What is Locket?

Last Updated on 17th November 2025

Reading Time: 4.7 mins

Published: November 17, 2025

You may not have heard of Locket, but there’s a strong possibility the young people in your care have. This guide will provide you with all the information and advice you need to keep the young people in your care safer.

Locket is a widget that is designed to let people share photos instantly with other users they have connected with. Instead of sending photos via an app, the photos automatically appear on the other person’s phone screen on the ‘widget’. It’s a bit like a private social media platform right there on your home screen. Locket is free to download but offers in-app purchases.

What are Widgets?

Widgets are software that run on your home screen, displaying bite-sized information from apps without opening them, like your calendar or the weather forecast.

Users can choose up to 20 friends to connect with, all of whom must also have downloaded the Locket Widget app. Once connected, the users’ photos are shared with each other via their phone’s home screen widget. Essentially, users are allowing contacts to place pictures directly onto each other’s iPhone home screen.

Phone with blank widgets highlighting the Locket widget

How does Locket work?

Locket syncs with your phone contacts to let you invite friends. Once you add a friend, Locket will then sync whatever name and profile picture you have saved for that person in your contacts.
When you share a photo on Locket, it will be sent to all the contacts you have added on the app or to selected contacts, and open right on their home screen.
Your contacts will be able to see this photo in real-time in their Locket widget.
Locket does not let you share videos. It also only lets you take photos within the app, rather than share photos from your camera roll.

©Locket

Features

Reactions – Users can send a ‘locket reaction’ to friends to notify that they’ve seen their photo.
Personalised Widgets – Users can dedicate widgets to specific people, labelled as either a ‘Crush’ or ‘Best Friend’. This means that the widget will only show photos from the assigned user.
Locket History – As two users trade locket snaps, they’ll build up a history of images sent. Locket will use this to create monthly ‘recap’ videos or users can create generate them using the ‘recap’ feature.

Age Restrictions

Locket Widget is rated 13+ on the App Store and ‘Parental Guidance’ on the Google Play Store.

Risks

Weak Age Verification – Locket’s terms of service says that a user must be 13 years of age or older to create an account or use the services. However, there is no age verification process. Users simply have to check’ a box agreeing that they have parental permission to use it. For children who are eager to use the widget, they could simply check this box and continue on to use Locket.
No Parental Controls – A child or young person could be vulnerable to seeing inappropriate images as photographs will appear instantly on their phone, without further permission needed to send, receive, or view them.
Image Sharing – Once an image is sent, there is no way to retrieve or delete it. The other user will have access to the photo in their history and on their widget. Once it has been sent, there isn’t a way to take it back via the widget.

There are many reasons why a child or young person might send an image and then regret doing so, including coercion, grooming or simply by mistake. They may feel they can trust the person they’re sending it to but there are no guarantees about what the other person will do with that image – it could be shared with others and then they would lose control over the image.

In the terms and conditions, it states that all photos uploaded can be reused by Locket for other purposes, such as for marketing use. Although this may not be a likely scenario, it’s worth noting as children and young people may not realise this or fully understand how their images may be used.

Top Tips

Have Open Conversations

Consistently initiate conversations about their online activity and ask open ended questions to leave room for them to speak their mind. Ask questions like, “what photos do you like to send to your friends?” and “what apps do you like to use?”. This will give them the opportunity to share their experiences without feeling judged.

Ensure they know who their trusted adults are if they need to discuss something they have seen online that is harmful or has made them uncomfortable.

Monitor Their Online Activity

It’s important to be aware of what platforms the child in your care is using without invading their privacy. Explain to them if they want to use a new platform, they should ask permission from their parent or carer first.

Educate Them About Online Safety

Educate the child or young person on how to use their devices safely, including reporting and blocking content that is harmful. Empowering them to make smarter online decisions will ultimately keep them safer! 

Limit Their Screen Time

If they seem to be spending too much time on their devices, suggest regular breaks and encourage activities that don’t involve screens such as sports, reading or doing a hobby they enjoy.