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Social media guides

Learn how to set privacy on popular apps

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Help kids keep things private on social

If your child is using social networking sites to chat to friends and family or share their latest selfie, take a look at our list of great social media guides to get you up to speed on the most popular platforms and help them set the right privacy settings.

social media and messaging apps

There are plenty of ways to keep your child safe on their favourite social networks, see how with these guides.

Instagram

Instagram is one of the most popular online photo and video sharing platforms. Our ‘how to guide” will help you to understand more about the app and what features you can use to keep your child safe.

Facebook

Visit Facebook Parent Portal to familiarise yourself with their policies and tools, as well as some best practices. Use the Privacy check-up tool to review who can see your child’s content on the app.

ooVoo

Free video, voice and messaging app, ooVoo has over 100 million registered users in 130 countries and the minimum age to sign-up for an account is 13. Set the right privacy settings on the app with our ooVoo how to guide.

Musical.ly

With over 70 million people worldwide, Musical.ly allows teens to make and share 15 second music videos. These feature users lip-syncing to the latest songs provided by the app, singing their own songs or doing comedy skits.  See our Musical.ly guide to learn how to keep your child safe on the app.

Yubo formerly Yellow

Called the ‘Tinder for teens’, Yubo is a social media app that encourages teens to find new friends on Snapchat and Instagram by allowing them to swipe left or right to connect. Find out more about its safety and privacy settings with our guide.

Snapchat

The global real-time photo and video sharing app, Snapchat averages 400 million ‘snaps’ a day, the minimum age to sign-up for an account is 13. Learn about its latest features like Snap Maps and how to set the appropriate settings on the app with our Snapchat how to guide.

WhatsApp

With over 800 million average users, WhatsApp has become one of the most used messaging apps. Find out what feature you can use to help keep your child’s personal information private, see our Whatsapp how to guide.

Wishbone

To help parents who’ve raised concerns that their children are receiving unsolicited messages on Wishbone app, we’ve compiled expert tips on how to keep them safe on the app.

YouTube

YouTube is now not only where we go to watch footage of cats playing the piano or the latest pop videos, but a valuable resource of entertainment for children. We’ve put together some guidelines and tips on how to ensure your kids enjoy YouTube content in the safest way possible.

Live streaming apps

Live streaming has captured the imagination of teens around the world but also introduced a number of risks they could be exposed to. See our list of safety guides to get up to speed on the most popular Live streaming apps.

Periscope

Designed by Twitter, Periscope lets you share and experience live video streams from your mobile or tablet device. It allows viewers to comment on the videos they see, which the person sharing the video can respond to in real time. UK Safer Internet has compiled a great set of tips to keep children safe on the app.

Live.me

Live.me is a social platform that allows users to connect with others and earn virtual goods which can be exchanged for prizes, rewards and cash. Users are able to go live and instantaneously share what they are doing to a select audience and with over 10 million downloads since last year’s release, the app is increasing in popularity. Learn more about privacy settings on the app, see our guide.

Live.ly

Live.ly is a live stream video platform that works alongside the musical.ly app. It allows teens to broadcast their lives to the world as it happens, it also initiates group video chats with their friends to hang out virtually. Read our guide to see what you can do to keep your child safe on the app.

YouNow

YouNow allows you to comment and like users videos and buy gifts that generate money for the app creator. It has a low level of mature content but they can’t filter everything.  The app creators have pulled together a list of instructions to help keep kids safe on the platform. Visit the YouNow safety page for more information on how to keep your child safe on the app.

Social gaming apps

If your child is gaming online, they may be using platforms to allow them to chat and communicate with other players or friends. Use the following safety guides to help keep them safe on the most popular socaial gaming platforms.

Steam

Steam is one of the most popular social gaming network that allows you to buy and play games online and store them in the cloud.  It has a number of chat features which allows you to chat with others on the platform and live stream your gameplay. See NetAware’s Steam guide for support on safety settings on the platform.

Nintendo Network

Nintendo’s consoles are more family friendly than most and therefore its chat functionality is a lot more geared to safe interaction for younger players. There are parental controls on all Nintendo consoles that can restrict all online use, visit our guide to learn more.

PlayStation Network

PlayStation Network allows users to go online and access PlayStation Store content, online gameplay and use the chat function to talk to other players. You can set up a sub account for children to prevent them from accessing content that is not suitable for them, learn more with our guide.

Minecraft

Minecraft is one of the most popular gaming platforms among primary school age children (despite 13 minimum age guide). If played in multiplayer there is a chatting function that allows users to communicate but this can be switched off. Visit the NSPCC Minecraft guide to see what safety features you can use to keep your child safe on the app.

Xbox Live

Microsoft’s online service for its consoles is called Xbox Live and when you’re signed into the service you can chat to other Xbox Live members and befriend them. See our guide how to set the right settings to keep kids safe on the platform.

Twitch.tv

Twitch.tv is a live streaming social gaming platform that is equipped with a chat feature to allow players to interact with each other and live stream and watch video game competitions. The minimum age of the platform is 13.  Visit our guide for safety advice on this gaming platform.

Roblox

Roblox is one of the biggest online gaming platforms and features social elements which allows players to talk to each other and send friend requests. Aimed at 8 – 18-year-olds all the games are created by users and are multiplayer.  Visit Childnet Roblox guide for more advice on settings privacy settings on this app.

More to explore

Here are some other useful parent stories and children experiences of cyberbullying to give you more insights on the issue:

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Related web links

ABA – What is the difference between banter and bullying?

BBC Own it – Children share their cyberbullying stories