services to protect users from digital threats.

The details

Researchers utilized Kaspersky Safe Kids data to monitor application usage time on both Android mobile devices and desktop computers. The findings underscore that while these platforms are popular, they also host significant threats including cyberbullying and phishing.

Timeline

  1. The data collection period spanned the first eight months of 2026.

The Tech Race

This study follows a pattern set by the Kaspersky Safe Kids digital safety monitoring program to track evolving online behavior among younger demographics. These efforts reflect a broader industry push to mitigate cyber threats inherent in popular social and gaming ecosystems.

Parents can use this data to better secure devices by implementing stricter parental controls on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and WhatsApp. Increased awareness of these usage patterns helps families manage privacy settings to reduce risks like grooming and cyberbullying.

The takeaway

Digital platforms require proactive safety measures to protect children from emerging threats like deepfake-based harassment. Families should prioritize regular software updates and open conversations about online interactions to navigate these popular digital spaces safely.

Further reading

Learn more about the latest trends in the Internet to understand how digital safety is evolving globally.

Source note: This article includes information reported by TahawulTech.

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