Prosecutor's warning about photo hiding app goes viral

KTRK logo
Friday, September 4, 2015
Parents warned of secret apps that hide photos, texts on phones
A district attorney's warning to parents about a smartphone app that can hide photos has gone viral. (Blount County District Attorney-41st Judicial Circuit/Facebook)

A prosecutor's video warning parents about an app that can store hidden photos has gone viral.

Pamela Casey, district attorney for Blount County, Al., posted a video earlier this week to her office's Facebook page, warning parents about an app called "Calculator%."

Casey's warning quickly went viral, with over 9,000 likes and 100,000 shares.

"I wanted to take a minute to talk to you about a phone call I got last night from a local parent," Casey said in the video. "She wanted to inform me about this app called 'Calculator%.'" Casey then goes on to show how users can input a code to access a hidden photo album and warned parents to talk to their children about the app.

"Take a minute, grab that phone and look for the Calculator% app and make sure you stay on top of that with your children," Casey said.

Some Facebook commenters thanked Casey for her warning.

"It's great information for people like me that have no clue apps like this exists," commented one Facebook user.

"Something every parent should know," commented another.

Other Facebook users, however, said Casey's warning is somewhat outdated. The app has been available for download since 2012, and there are many other apps that have the ability to hide photos.

"Your job as a parent is to educate you [sic] children and help them make the right choices, but if your kid wants to hide [sic] pictures from you, they will without a doubt find other means than this app. This will just embarrass them," wrote another.

"There's [sic] a handful of apps that do this. If you don't trust your kids don't give them a smart phone," wrote one Facebook user.