Alex Holmes is Deputy CEO of the Diana Award and a member of the Yubo Safety Board. Having experienced bullying as a child, he founded a peer-to-peer support programme called Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, which has trained more than 50,000 students in over 5,000 schools in the UK and Ireland. Alex sits on the global safety advisory boards of several social media companies and is an advisor to the UK Government.

At this time of year, there is a huge global focus on the prevention of bullying. National Bullying Prevention Month took place in the USA in October, UNESCO held its International Day against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying on 2 November and the Anti-Bullying Alliance coordinated Anti-Bullying Week in the UK (13-17 November) with the theme of ‘make a noise about bullying’.

Bullying can take place in real life (e.g. at home or at school) and online (e.g. on social media or messaging apps). It can also take different forms, including physical bullying (e.g. shoving or hitting someone), emotional bullying (e.g. spreading lies or excluding someone from a friendship group), verbal bullying (e.g. calling someone nasty names or making threats) and prejudicial bullying (e.g. targeting someone because of their race, religion or sexual orientation).

Yubo works hard to protect its users from online bullying so, to mark Anti-Bullying Week UK (#AntiBullyingWeek), we’re publishing this interview with UK-based anti-bullying expert Alex Holmes who sits on the Yubo Safety Board. This is the second in our series of articles about the current state of online safety (you can read the first article here).

Thanks for your time, Alex, Could you start by telling us a little about the extent of bullying amongst young people – in particular, online bullying?

We know from research by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and other organisations that face-to-face bullying is more common than online bullying. 

For example, the latest study by the Anti-Bullying Alliance shows that almost one in four children in the UK (23%) are bullied frequently in person compared to one in 20 children (5%) who are bullied frequently online. According to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (UK), being called names, sworn at or insulted and receiving nasty messages are the most common online bullying behaviours.  

Our own research at the Diana Award last September revealed that 65% of children in the UK were scared of going back to school because they have been bullied. 

These kinds of numbers are alarming so our organisation works with young people, parents and teachers to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying. Because online bullying often starts with bullying at school (and children spend 11,000 hours of their life in school), we always look at the big picture.

How does the Diana Award help young people to deal with online bullying and hate speech?

Young people might see racist, misogynist or other negative comments on social media and not have the skills to handle the situation or know how to report it. This is a real challenge, especially if the person who made the post has clout within their peer group. And even if a social media provider bans someone for hate speech, the community members may still share their content. 

Our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors programme at the Diana Award helps to tackle bullying behaviour in school and our Respect project helps students to understand what racist and sexual bullying behaviour is and to design in-school campaigns to combat it. 

Do you have any tips for young people who experience negativity, hate or bullying?

Don't join in or add negativity: Don't like, comment or add to the drama. Don't fuel the fire or fan the flames!

Offer your support or a kind word: If you feel OK and brave, challenge the negativity by adding some positive words or calling it out.

Reach out to the person on the receiving end – your support could mean the world to them.

Use the report button: Reporting is supporting! Don't forget to help make the platform a safer and happier place by reporting any harmful behavior.

Take a break: Being online can be tough. Take 10 minutes, go for a walk, speak to a friend or relative about what went down.

For specific tips about dealing with racist bullying, this article I did with the BBC might be helpful, and, if you’re a young person in the UK who needs support, please contact the Diana Award Advice Messenger (text DA to 85258).

What has had the greatest impact on online bullying and hate speech in recent years?

Although the COVID-19 lockdown provided an escape from the playground drama, online bullying still took place. As screen time (for e.g. schoolwork and gaming) and the frequency of online contact (for e.g. messaging and video chats) went up, digital boundaries became blurred and young people took more risks, which resulted in an increase in online messages (some of which were negative) at all times of the day and night. 

As the UK’s Chief Medical Officers say, it’s wise to take a precautionary approach to the amount of time young people spend on their digital devices – they should balance screen use with other (offline) activities.

We’ve also seen online hate increase around large events (e.g. the racist abuse during the Euro 2020 football tournament) and social media influencers playing a larger role, whether it’s encouraging young people to take part in pranks or share controversial views. 

One of the benefits of Yubo is that it’s about finding your tribe (meeting new people and socialising – either one to one or in a group) rather than following influencers or getting likes and shares.  

How can social media providers support their younger users?

It’s important to remember that the positives of technology outweigh the negatives but there are lots of things that social media providers can do to educate and protect young people. These include:

Market trust and safety to your users in the same way you market other product innovations to them (young people want to use safe platforms!).

Get the balance right between protecting your users and making them feel “censored”. I’m a big fan of using the onboarding process to explain the rules and then using frictionless ways to remind users about acceptable behavior (e.g. stating the rules at the beginning of a live stream, which is what Yubo does). 

Understand that young people will make errors of judgment (e.g. posting negative comments based on someone’s appearance) and help them to learn from them. In-app ‘nudges’ like the ones on Yubo remind users to behave more responsibly and also send an important message to the rest of the community.

Consider the language you use (e.g. instead of saying ‘Make a report’, which sounds very formal, you could offer an ‘I don’t like this content’ option and then prompt users to explain why and report it).

Don’t take a blanket Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach to content moderation – human beings should still make decisions.

Legislation, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act, will make social media companies legally responsible for keeping young people safe online.

How can young people help to influence online safety?

At the Diana Award, we encourage young people to look around their school and community and think about ways they can educate themselves, their peers, their parents, their teachers and other adults and help to reduce bullying and other online risks.

Young people live and breathe technology so they also need a seat at the table and a stronger voice in the discussion. That could be as members of trust and safety councils or advisory boards or as participants in hackathons. It’s already happening on a small scale but industry needs to extend the invitation more meaningfully. I’m working with Yubo to increase youth participation.

What is the role of the Yubo Safety Board?

As a board, we’re able to challenge Yubo and provide advice and support. We all have different expertise in the digital space so we can provide new ways of thinking about products and policies. It’s great to see that, in some of Yubo’s new safety tools and the language used in the app, our input has been valuable. 

7 ways Yubo helps to combat bullying and hate speech

1. Community Guidelines – Yubo has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, intimidating, threatening or harassing another user.

2. Content moderation – Yubo’s Safety Specialists monitor activity on the platform 24/7 and take appropriate action when users report bullying or if they detect bullying through textual and audio-moderation technologies. 

3. Age verification – developed in collaboration with Yoti, this feature confirms the age and identity of Yubo users and helps to reduce fake profiles.

4. Muted Words – Yubo users can block any word, abbreviation or emoji that they find offensive, harmful and triggering to them.

5. Real-time interventions – if a user breaks Yubo’s Community Guidelines, they receive a pop-up alert explaining how they have crossed the line, how to change their behaviour and what action will be taken if they don’t comply. 

6. Reporting tool – Yubo encourages all users to report any inappropriate content or behaviour. In the first half of 2023, 24% of user reports to Yubo were about bullying and 12% were about discrimination and hate speech.

7. In-app campaigns – Yubo has teamed up with the Diana Award to run anti-bullying campaigns in the app.

Visit the Yubo Safety Hub and read the latest Transparency Report.

Bullying and hate speech: Q&A with Alex Holmes

Yubo’s Powers Unlocked: A Comprehensive Guide

On Yubo, you’ve got the power. And not only one single power! There is a whole bunch of them, letting you enhance your experience on Yubo through adding more friends, getting more live visitors, or receiving more messages. These powers are usually paid-for (unless you win some through our new Achievements section of the app – which you should absolutely try to do!) and they can give you that little extra on the basic app functions that we offer our users for free.

So sit back and relax – we are taking you on a brief guided tour of all Yubo’s powers. We will explain what they do and give you some examples on how to best use them. So no matter if you’ve been on Yubo for years or just joined a week ago, there will be something for everyone here! However, if you’re unfamiliar with the app at all, we recommend you to start with our back-to-basics blog post that explains what Yubo is used for, and then come back to read this one.

The first power we will explore is Boost. We bet you’ve seen it before – as a small button with a red pointed arrow inside the live, or as a word “Boosted” on the top of the live card when you’re browsing for lives to join. So what does it do? As you have probably guessed by now, it has something to do with lives. More specifically, Boosts help to make your live – or someone else’s live you find interesting and would like to promote – more visible.

Once a live gets a Boost, it gets automatically entered into the Boost league, where it will compete with other boosted lives for the number one spot. You can get them individually with YuBucks, our in-app currency, or receive one per week as a part of your Power Pack or Elite Pack subscription (don’t worry about these for now – we will come back to them later).

Another power we have in store is Fast Adds, a feature that allows you to send friend requests to many people at once. Be it 100, 200, or 500 people, you can now jump straight to having conversations and building those connections. And when you go live, all your friends will get a notification, speeding up the process of getting to know them better!

Spotlight is another popular feature we have. It allows you to take center stage and get other people to start conversations with you easily! The premise here is very simple: when you activate the Spotlight, your profile is placed in the Spotlight panel, on top of our live and chat tabs. Other Yubo users browsing through these tabs – even the users who are not yet your friends! – can start an instant conversation with you, based on your bio, tags, and overall vibe. So if you love to be in the center of attention, or alternatively if you’re a little shy and reluctant to start conversations of your own, Spotlight can be a perfect way for you to get to meet new people from all over the world.

Reverse Spotlight is exactly what it sounds like – just like actual Spotlight, but with an accent on the user who is sending the message, not the one receiving it. This feature gives you an opportunity to send messages to users you feel like you’d vibe with, no matter if you’ve friended them before! Get a chance to break the ice without waiting to be matched and added as a friend. It can be purchased with YuBucks or accessed as a part of the Elite Pack.

Turbo is a really good find for those who spend most of their time on Yubo looking through the profiles of their new friends-to-be! This power magically promotes your profile in the Swipe section to the top of the pile, so upon activation, your profile will be at its most visible. With Turbo on, you will start receiving more friend requests for the next five minutes, as your profile rises to the top. This feature can be purchased as a standalone, or acquired through subscription to our Power Pack or Elite Pack.

Reverse Swipe is another power for our users searching for friends through our Swipe tab. You don’t need to worry about ever swiping wrong with this one, as it gives you the power to turn back time and right the wrong! So if you have ever swiped the wrong way by accident, having a Reverse Swipe allows you to return to the previous profile and avoid missing out on a potential friendship! To receive unlimited use of this feature, all you need to do is to subscribe to either the Power Pack or Elite Pack that we offer our users (they come with a lot of other fun features too).

Another great feature for all our swipe enthusiasts is “See Who Added You”. It gives you a chance to stop swiping blindly and create instant conversations by allowing you to choose your new connections among people who have already swiped right on you! This feature speeds up the process of matching and lets you skip all the boring parts and jump straight to the stage of messaging people and going live with them.

In addition to seeing who added you, you can now see people who viewed your profile with “See Who Viewed You”. This can give you a boost of confidence to talk to people who you haven’t previously talked to, or remind you to send that long-overdue message you kept forgetting about to your Yubo bestie! Paired with our Reverse Spotlight feature, this could be your easiest way to new connections on Yubo yet.

Power Pack is one of Yubo’s recurring subscription packs. It is a bundle of features selected for you to enhance your app experience, and it includes some of the features we were talking about before, such as Turbo, Boost, and Spotlight. It also allows you to swipe over 1,000 profiles a day and gives you access to unlimited Reverse Swipes. You can also see everyone who swiped right on you, so you’re never left guessing!

Introduced in 2022 for the first time, our Elite Pack made quite the splash! Being an expansion of the Power Pack, it has all of the good stuff the Power Pack has to offer: 1 Boost, 1 Turbo, 1 Spotlight, and unlimited Reverse Swipes. But it also gives you a bunch of exclusive powers that you do not get with the Power Pack, such as seeing people who viewed your profile, appearing at the top of the swipe card pile for the people you swiped right on, as well as getting access to Reverse Swipe that we mentioned above, to name just a few.

Watch Our Elite Pack YouTube Video To Learn All About the Feature

Yubo New Feature: Elite Power Pack

You might have noticed some Yubo users having small artworks displayed in their bio section. Ever wondered what they are? Well, we’re here to tell you: they are Pixels – collectible digital art that can be sent to or received from your friends. We have many Pixel collections that would suit a range of different artistic tastes, so you can browse and pick one that reflects your friend’s or your own personality best! What’s even cooler is that every time you receive a Pixel, you also get some YuBucks to spend on Boosts, Turbos, or Spotlights. Pixels can be a sweet pick-me-up for a friend or a lovely way to say “thanks” for a great live. To know more, check out more information we have on Pixels on our “Subscription and YuBucks” support tab.

Here at Yubo, we are always innovating to find new pathways to social connectedness. The powers above are some of the tools we designed to make your journey on the app smooth and seamless. We really hope this overview was helpful for both old and new users alike.

Whether you are someone who spends all your time in a live or someone who values one-on-one private chat conversations (by the way, check out our blogpost about making friends online as an introvert!), we made sure to include things that would enhance your experience and help you get what you’re looking for – new conversations, new social experiences, and new friends. So, if you were waiting for a sign to give some of the powers we featured a go, the time is now!

On Yubo, the Social Discovery app, you’ve got the power. And not only one single power! There is a whole bunch of them, letting you enhance your experience on Yubo through adding more friends, getting more live visitors, or receiving more messages. These powers are usually paid-for (unless you win some through our new Achievements section of the app – which you should absolutely try to do!) and they can give you that little extra on the basic app functions that we offer our users for free. This article is a brief guided tour of all Yubo’s powers.

Yubo Hackathon, Fostering Collaboration and Innovation

Hackathons have become increasingly popular over the years, for a good reason. These events bring together individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, working towards a common goal of creating something innovative and impactful. 

At Yubo, we champion the cultivation of creativity, pushing boundaries, and unlocking technology's potential to drive meaningful change. To that extent, Yubo decided to host its first-ever internal Hackathon, one such event that fostered collaboration and innovation among its participants.

Brilliant Minds: our participants showcased their talents and passion for creative problem-solving.

Innovation in Action: cutting-edge technology tackled real-world challenges with impressive solutions.

Teamwork: collaborative synergy demonstrated that unity achieves greatness.

Participants came together to create a project from the ground up, to make Yubo stand out as Social Discovery  leveraging the unique skills and talents of all team members. The central theme evolved around generating innovative product ideas to enhance the company's business and drive dynamism. 

The methodology was simple: start with an opportunity to grow Yubo's success, use KPIs and metrics to define the problem, build a hypothesis to solve potential issues, and offer a solution by defining the Minimum Valuable Product to validate the hypothesis, the KPIs we want to reach, and all the steps to implement it.

The hackathon's general guideline was to hack your way, which meant the teams were free to choose their approach to solve the problem. This approach not only gave the teams the freedom to think outside the box but also encouraged them to collaborate and learn from each other, while respecting our guidelines, and keeping in mind Yubo's objective, to become the Safest Social Discovery platform in the world. 

On the jury side, expectations were simple, a viable and ambitious project with a live demo. The teams had to present their projects to the jury, and the top three teams were rewarded with exclusive prizes. Additionally, the features that the winning teams had imagined were being put into production, showcasing the company's commitment to innovation and collaboration.

Projects evolved around increasing user retention and interactions, boosting engagement, and of course, creating a positive impact on online friendships.

The Hackathon was a great success, fostering collaboration and innovation among its participants. The winning projects showcased the company's commitment to innovation and its willingness to listen to its users' needs. Our top three teams have been awarded exclusive prizes and their proposed features will soon be sent in production. 

Moreover, the event not only brought together individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets but also encouraged them to collaborate and learn from each other.

As we look ahead, Yubo remains steadfast in creating an environment that fosters innovation, learning, and growth. Our hackathon is a prime example of how we encourage our team to explore uncharted territories and embrace fresh ideas.

Stay tuned for more exciting initiatives from Yubo as we continue to "Hack our way" to success in the ever-evolving tech world! 

Yubo's Hackathon celebrated innovation and collaboration, uniting diverse talents to tackle real-world challenges with cutting-edge solutions. Teams leveraged their unique skills to create impactful projects, driving positive changes in user retention and online friendships. The event's flexibility in problem-solving and emphasis on teamwork led to outstanding results, with top teams receiving exclusive rewards. Yubo's commitment to innovation and its users shines through, promising more exciting initiatives to come as they "Hack their way" to success in the tech world.

Yubo Hackathon, Fostering Innovation

Having grown up with digital technology, young people are no longer going online, they simply are online. Nearly all teenagers in the US (95%) have access to a smartphone and the majority of children in 19 European countries use their smartphones ‘daily’ or ‘almost all the time’. Almost half of Gen Zs in the US spend more time interacting with others on social media than in the physical world and 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK typically use nine online communication sites or apps on a regular basis.

The digital world offers young people a way to stay in touch, a place to find information, an opportunity to bond with others, a platform for having fun and somewhere to reach out for help. They are hyper-connected and hyper-engaged but many are also anxious, confused and in need of support. With technology evolving at such a fast pace, what are the potential risks for young people and how can social media companies encourage the responsible and safe use of their platforms?

Here at Yubo, we take a proactive approach to protecting, supporting and educating our younger users, who make up an important part of our user base. We’re guided by seven international safety and wellbeing experts in the digital space who, as members of our Safety Board, provide insights and guidance on the main concerns of the day to ensure that Yubo remains a safe and positive platform for our users.

Ahead of a Safety Board meeting at our Paris headquarters this summer, we spoke to each of the board members about the current state of online safety. This is a huge area with a broad spectrum of issues and we can’t cover everything in a single article so we’ve focused on three key challenges in this piece and we’ll be undertaking a deep dive into these issues in future articles.

Name calling, false rumours, physical threats… what happens on the playground also happens online. According to Pew Research Center, nearly half of teenagers in the US (46%) have been bullied or harassed online and, in a UK survey by The Diana Award, two fifths of young people said they have been subject to bullying behaviour, with 22% saying it happened on social media.

As Alex Holmes, Deputy CEO, The Diana Award, explains, “Online bullying often starts with bullying at school. When young people were at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was less online bullying because the playground drama had stopped. So, it’s important to look at the bigger picture.”

Instances of bullying or harassment that are based on prejudice, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity (known as hate incidents) are on the increase. Participants in a study by the UK communications regulator Ofcom said that being exposed to online hate is a common feature of their online experience and that the frequency of exposure often increased around particular events, such as the Euro 2020 football tournament. 

“Young people might see racist or misogynist comments on social media and not have the skills to handle the situation,” comments Alex. “This is a real challenge, especially if the person who made the post is an influencer and has clout within their peer group. Even if a social media provider bans someone for hate speech, the community members may still share their content.”

In an article about Safer Internet Day 2023, Anne Collier, Founder of Net Family News and Executive Director of The Net Safety Collaborative, quoted a report by Project Rockit and the Young & Resilient Research Center, which says that online safety instruction must be about more than extreme harms, such as cyberbullying and grooming. It should focus on the complexities of “social relationships and daily dramas” too. “Growing young people’s social literacy with social-emotional learning is more important than ever” says Anne. 

She points out that media literacy is also extremely important for reducing harm in the era of misinformation and disinformation. “Teachers play a key role here but it’s a complex area and they have so many other things on their plate. I’d like to see media literacy incorporated into History, Social Studies and other parts of the curriculum and for technology companies to invest in more media and digital literacy programmes.”

Digital literacy and online safety are not just the responsibility of schools, of course. Parents are encouraged to take an interest in what their children do online, help them to develop social skills and create safe spaces for discussing any concerns. 

“It’s not about adults taking control,” comments Anne. “It’s about letting young people know that we trust them and want them to develop their agency and be in control of their digital experiences.”

Dr Richard Graham, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, adds, “It’s also about helping young people to understand and process these experiences so they can learn from them and become more resilient over time.”

Social media providers also play an important role in the development of social skills online and resilience in the face of digital challenges. Real-time interactions and awareness campaigns are powerful tools, for example. 

Alex notes that young people will, of course, make errors of judgment (e.g. posting negative comments based on someone’s appearance) and that it’s important they learn from them. 

“In-app ‘nudges’ by social media providers remind the user to behave more responsibly and also send an important message to the rest of the community,” says Alex, whilst Richard describes these nudges as “helpfully disruptive” as they provide an opportunity for young people to reflect on what they are about to do and surface the need to consider others. 

On Yubo, for example, users receive a pop-up alert if they are about to share personal information in private chat (e.g. if they type a phrase such as “I live in London” or “My phone number is…”) to make them think twice before sharing these details. 

Research by ySkills, McKinsey Health Institute and others suggests that negative digital experiences have a negative impact on young people’s overall wellbeing.

“Technology companies need to understand how online risks, such as bullying and pressure from influencers and peers, might become harms,” comments Richard. “The intersection of life online and mental health highlights the risks, especially for those struggling with self-harm and eating disorders.”

Richard points out that digital technology used to have a “pull” focus (people would go online to find information and connect with others) but is now more about “push” (algorithms providing recommended content based on previous engagement or what is trending) so young people are much less able to control what they see online and may feel powerless, which can have a negative impact on their mental health. Fortunately, what happens on Yubo is not decided by algorithms and Yubo users therefore have considerable agency.

“Growing up in the digital age can be hard,” notes Anne. “It can feel like being in a fishbowl with the minutiae of your daily life available for so many people to see and everyone around you seeming so happy – you need to be resilient.” 

Digital resilience is gained through experience, including collective experiences. Indeed, a recent study by the University of East Anglia argues that it needs to be a “collective endeavour” that involves the young person, their family and their school as well as policymakers, governments and technology companies.

“There are many positives to being free to navigate the digital world on your own but what young people also seem to want is that one person – perhaps a parent or teacher – who can help them make sense of what’s going on,” says Richard. “The algorithms that push what appears in social media feeds are complex so it can be a challenge for families and schools, but the child’s psychological and physical safety is paramount.”

The good news is that many young people understand how social media might affect their mental health. Recent research shows that they choose to take regular breaks from their favourite apps and often seek out online content and services to improve their mood and manage any feelings of anxiety.

Annie Mullins OBE, Independent Safety Advisor, comments, “Yubo and other social media platforms have to understand that teenagers are vulnerable. Of course, they’ll push boundaries and make mistakes, that’s only natural, but there should be digital spaces in which they feel safe, and they should be signposted to wellbeing support if they need it.”

The volume of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the internet has increased significantly in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and rise in video content. In 2022, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 32 million CyberTipline reports containing images, videos and other content related to suspected child sexual exploitation. It escalated over 49,000 of these to law enforcement as urgent reports that involved a child in imminent danger.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” comments John Shehan, Vice President, NCMEC. “One recent trend we’ve identified is boys being enticed by fake profiles to share indecent images of themselves and then being extorted for money. We also need to keep an eye on the use of new technologies, such as generative AI, that are being used to create child sexual abuse material.”

He adds, “Technology companies must work with NGOs and law enforcement agencies to disrupt this kind of activity – only a handful are doing enough at the moment. Proposed legislation that requires companies to proactively monitor and report CSAM will massively supercharge children’s safety online.”

With research by Thorn revealing that 40% of children online have been approached by someone who they thought was attempting to “befriend and manipulate” them, safety by design is more important than ever. 

As Travis Bright, who works closely with NCMEC, says, “You can’t bolt on safety and privacy later. It has to be designed into your product at the very beginning, in the same way that anti-spam and malware tools are. One positive development in recent years is the introduction of image classifiers and AI models to detect grooming conversations and CSAM. These are already precise and will improve over time.” 

Thorn and the Tech Coalition recently announced a joint initiative to develop this kind of best-in-class technology, which detects and categorises when risky online content or behaviour falls into defined “classes” related to grooming (e.g. exposure to sexual material or someone seeking to meet up with a minor in person). On the rare occasion a grooming conversation occurs, the technology alerts a safety specialist who then checks if the young person is safe. The rest of the time, the conversations occur in private, without any moderator review. 

Mick Moran, Former Assistant Director of INTERPOL (the international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control), also encourages social media companies to provide robust reporting mechanisms and to work closely with law enforcement. “You need to have the right processes in place to identify potentially criminal activity and deal with reports from users. There’s already good collaboration at a national and global level but I’d like to see industry strengthen its relationship with NGOs and law enforcement agencies even further so they can help to prevent more crimes from happening in the first place.”

To help stop the spread of nude, partially nude or sexually explicit images and videos of under-18s, NCMEC has launched a service called Take It Down that uses hash values (where an algorithm assigns a unique ‘digital fingerprint’ to an image). “This is a really exciting, much-needed development,” says Anne, who wrote an article about the new service earlier this year. “Finally there’s hope – much more than hope, actually – for teens to get discreet, tangible help in getting nude photos taken down.” 

Governments are also taking action – for example, the European Commission has proposed new legislation to help detect, report and prevent online child sexual abuse and support victims. With the latest Global Threat Assessment revealing that over 62% of CSAM online is hosted on servers based in the EU, the WeProtect Global Alliance and many others welcome this proposal.

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Every member of the Yubo Safety Board is a passionate advocate for online safety and works hard to help young people thrive in their digital spaces. 

During our recent conversations, we covered a broad range of topics, including the importance of respecting children’s rights in the digital world, the role of age verification and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We also discussed how governments are introducing stricter legislation, such as the UK Online Safety Bill and the French government’s new bill to secure and regulate the digital space.

We’ll delve into these issues and take a closer look at specific elements of Yubo’s safety strategy in future articles but, for now, we’ll leave you with a few final comments from our Safety Board.

“There’s only so much that technology companies can do – the whole of society (parents, teachers, government…) has to take the digital world seriously and help young people to feel safe and able to express who they are.” Travis Bright

“I’m always impressed when technology companies put safety first. It shouldn’t simply be a box ticking exercise. They should actively seek out bad behaviour and stop it.” Mick Moran

“The climate emergency, the war in Ukraine, the cost of living… young people already have so much to deal with. The least we can do is help them to navigate their digital spaces with confidence and resilience.” Annie Mullins OBE

Watch our video of the Yubo Safety Board visit to our Paris headquarters: 

Yubo Life - Behind The Scenes With The Safety Board

Keep an eye on our website for the next in this series of articles.

This article written by the Yubo Safety Board of Advisors addresses the complex challenges of online safety for young people, focusing on key issues such as bullying and hate speech, the impact of digital experiences on mental health, and child sexual abuse and exploitation. It highlights the need for proactive measures, including in-app reminders and real-time interactions, to address hate speech, and emphasizes the importance of digital resilience and collective efforts involving young people, families, schools, policymakers, and technology companies to support mental health. The article also stresses the role of Yubo and al technology companies in designing safe online spaces and the importance of collaborative efforts to combat child sexual abuse material.

The state of online safety

Lo and behold: Yubo has introduced a new cool way to get YuBucks! Gamers know it, film buffs know it, language enthusiasts know it…It’s the rush of seeing a pop-up on the screen that lets you know you’ve unlocked a new in-game achievement playing hot and trendy Baldur's Gate 3. The sweet sensation of finally giving a Letterboxd rating to a movie that sat on your to-watch list since forever. The superior feeling of having Duo the Owl congratulate you on completing your daily Spanish language quest. And now, you can be a part of it on Yubo, too!

With our new Achievement feature, you can earn free YuBucks by simply continuing to use the app the way you love. Whether you are texting, swiping, or streaming, you can level up on your achievements and get increasingly larger rewards whilst using our in-app features regularly – even by just sending Pixels to your BFFs!

Gamification is a popular way to increase engagement and fun by adding game elements to various activities. And it’s not only useful for apps – for instance, voluntary blood donation services in the UK use gamification to encourage people to donate consistently! Donating five times will get you a bronze donor card with your blood type on it, donating a hundred times will result in an invitation to donors’ ceremony. And there are so many more ways gamification is seamlessly introduced into your everyday life. For instance, it can encourage you to workout consistently and is often used by various fitness programmes. It is also incredibly popular in education, with schools that are introducing game elements alongside their more traditional ways of learning. Even workplaces are in on this trend for various training and productivity purposes.

Yubo’s newest Achievements feature uses gamification to improve your experience on the app. By introducing a levelling-up element, most frequently associated with gaming, all users are encouraged to participate on equal terms and get rewarded for their participation: no more empty profiles or lack of tags to find your new friends by!

Filling out your bio, adding pictures, tags and emojis is now not just a boring “set up your profile” task, but an activity you can get free YuBucks for. And the cycle does not stop here: your hard-earned YuBucks can further better your time on the app – our in-app currency can be spent on gifting Pixels, boosting your favourite lives or finding new friends in the Discover section. And it’s not just YuBucks that you can receive from participating – finishing more complex tasks can earn you free access to Yubo’s paid features, such as Spotlight or Turbo. If you always wanted to explore those without paying – it’s a sweet little deal. So, it’s always a win-win!

What kind of Achievements are there, then? Yubo introduced a number of Achievements, starting from the most basic tasks, such as filling out your profile (to promote meaningful connections based on shared interests and compatible vibes) to more complex ones, such as “Mingle-mingle” and “Swipe-out” (that encourage you to put yourself out there and socialize).

What’s more, there are levels too! The first level offers our users some pretty straightforward ways to earn YuBucks as they’re discovering ways to customize their profile for bigger prominence and better matches. The second level is all about discovering new features that might have been overlooked by our users in the past. The third level is where the real fun begins – you get your first chance to receive one of our paid-for features as your leveling-up reward, for free, and the tasks Yubo has designed for this level promote expanding your friendship circle and establishing even more meaningful connections. Levels four and five are there to make you a real Yubo powerhouse with a complete understanding of all the nooks and crannies of the app and end up a part of a robust friendship group.

Level up your profile and earn free YuBucks simply by adding more information to your profile: it can be your interests or simply just more pictures of you and the things you love. Got a snap of yourself at your favorite band’s gig or, maybe, next to some luscious plant you’ve been nurturing all year in your room? Add them all to your profile! Express yourself and meet people who like you for who you are.

Keep those conversations going and earn rewards by receiving messages from your new friends. We suggest “Did you hear about Yubo’s new Achievements feature?” as a great conversation starter.

Swiping right and adding new connections will help you get Achievements too. The more connections you make – the more YuBucks you get, but as it’s always quality over quantity when it comes to friends! So, we made sure you can also get YuBucks through adding your closest friends as your BFFs on the app.

Yubo would not be Yubo without going live, am I right? So, starting a Live will also help you get new Achievements. Streaming, watching or having people join your Lives all will ensure your steady rise to the top.

Another way of getting rewarded within the Achievements feature is sending and receiving Pixels. They’re a cool thing in itself, so do consider sending a few to your closest mates – they will appreciate the gesture and you will enjoy getting that sweet “level up” pop-up animation.

Lastly, using Spotlights, Turbos and other in-app features will help you get more Achievements! So if you have not tried any of them yet, this is as good a time as any. Get on the app and see what you’ve been missing.

Sounds good? So go to your app, click on the Profile icon at the upper right corner of your screen – the list of achievements can be found right below your name and profile picture – and get achieving. Here’s to better times and more meaningful connections. We hope you will find yours!

Yubo has introduced a new Achievements feature, adding a fun gamification element to the app. Users can earn YuBucks, the in-app currency, by completing various tasks and leveling up. These tasks range from filling out profiles to socializing and going live on the platform. YuBucks can be used for gifting, boosting livestreams, or accessing premium features. Achievements come in different levels and promote meaningful connections, making Yubo even more engaging and rewarding for its users.

Yubo’s brand-new Achievements are here to promote better connections

Yubo, a live social discovery app for Generation Z, aims to help people find a genuine friendship-based connection through its platform. Yubo isn’t a dating app. Instead, it’s designed to make it easier for Gen Z members to make new friends and hang out online.

Since launching in 2015, Yubo has helped create over 2 billion new connections. 

Yubo Lets Gen Z Be Authentic Online and Make Friends Worldwide

Yubo is a platform to make new friends and socialize. It’s not a dating app. And we care deeply about the welfare of our users. Safety is at the core of every choice we make about the platform. Our purpose is to give Gen Z a space where they can connect with important safeguards in place. 

Roughly 95% of Yubo users are Gen Z, whose members today are aged between 13 and 26. Part of Yubo’s safety infrastructure is age gating, which separates users into different communities based on age to limit interaction between minors and adults. You must be at least 13 years old to use the platform. 

We aim to make the platform as safe as it can possibly be for users of all ages. Yubo was the first major social media platform to introduce real-time audio and video moderation for livestreams in 2022. In addition to a host of other safety features and technical tools, all activity on the platform is also overseen by Human Safety Specialists, who work to ensure users adhere to Yubo’s Community Guidelines. 

All of our policies and features are developed with direction from a board of online safety experts from respected organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Diana Award, and Thorn.

New users must read and accept the Community Guidelines to sign up for an account on Yubo. The guidelines outline the standards and expectations required to keep the Yubo community safe and foster an atmosphere of inclusion.. It’s a living document updated regularly to reflect the frequent changes and advancements in the digital world.

All You Need To Know About the Social Discovery and Friendship Building App

Yubo is not a dating app. It focuses on friendship and encourages users to be their authentic selves for genuine connections, which is why Yubo’s features are designed for small group interactions, similar to friends hanging out in real life. 

To make it easier for Gen Z to meet new friends, Yubo offers a range of activities and features aimed at helping to “break the ice,” such as gaming or group livestreaming. Users can also connect via messaging. 

When French schoolmates Sacha Lazimi, Jérémie Aouate, and Arthur Patora founded Yubo in 2015, they purposely eliminated the pressure of traditional social media approval metrics, such as likes and follower counts, to make the platform a more natural online environment where users can be their authentic selves.

Everyone should be able to feel safe and comfortable to be themselves, online or offline. We insist that everyone in the live social discovery app community respectfully interact with each other. 

With a unique user experience and a strong commitment to safety and social discovery, Yubo is committed to elevating the online social discovery experience. 

Tinder launched in 2012 and quickly changed the online dating game, becoming the most popular dating app out there. Gen Z daters are distinctly active on dating apps, swiping to find their love connection. 

Yubo also uses a swipe feature, leading some to wonder whether Yubo is also designed for dating. But no, Yubo is among the pioneers of the online friendships movement, using a live social discovery model to help foster friendships among Gen Z, the first digital-native age group in history.

Connecting with new people online can be fun and exciting, but it also comes with potential risks, similar to meeting new people in the real world.

When connecting online, it’s essential to be mindful that you may not be getting the complete picture of who someone you’re talking to or befriending really is. A good rule of thumb is to keep your personal information, like where you go to school or where you live, private. Other types of personal information to keep private include your phone number, last name, or the address of the place you work.

Some apps use location services so users can see each other's locations to find prospective connections or matches. This can put young people at risk. Be sure your privacy settings are enabled. On Yubo, location settings for minors are automatically disabled. Never arrange to meet with someone alone you only know online. 

Online harassment is a common risk for young people on apps, so think twice before sending photos or videos. Sometimes, people are tempted to send nude pictures; unfortunately, these photos can become public. 

It’s essential to use good judgment when interacting with new people and report any instances where another user behaved in a way that made you feel uncomfortable. Yubo has robust user reporting tools, featuring the ability to submit up to four media files (screenshots of images or video, for example) to encourage easy and informative reports that safety specialists can use to address potential Community Guidelines violations. Additionally, lean on your parents or other adults you trust, like another family relative or your teacher at school, if you’re concerned about something you saw or experienced online.

Is Yubo a dating app? The answer is no. Yubo is not a dating app but a social discovery and friendship-building platform popular with Generation Z.

Is Yubo a dating app?

Is Yubo a Dating App?

Yubo Basics - Wellbeing & Screen Time

At Yubo, we love smartphones as much as the next person. They allow us to connect with new people, unwind with our friends, share memories, and have a laugh or a heart-to-heart. They facilitate our interactions with the world and help us learn new things. However, it is essential to be thoughtful about how and when we use our devices.

Scrolling mindlessly and checking notifications instantly can have detrimental effects on wellbeing. For some, spending too much time online triggers feelings of isolation or inferiority because they are comparing themselves to others, such as influencers. 

Young people are most vulnerable to the downsides of this kind of screen time because they are still growing and developing, compared to adults, and need support to develop well. in earlier stages of development, compared to adults. This is why promoting healthy and sustainable habits around using devices is of utmost importance for us at Yubo.

For your own wellbeing, you could ask yourself questions about how you use social media, such as:

how much (or long) am I scrolling? How does it make me feel? 

Do the people I interact with online make me feel good? 

Do I notice when a conversation is going south, and do I take care of myself (or leave) when I notice that? 

Should I turn off some of my notifications or think about ignoring them? 

Do I give myself time to do other things that are meaningful to me or make me feel good? 

If your relationship to devices is having downsides, like making you constantly check for notifications or causing you to miss deadlines, it can be helpful to take stoch of whether  managing your habits with devices might be beneficial for you. 

Below are tips on how you can adjust your smartphone settings to explore a different approach to using your devices for improved wellbeing.

Balancing social media and your day-to-day IRL

To proactively engage with this issue, we have created a video with a brief overview of tools that can help you manage your social media use and strike the right balance between your offline activities and social media use each day. We encourage you to take some breaksfrom on-screen time to read a book, go for a walk, or just take a pause to close your eyes and relax. Use your device to make plans with friends and engage without screens as much as you use your device to chat with friends online.

If you’re using an iOS device, go to your Settings, click on Screen Time and ****turn it on. In the menu, you then will be able to turn on Downtime. Downtime ensures that during your scheduled hours you will only be getting phone calls as well as notifications from the apps you hand-picked – no other distractions. You can also limit your time spent on individual apps. This is also accessible through the same part of the Settings menu. Click on Screen Time, then choose App Limits and enable them. You could designate a custom amount of time for every individual app, so make sure to try using this tool if your screen usage in certain apps seems a little excessive. If your time on an app is coming to an end, your device will send you a reminder and gray out the app until the next day.

If you’re using an Android device, go to your Settings, click on Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls, then tap on Focus mode and toggle on the switch to activate it. This mode will allow you to set your notification-free time from selected apps, and the apps themselves will be grayed out for the time being. When trying to access your grayed-out apps in Focus mode, you will get a notification reminding you that app use is currently paused. You can also control the time spent on individual apps and designate the amount of time a day that you are allowed to use them for. So go set your Yubo timer to whatever you feel would be the most beneficial to you – we promise we won’t mind!

We would also like to share some general tips on how to prevent your relationship with your device from becoming a problem:

Use your phone purposefully, not habitually. Think about when (and how often) you pick up your device and why. Consider reducing the number of times you browse through an app without any purpose. Entertainment can certainly be a purpose, but you probaby have other purposes and other things you want to do with your time. You might be interested in checking out our blog post on how to use social media mindfully. If you find that you pick up your device a lot without any particular reason, think about a new behavior you might want to adopt in place of checking your phone – like a short breathing exercise, a walk, or helping someone out with something.

…but it’s fine to scroll too. If cutting out scrolling completely does not sound realistic, one of the best ways to manage it is to think about how you could control it. If you go on your device every time you have a free second, think about setting aside a specific amount of time when you allow yourself to scroll through all your favorite social media guilt-free. Mindful can be fun; it’s just not reflexive or automatic. You are planning what you can do with YOUR time.

NotificatiONs, notificatiOFFs. Go through all the apps that send you push-notifications and make a conscious decision about which ones you can go without. This can be freeing. It helps people break the habit of checking their phone every time their screen lights up and feel more in control of their device, rather than the other way around.

Designate “device-free” times or zones. You can make time for activities and hobbies that don’t require any device use at all, such as cooking, swimming, or reading. If you can, plan device-free activities with friends, so you can spen time with them without the distraction. You can boost your wellbeing by learning something, or by giving to others, by cooking them a meal or creating something they would value, like a playlist. Use iOS and Android tools suggested above to help you change your settings. Alternatively, you can have designated “device-free zones” in your house, such as your kitchen or bathroom. 

In conclusion: Don't hesitate to take a break from your device and enjoy life without screens. Yubo will still be there after that for you to make new friends.

Yubo general tips on how to prevent your relationship with your phone from becoming toxic. Some how-to tips on managing your screen time for Yubo on iOS & Android devices. As well as some useful Yubo tips on how to have a healthy screen time balance in your life.

How To Improve Your Wellbeing Online

Yubo Launches New “Causes” Tags To Reflect Desire For Valuable Connections

Gen Z is the generation that grew up with smartphones glued to our hands. Memes are our second language, the power of the internet is right at our fingertips, and we really know how to harness it! But, let's be real, besides funny cat videos and the latest TikToks, there are plenty of ways in which the internet can be used – and talking politics and activism is one of them. Making up 10% of the global electorate, Gen Z is not just a bunch of screen-tappers. We are a force to be reckoned with!

Politics is an unavoidable and important part of life. For young people, it is so now more than ever. With us being famously at the forefront of political grassroots movements such as School Strike for Climate, it is important for Yubo to reflect on the political stances and values our users have. Just like our users, who are constantly evolving, we are always on the lookout for innovative technologies, working outside the beaten track, to evolve with them.

Initially, Yubo introduced our “Add by tag” feature to promote better and more lasting meaningful connections. In the past year, our users connected through their shared love of epic tunes, latest films, sports, video games, or other leisure activities that made up nineteen tag categories Yubo currently features. Knowing that for many young people nowadays dedication to causes is non-negotiable, finding friends who share their values through the all-new “Causes” category is now another way they can search for new valuable social connections. After all, why go solo when you can be a part of a vibrant community ready to listen to your ideas and develop theirs alongside you? Joining a crew of like-minded people feels good: it offers us a blend of fresh perspectives, bold opinions, and unexpected insights.

By bringing in what really matters and connecting young people to each other through causes they have a common interest in, we empower them to further develop ideas of their own and test them against other people’s ideas. Here at Yubo, we hope this brand-new feature will ignite powerful and respectful discussions and give Gen Z the needed tool to reflect and refine their political beliefs.

With an array of tags covering movements from environment preservation to equal civil rights for minority groups – such as “Racial equality”, “Gender equality”, “Affordable healthcare” and “Climate change” tags – Yubo strives to represent our users in their work to create a more equitable and fair world.

So, find your new politically-aware besties, jump in a live, and make the change unstoppable!

Yubo's Take

Here for all of it.

Bullying and hate speech: Q&A with Alex Holmes

Yubo’s Powers Unlocked: A Comprehensive Guide

Yubo Hackathon, Fostering Collaboration and Innovation

The state of online safety

Yubo’s brand-new Achievements are here to promote better connections

Is Yubo a Dating App?

How To Improve Your Wellbeing Online

Yubo Launches New “Causes” Tags To Reflect Desire For Valuable Connections

Yubo's Partnership with e-Enfance/3018: A Commitment to Online Safety

Friendship in the Age of FOMO: How to Embrace Others’ Adventures and Find Inspiration

Introducing Yubo’s latest product feature: voice note

Yubo Summer Horoscope

Social Discovery Platform versus Social Media

Yubo and the French Tech

Post-Grad Dilemmas

Yubo supports Childnet Film Competition

Yubo Horoscope: Music

Yubo Horoscope: Pixels

You vs. Your Online Self

Yubo Survey: ChatGPT