As a global community, we have faced a turbulent few years, ruled chiefly by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it brought. Now as we enter Spring 2022, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken over media attention and national concern. We live in a time
Read the script below Hello and welcome to Safeguarding Soundbites, the bite-sized podcast that brings you straight-to-the-point updates on the latest online safeguarding news, as well as a weekly round-up from our safeguarding experts. How much do you know about the Metaverse? Recent statistics show that around
This article features a case study which includes details that some readers may find upsetting. Please note: this article should not be shared with children and young people. With Facebook changing its name to ‘Meta’ and news outlets releasing investigative reports around the
In the last few years, as the impact of social media influence continues to grow, there has been a growing concern over the link between influencers and eating disorders. Websites that encourage disordered eating have been around almost as long as the internet has existed. In the 90s, ‘pro-anorexia’ sites (often
Over the course of the pandemic, mental health in the UK has worsened by 8.1%, with young people and women most affected as the groups who already had been struggling with mental health issues prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. We know from emerging research that self-harm referrals and presentations at
Read the script below Welcome back to another safeguarding soundbites, the mini safeguarding podcast that gives you all the essential news and updates in the world of online safeguarding for children and young people, with me Colin Stitt, Head of Safer Schools. This week, we’re talking
Snapchat have recently announced the release of a new feature: Snapchat live location sharing. It will allow users to share their real-time location with friends via the app, expanding their existing Snap Map feature that launched in 2017. What is Snap Map? The Snap Map is a
Read the script below Hello and welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites, your mini podcast with me, Colin Stitt, Head of Safer Schools at Ineqe Safeguarding Group. In this week’s episode, we’re discussing young people and dating apps, random acts of kindness day, instagram and all the
As we get further into 2022, many of today’s top social media apps and platforms have started rolling out new features with the intention of protecting their users. Instagram’s new features mainly focus on screen time limits, account security, and content control - areas that its
For this year’s Random Acts of Kindness Day, we want to share some of our resources that can help take kindness beyond just today and into the everyday. We believe that by educating and empowering children and young people to be kinder online and offline, we can help create a
Bumble, Hinge, Badoo, Tinder. This may sound like a list of nonsensical words with no connection, but that is exactly what they all have in common – they are all about connection. These are just a few of today’s most popular dating apps. While many of
Read the script below Welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites – the mini podcast about online safeguarding with me, Colin Stitt, Head of Safer Schools at INEQE Safeguarding Group. This week I’ll be talking about Children’s Mental Health Week and looking at this week’s most important online safeguarding
This week marks Children’s Mental Health Week across the UK. After nearly two full years of a pandemic, the newest research indicates it has taken a heavy toll on children’s mental health. Between the social impacts, education and home life adjustments, and the stress and uncertainties of
Read the script below Hello and welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites, your podcast for catching up on all the latest in online safeguarding news, with me, Colin Stitt, Head of Safer Schools at Ineqe Safeguarding Group. This week we’ve been looking into Locket, the iOS widget that’s
After gaining fame through popular social media app TikTok, this iOS widget has been shooting up the App Store charts – but what is Locket and how does the Locket widget work? What is Locket? You may not have heard of
Read the script below Hello and welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites with me, Colin, the Head of Safer Schools at Ineqe Safeguarding Group. On this week’s podcast we’re going to be talking about the latest in safeguarding news and what our teams of experts have been
Every new year sees new trends, risks, and threats to online safety emerge, especially for children and young people. This can seem overwhelming (and sometimes even frightening) if you feel like you’ve just got your head around the last new ‘thing’. To help you stay ahead of
Data Protection Day, also known as Data Privacy Day, is celebrated every year on January 28th. It’s a day to stop, assess, and reflect on how we share and protect our data and personal information, as well as consider how our data is being collected, stored, and
Read the script below Welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites with me, Colin Stitt, Head of Safer Schools at Ineqe Safeguarding Group. This is our weekly podcast that gives you a round-up of everything that’s happened in online safeguarding news this week and highlights the latest advice and
We’ve received recent reports of children as young as six discussing an online horror character called ‘Slender Man’. Our online safety experts have taken a deeper look at Slender Man to address any risks or red flags, as well as our top tips for parents, carers, and
After two years of lockdowns and isolation, young people are feeling more isolated than ever before. As many continue to use the online world to seek support, we’re now seeing the mainstreaming of AI friends and support bots. Keep reading to find out all about the newest chatbot on our radar, Replika.
Header Image ©& TM 2022 Roblox Corporation. All Rights Reserved We have recently received multiple reports from parents and school staff about harmful content on gaming platform Roblox. To help you understand how to keep children and young people safe, we’ve created this important Roblox Parents Guide. The latest reports we’ve received have outlined worrying accounts of younger children
Read the script below Hello and welcome back to Safeguarding Soundbites – the newest podcast on the safeguarding scene that brings you this week’s news, need-to-knows, and next steps to keeping the children and young people in your life safer online. I’m Colin Stitt, Head of Safer
If you had just begun to wrap your head around cryptocurrencies and Deepfakes, we have news for you – there’s another online trend on the rise! The digital craze of NFTs has exploded in popularity over the last few months and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping. Our beginner’s guide
4 min read Key Points The spread of misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories in the UK has reached new heights. According to Ofcom, 61% of people are concerned about the impact of misinformation concerning COVID-19. Children can be targets of misinformation and be more susceptible to believing falsehoods or innocently sharing false information