Have you got a true performer in your household? Or maybe your child is super creative and wants to take their eye for detail and artistic skills to the next level and into a technological medium.
Then you may want to check out the Video Star app that can be found on the Apple App Store. Video Star is essentially a more child-friendly version of the hugely popular video creation and sharing platform TikTok.
Many children and young adults use Video Star to create lip-sync music videos to their favorite songs, make fan edits of their favorite celebrities or influencers and even create vlogs to share online with their friends.
Use the app to have fun with the family and create funky videos, or even as a creative tool for school projects.
So if you’re looking for a new fun video sharing and creative platform, then continue reading to find out everything you need to know about Video Star with our review.
Age Suitability
The developers of the app have rated it for ages 12+ but we are aware of children younger than this using the app through using a parents email account.
The app is designed to be suitable for younger audiences so there should be no content or elements of the site that have come from the developers.
However, as it is difficult for developers and moderators of the app to monitor all content that gets put up, there is a chance your child may view something unsuitable from someone else’s videos whilst using the app.
Parent supervision is recommended to keep your child safe whilst using the app and to ensure they don’t come across content that is not suitable for them.
We’ll discuss some of the possible risks to look out for when using the app further down in our review.
Easy To Use
The app will be moderately easy to use for children/young adults who have some experience of using applications on smartphones or smart devices.
Children who’ve never used apps or smartphones may find the features and editing elements of the app too complicated and will become frustrated at how complex it is.
The user interface is not the most fluid to use and it will take some time to navigate your way through the app to find out what each thing does.
There are user tutorials available to help people understand how to use the app and how to edit and add effects to their videos.
The Tutorial Tuesday feature will also be updated weekly with new and exciting effects or edits that people can use.
Features
The app allows users to film directly in the application and there is also a tool in which users can import videos and photos from their smartphone into the app to begin editing.
The free version of the app offers basic effects that users can use to put on their videos. Users can shoot, trim, slow-mo, speed up, reverse and combine videos and photos to their heart's content.
Tutorial Tuesday
The app features a section called Tutorial Tuesday which will provide weekly tutorials on how to use some of the features and also how to up your editing game. The tutorials will be available by clicking a through-link on the page which will take you to YouTube to watch them.
Weekly Challenges
The app also hosts weekly challenges for its users to take part in where the winners will be featured on the app’s homepage.
Most recently the app hosted a ‘20 Minute’ challenge where users would make a video edit in just 20 minutes and then upload it to the app and use the designated hashtag to be entered into the competition.
New Song Weekly
Each week the app will provide a new song that will then be added to the library of free songs that you can use on the app.
What Songs Are Available To Use?
The app automatically links with your Apple Music library so any music you currently have on there, you’ll be able to use within your videos. Unfortunately, the app is not able to link to Spotify accounts yet.
You can also use recorded audio from the videos in your Camera Roll to use as a sound over your videos. This would be recommended for people who don’t currently have an Apple Music account and don’t want to pay the monthly subscription fee to have one.
There is a library of free music available on the app for you to put on your videos, but at the moment there is no chart music on the app from some of the most popular artists.
Educational Value
This app was not created to be an educational tool for young people and more as an entertainment resource. The app encourages people to film, edit and create music videos/vlogs so has elements of education through basic videography/video editing/ and graphic design.
If your child is interested in the creative industry whether that be design, graphics, filming, or editing, then Video Star will be a fun and easy way for them to be creative without spending hundreds of dollars on professional software for them to use.
Parental Control
There are no parental control settings available on the app, so parents will not be able to limit how much their child is using the app or also what they are viewing on the app.
For this reason, parental supervision and regular check-ins with their child using the app are highly recommended.
Potential Risks
Due to the lack of parental control on the app, parents should be aware of the potential risks that the app poses for their children to become exposed to.
Adult Content
As the app links with the Apple Music account on the smart device, it means children could have access to a parent’s music collection which could have explicit content within.
It would be recommended for parents to set up a family account on their Apple account so that children can have their own playlists of child-friendly music.
Bullying: Users are free to comment on other people’s videos and also have the option to privately message them through Instagram. Younger children may get offended by hateful comments and the risk of bullying is also quite high.
Meeting and Speaking To Strangers: Any uploaded videos will be free for anyone to view through the app which also means users can interact with each other through commenting on videos and also messaging through Instagram.
This makes children and young adults vulnerable to meeting strangers online and coming to potential harm.
Violent Content: There is no way for the app to monitor every video that gets put on Video Star, so children may come across violent content within videos.
Users do have the opportunity to report inappropriate content or comments from other users within the app.
Parental supervision and guidance are recommended for children under 12 to see the app safely. This will ensure they are not speaking to anyone they shouldn’t be and not viewing inappropriate content.
Device Compatibility
Video Star is unfortunately only compatible with Apple devices, so only people who have an iPhone or an iPad with iOS 12.2 or later will be able to use it.
The developers of Video Star have not speculated about branching out to make a version that is compatible with Android or other smart devices, but there are other video editing applications like TikTok that are available for children to use.
There is a multimedia application called Video Star APK created by the brand Dashua which has most of the basic functions of the original Video Star app, but it is not affiliated in any way with the developers of Video Star - Frontier Design Group.
Free or Subscription
The app is completely free to download, however, there are some in-app purchases if you would like to upgrade some of the features and effects.
The Pro version of the app is available in a monthly ($4.99) and annual subscription ($29.99) which will be automatically billed to the card that is linked to the app store’s account. The Pro subscription allows unlimited access to all current and future power packs within the app.
However, if you don’t want to commit to full-blown membership, you can also purchase individual effects like Motion Madness, Crazy Party Effects, Split Screen Effects, Killer Kinetics, and more for varying prices.
Parents will want to set up a passcode, password, or facial recognition system when purchasing in-app products and effects to prevent children from purchasing without consent.
Pros:
- Encourages creativity
- Free version available with basic effects and editing tools
- Editing is easy to figure out and use regardless of skill level
Cons:
- Premium effects are only available through in-app purchases or subscription
- Children may be exposed to inappropriate content online
- No parental controls to limit child usage or content
Is Video Star Worth It?
When it comes to boosting creativity and independent learning, Video Star is a good tool for children to have fun, create cool videos, and spend time with family and friends.
However, Video Star should ideally not be used by young children without adult supervision and usage of the Video Star app may expose children to adult content such as violence, bad language and also make them vulnerable to potential bullying.
