Recent concerns have emerged regarding a WhatsApp group known as ‘Add Everyone.’ Schools and regional police forces across the UK have warned that this group exposes children and young people to explicit and harmful material.

‘Add Everyone’ group chats can go by many names, but their purpose is often the same. These WhatsApp groups are spaces where children and young people are invited to join a chat that contains content such as sexual images, material promoting self-harm, sexual violence, racism and other inappropriate content. These chats may be created by adults seeking to connect with younger users or by young people themselves as a seemingly fun activity. However, as the name suggests, it is difficult to control who becomes a member of these groups, which means that access to children and young people can easily fall into the wrong hands. In some cases, the group owners ask for children to add their contacts to the group, ‘except their parents’.

As WhatsApp has lowered its minimum age from 16 to 13 this year, the risk of young users encountering inappropriate content and adults may increase. However, reports indicate that these groups have targeted children as young as 9.

Children and young people might be drawn to such groups out of curiosity or a desire for social connection. The allure of being part of a larger community can overshadow the potential dangers. Unfortunately, these groups often exploit this curiosity, presenting harmful content and access to strangers as if it were normal or acceptable.

With 8 in 10 young people using WhatsApp by the time they have reached 16-17 years old, many potential victims are already on the platform. Additionally, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) makes it particularly appealing for sharing inappropriate content. While these groups can exist on any social platform, this encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient can read messages—neither WhatsApp itself nor the police can access them. This means that inappropriate content shared within groups can be difficult to monitor and is only seen by authorities if a device is seized during a police investigation.

Many of us routinely use WhatsApp to connect with our friends and families, which can build a false sense of security that this is a normal app where nothing can go wrong. However, all technology is influenced by the people who use or abuse it. These groups can present a number of risks to the children and young people who are invited to join, such as…

To protect the children in your care, consider these steps.