Parents in Lancashire warned about 'dangerous' new app
Yubo has over 50m users worldwide, many of them children
Last updated 13th Jan 2023
Schools in Lancashire are being warned about a new popular app it's feared could expose them to strangers, criminals and unsolicited material.
'Yubo' is a social media app which boasts over 50 million users worldwide, but many of them are under 18. Anyone aged 13 or over can use the app, but those under 18 are supposed to have parental supervision.
Schools have been contacted by Lancashire County Council, asking them to share the message with children and parents.
We spoke to the head of Children and Families at Lancashire County Council Cosima Towneley who says:
"Like all these apps you don't know who you're talking to and they could ask you for extremely personal information. They claim to have the privacy and security of their users at heart, but of course, they don't.
"You have no idea who's uploading your details, or rather nasty things of themselves.
"It's incredibly dangerous, especially for vulnerable people who may be in need of love or affection, and are willing to open up and give far too much information to people posing as someone else."
Yubo's website says:
"Safety is at the core of every decision made at Yubo. As a leading platform for young people to socialise online, we are constantly evolving and upgrading our safety features to stay up-to-date in an ever-changing online world.
"Our industry-leading safety tools and 24/7 team of safety specialists are designed to help everyone have a positive experience on Yubo. We’re proud to be the first major social media platform to introduce technology to verify the ages of all our users, and the first social platform to implement real-time intervention and audio moderation on livestreams."
The National Online Safety Campaign actively discourages any use of the app and urges parents to be vigilant if their kids insist on having it.