Instagram has recently changed its link sharing in Stories feature to allow all users access to add links. Previously, this ability to add links into Stories was limited to those with verified accounts or users with a certain number of followers. It was first introduced in August 2021 as the main link-sharing method, replacing the
A viral post is circulating on social media about a child accidentally stumbling across a video called ‘Evil Santa’ on YouTube Kids. The video allegedly features Santa telling the child to harm themselves and others to get more presents. The post has been shared widely on social media, worrying parents, carers,
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Incel stands for involuntary celibate. The incel ideology can be complex, with many different subcultures associated with the term. Some incels hold or express extreme, misogynistic views and blame others, particularly women, for their lack of sexual experience or success in relationships. Online communities of self-identified incels have become known for promoting harmful ideologies, based
What’s New? Instagram have recently launched two new features ‘Desktop Uploads’ and ‘Collaborations’. Both features are now available on the latest version of the app and desktop site. The platform has also announced that they are currently testing two further video features. Our online safety experts have taken a look to see what these changes
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
The phrase ‘dark web’ might bring up all sorts of connotations in your mind, none of which are probably good. For most people, the dark web is a place never ventured to or even given much thought. It’s the other side of the internet, the shadowy depths where criminals and people who are up
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Due to the popularity of Netflix’s most recent viral show, Squid Game, our online safety experts have received several questions about it from concerned parents, carers, and teachers. We decided to release a Safeguarding Update that highlights the main risks and concerns our experts found when researching the show. What is Squid Game? Squid
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
Online Safety Alert Our online safety experts have been alerted to the concept of ‘Gacha Heat’ videos using the characters and backgrounds from the popular roleplaying game Gacha Life. These videos contain characters and backgrounds made on Gacha Studio which is part of their suite of apps. The ‘Gacha
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
With the rapid advancement of technology and the big boom of the gaming industry in 2020, there is a good chance your household has at least one gamer living in it. Gaming is one of the fastest evolving social forums. Even if someone games privately instead of “online” (meaning they can play simultaneously with
This contains sensitive information and should not be shared with anyone below the age of 18 years old. Safeguarding Alert Our online safety experts have been alerted to a potentially viral TikTok trend. The trend focuses on people recording “reaction videos” while searching for a term that brings them to a specific type of illegal, sexual online content. From what our experts have discovered, the explicit material
There are so many online gaming platforms nowadays, it can be difficult to keep track of them all! One of the oldest platforms is Roblox, which is celebrating its 15th birthday this week. Roblox experienced a 122% increase in platform engagement over 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic. With over 42 million daily users,
It’s that time of year again! When summer t-shirts are swapped for school ties, beach shorts replaced by crisp white shirts, and sandals in shoe-racks switch places with shiny new school shoes. Alongside these replacements, there are other transitions happening that may not be so obvious. As school timetables are given out, our home
Recently, many of the popular online platforms that we use every day released plans to improve the experience for users under 18. But will these changes actually improve the online safety for children and young people? Our analysts have reviewed the latest changes announced by Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Google to provide you with
Receiving exam results is always a stressful time. It’s the culmination of countless hours of hard work and stress on top of navigating education throughout a pandemic. For many, it will be a time of joy and looking forward to the future. However, this won’t be the reality for some pupils around the UK as they receive results that aren't what they hoped for. Dealing with
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in
On the 29th of July, an update was made in part 4, section 2. Full details below. After more than a year of increased online risk for children and Ofsted’s review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges across the country, the Department of Education has published a new “strengthened” version
Urgent Online Safety Alert Why are you receiving this alert? Our online safety experts have been alerted to an extremely dangerous website and app called ‘Monkey’, which allows users to have video calls with strangers. The platform markets itself as ‘an alternative to Omegle, with a TikTok vibe’. Our online safety
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in