MyLOL Review 2024: How Does This Teen Social Network Really Work?

MyLOL is one of those rare sites that are designed for teens only. No wonder such a concept caused a lot of outrage from concerned parents. On the other hand, any reasonable adult should understand that controlling a child forever is not only impossible but also unwise. Besides, despite ambiguous reception, this site attracts plenty of teens every month, and many of them seem to be enjoying this platform.

So, we decided to take a closer look at MyLOL, its main features, and security measures. Wanna know if this site is safe for your younger teen? Or, being a teen yourself and growing tired of Facebook getting too old, want to give this new network a shot? Read our review to find out top things about MyLOL features and peculiarities.

Who is this site for?

Obviously, MyLOL is for teens. When signing up this site, you will only see age range options from 13 to 19. On the other hand, there is no identity verification, so no one can say for sure that only teen users are present on this service.

Whatever the actual reality may be, MyLOL was still designed with teens in mind. While the site positions itself as a dating network for teens, it has more of a social media functionality than those of a dating service. This is, perhaps, a reasonable step given the age specifics. All in all, a quick look at the site will show that it is perfect for meeting new people, chatting online, and overall — honing one’s social skills.

How does MyLOL work?

Everything is pretty standard — users create their accounts, fill in some basic profile details, and start chatting with other teens. Here, one can post blogs and participate in forums, vote and comment on other user’s pictures and earn nice virtual rewards in the process. Most importantly, this site remains entirely free of charge. Technically, there is a premium subscription that offers several bonus features. However, free users are not at all limited in making the most of MyLOL essential communication tools.

Special features on the teen network

Since we already started talking about features, let’s take a closer look at them. Here is what MyLOL is ready to offer to keep its audience entertained.

• Public chatroom. Any person can make use of a private chat, but when you are in the mood for something more hectic, a common chatroom may do you better.
• Forum: all threads are highlighted by popularity, with the most active discussions on top. Here, you can discuss a variety of subjects, from high school to video games. If you cannot find a thread you’re interested in, simply create a new one. Who knows — maybe other users will find it engaging, too?
• Popularity contest: with this perk, you can vote on other people’s photos. There are four types of reactions — hot, cute, OMG, and WOW. The end result, however, is the same no matter which reaction you choose. Users with most votes get into the popular list.
• Shout: this feature is similar to a status update. A user posts a message, and everyone currently online can see it.

And here are few perks concerned parents will appreciate:

• Image moderation: aside from profile pics, users can upload vast photo galleries. However, every picture goes through careful screening from the site admins to make sure there is no violent, sexually explicit, racist, or other offensive content.
• Detecting suspicious topics: the same moderation policies concern absolutely all text communication on MyLOL. Chats, forums, and blogs are scanned with a keyword detection tool that highlights any suspicious words and raises the red flag for the site admins. Later on, suspicious conversations go through a manual check and are deleted if necessary.

How quickly can you become a member?

As a matter of fact, very quickly. MyLOL offers several account registration options: traditional email signup, Facebook, or Twitter. All three — even an email one — happen very quickly because this site does not verify any accounts or identities, not even an email. Their moderation policies concern only text and images on the site.

Still, there are a couple of restrictions. For example, one cannot use a chatroom or see other people’s public updates without a profile photo. The latter does not necessarily has to be a photo of oneself. We’ve noticed that many users upload funny pictures or celebrity photos. As long as the pic is not offensive, it will pass site moderation guidelines. All of these create a nostalgically anonymous web experience.

There is one more by-pass for users without profile photos. While it will not be possible to use chatrooms without a pic on desktop, a mobile app does not restrict this opportunity. In practice, there are plenty of active chat members without any pictures — and its obvious they are using MyLOL on the mobile app.

Since we started talking about the app, the latter runs both on iOS and Android. Its functionality is identical to the desktop version — no meaningful features compromised. In fact, it even improves on the usability by removing the ‘no chatting without a pic’ restrictions. Or not — we guess that depends on how you see it.

How detailed are MyLOL profiles?

They are not detailed at all. Required profile graphs only include age and location, and there is only one optional text box with personal information about the user. Supposedly, teens were expected to write their autobiographies there. But since most of them have enough writing in school, this section often remains blank. Some put links to other social media profiles here, but you will not find any ‘I love long walks on the beach’ descriptions in this box.

Also, MyLOL offers an option of verifying user accounts. Very few make use of this opportunity, which led many people to believe that this site has a lot of false accounts. It could be so, but on the other hand, links to social media profiles in the about section give a clear understanding of a user’s real identity. But, even if there are no links, there is still no reason to be paranoid about fake accounts. First, users who violate site policies are banned. Second, any person can easily block a troublesome contact — just a click of a button, and one stops receiving inappropriate messages.

Free vs. premium accounts

When it comes to chatting and interacting with other users, there is not much difference between paid and free membership types. Forums, chats, blogs, access to search filters, and view of the photo galleries — all of these essential functionalities are free.

Paid users can enjoy a couple of off-the-menu perks that make website experience even more rewarding. However, they are not too crucial. For example, paid members can see when their messages have been read, be aware of other contact’s online status, and get info about people who views their profiles. Finally, they have a priority line in search results. All in all, those are nice perks that make using MyLOL even more fun. But, they are not vital for meaningful interaction and communication. This is very refreshing, as most other websites that offer paid subscriptions make it really hard for free users to interact. There is no such thing on MyLOL, and no one is forcing people to buy those premium plans.

If, however, someone does decide to get a paid membership, it will not cost too much. For starters, minimal subscription length is just one week, at only $4. It is also possible to subscribe for a month ($10), three months ($21), or half a year ($30). The prices are way below the average market limit, and it is possible to pay with a credit card or a PayPal account. Relevant taxes and fees may apply.

Another unusual feature from this site is a chance to buy a premium subscription for a friend. This is a welcome thought, but — sadly — we have no stats on how many people actually make use of this opportunity— especially given that this site has no restrictions on communication for the non-paying members. Our bet — not too many people have paid plans or send them as gifts.

What are MyLOL credits & how to earn them?

Even a free user can feel like a premium member with these credits. Those are virtual coins that can be earned on the website. MyLOL does not sell those but instead uses these coins as the reward system for loyal and active members. This is a great idea considering the website’s target audience because it makes the user experience fun and enjoyable — just like in a computer game.

You can buy plenty of things with internal credits — from boosts in search and voting results to a 14-day premium membership. Of course, prices will differ. Becoming a premium user for two weeks will require 1000 coins, while a boost in the search results — only 200.

All it takes to earn these tokens is being active on the site. For example, a daily login already gives users 5 coins a day. Sharing or liking MyLOL social media pages — 50 reward coins, replying to other people’s messages — 10 coins, etc.

User feedback and reception

MyLOL is not the most highly rated service as the user reception of its concept remains highly ambiguous. Since it targets all teens, starting as early as 13, parents often grow concerned about their safety. Still, even though this site had been involved in a series of scandals and got its share of negative feedback, many users agree that MyLOL is not as bad as it seems.

When reading through client testimonials, we’ve noticed a lot of complaints about people contacting them and starting inappropriate conversations. On the other hand, we’ve also found a lot of reviews, like flirt review, saying that some users do, indeed, tend to be bothersome, but the block feature works like clockwork.

So, what’s the real deal with this site? We gave this subject some thought and came to believe that MyLOL offers teens a chance to experience online communication as it was in its early days — even before they were born. This site does get hectic and calls for some reasonable caution — along with the block filters. At the same time, it gives people a certain degree of anonymity, which is no longer available on most other sites and social media networks. This is a part of the website’s appeal, and this is why it is so massively popular with teenagers.

We, like many other loyal users, believe this to be a good thing, overall. After all, site admins screen photos and conversations for appropriateness — so technically, they do everything in their power to keep their website safe. The rest, however, is up to the community that often invent rules of its own. In other words, MyLOL is one of those sites that give teens a quick preview at adult life, with all of its social norms, pitfalls, and responsibilities — that is, something you hardly ever learn at school.

Our conclusion on MyLOL

Considering the features this site offers and feedback from its users, we’ve come to believe MyLOL could be worth a shot for teens. It does offer a relatively safe and anonymous space for communicating with their peers. Of course, parents of younger teens are advised to take part — not by monitoring their children’s online activity, but by explaining the ins and outs of safe online communication rules. Most adults today remember the days of the hectic and anonymous Internet, and since they safely lived through it, there is no reason why their children would not.

As for the website itself, it’s pretty slick and offers a lot of fun, interactive features for teens. Security monitoring is also present, so there is no reason to get paranoid over a bit of anonymity. More importantly, this site can be used free of charge, which is not always the case with other online networks for mingling and making new friends. MyLOL offers a range of comprehensive filters that compensate for the age differences in the teen category, so meeting one’s peers is more than possible on this site.