Parents are being warned about the rise of a new mobile phone application that lets people post anonymous questions.
Yolo - an acronym for 'you only live one' - has become the most downloaded iPhone app in the UK and America since it was launched earlier this month.
It works using the Snapchat login and you can add an 'ask me anything' or 'send me anonymous messages' sticker to your Snapchat story. This can be sent to specific contacts, or shared more widely.
But children's charity the NSPCC said there are concerns that it can be easily misused to send abusive messages to others or by those looking to exploit young people.
The app is rated 12+, which some child safety groups think is too low.
Andy Burrows, the NSPCC’s associate head of Child Safety Online said: “Apps such as YOLO that allow anonymous comments could be easily misused to send abusive or upsetting messages. Snapchat should justify how this app meets their duty of care to children.
“It’s essential that the UK Government brings in an independent regulator that will have the powers to make tech companies consider the risks that their services present for children."
A statement from Snap Inc, the company that owns Snapchat, said: "While Yolo is not owned or affiliated with Snap in any way, we believe that privacy and security are essential to honest self-expression and this philosophy is key to every product that we create.
"Our Snap Kit partners agree not only to our privacy policy, but also our community guidelines which clearly lay out behaviour and content that isn’t tolerated on our platform.
"Bullying, harassment and intimidation are a direct violation of our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, and we urge any Snapchatter receiving messages like this to report it to us immediately through our in-app reporting tools."
The NSPCC's TEAM tips for parents regarding anonymous messaging apps:
- Talk to your child regularly about what they’re doing online and how to stay safe. Let them know they can come to you or another trusted adult if they’re feeling worried or upset by anything they have seen. You can use our conversation starters to support you when starting these conversations.
- Explore your child’s online activities together. Understand why they like playing certain games and make sure they know what they can do to keep themselves safe.
- Agree your own rules as a family when using sites, apps and games. You can use our Family Agreement template to help you get started.
- Manage your technology and use the settings available to keep your child safe. If you need support doing this, you can visit an O2 Guru in any O2 store or call the O2 NSPCC Advice Line on 0808 800 5002.
