Snapchat
Messages and photos disappear. Children can be pressured to send images because they believe they will not be saved. Location sharing can show where a child is in real time.
TikTok
Children can see adult content, receive sexual comments, and be contacted by strangers. Live videos allow real-time interaction, which can quickly become unsafe.
Messages allow strangers to contact children directly. Many children run secondary accounts that parents do not know about. There is strong pressure around appearance and popularity.
Private chats and group chats are often used for school or friendship groups, but bullying, exclusion, and sharing of images can happen quickly and spread widely.
Discord
Children join private chat servers linked to gaming or interests. These spaces are often unmoderated and can include adults, sexual content, or harmful language.
Roblox
Telegram
Messages and groups are encrypted, making them difficult to monitor. It is used to share sexual images, harmful material, and to keep conversations hidden from adults.
OmeTV
Random video chats with strangers. No effective safeguarding. Sexual content and adult behaviour are common. Children have no control over who appears
on screen.
Yubo
Monkey
Children are placed into random video chats with people they do not know. They have no control over who appears on screen.
Kik Messenger
Accounts can be anonymous. It is often used to move conversations away from apps parents may check.
Hoop
The app connects directly to Snapchat and encourages children to add new contacts quickly, including people they have never met.
LiveMe
Children can broadcast themselves live to anyone watching. Viewers can comment in real time, including adults.
Calculator+
These apps look like calculators but are used to hide photos, videos, and messages from parents and carers.
YouTube
Children can be exposed to adult content through suggested videos, comments, and live streams, even when watching innocent clips.
Fortnite
Voice chat allows children to talk to strangers during games. Language and behaviour are often inappropriate.
Children can easily access sexual, violent, or extreme material through posts and comments.
BeReal
The app prompts children to take photos instantly, which can lead to oversharing without thinking about safety.
Twitch
Children watch and interact with live streamers through chat, which often includes adults and unmoderated comments.
Bumble
This is a dating app. Despite age limits, some under-18s access it to talk to adults looking for relationships.