Safety Hub

Bullying can be hurtful and scary, whether it’s online or in the real world. On social media, bullying can take many forms, including hateful comments and photos or videos being shared without permission. 

Online bullying (also referred to as cyberbullying) can be particularly upsetting for young people. Bullying of any kind is not acceptable on Yubo. In our Community Guidelines, we ask our users to respect one another, and we make it clear that we have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, intimidating, threatening or harassing another user on our platform.

Our Safety Specialists who monitor activity on Yubo 24/7 provide a warning and take appropriate action when instances of bullying are reported by users or detected through our textual and audio-moderation technologies.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Encourage your teen or students to respect other people online – that includes considering whether something they say might be hurtful and standing up for anyone they see being bullied.
• Explain to them that it’s not their fault if someone is harassing or bullying them.
• Discuss how they can make the most of Yubo’s safety tools (e.g. to block people).
• Reassure them that they should come to you if they are being bullied and that you’ll support them.

(For Teens)

• It’s not your fault – do your best not to let someone else decide how you should view yourself.
• Talk to someone you trust, it’s hard to feel alone when you’re going through a tough time.
• Take advantage of our safety tools (here’s a list of some of them!), remember that you can block a user if you’d rather not be friends with them or report a user if you don’t feel comfortable. 
• Stand up for others when you see them being bullied if you feel comfortable, and if not please report it to our Safety Specialists so they can investigate and take action to keep our community as safe as possible. 
• Here are some helpful resources if you or someone you know is being bullied.

The way people communicate changes all the time, and we understand that sometimes it’s difficult to understand which words, phrases and emojis are harmless and which could be seen as offensive or inappropriate. Inappropriate language can take many forms, ranging from hate speech to swear words and other explicit language. 

At Yubo, we place a large importance on staying up to date with the latest trends and language used online. We regularly review and update a list of terms, phrases and emojis that violate our Community Guidelines, which are automatically filtered out and removed from the platform. 

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Remind your teen or students why it’s important to respect other people online – using rude or nasty language on Yubo could easily offend or upset someone and might also break our Community Guidelines.
• Look up some of the language young people use on social media so that you understand what they are talking about – the more you know about how they use social platforms like Yubo, the better.
• Think about the kind of language and emojis you use on your own social media, especially if your teen has access to it.
• Let us know about any offensive or inappropriate language on Yubo so that we can investigate. If a user breaches our Community Guidelines, we’ll remove the content and notify the user about why it’s not allowed.

(For Teens)

• Remember that the Internet is written in ink, not pencil - it lives forever so please think twice before you use inappropriate language.
• Be mindful of how the language you use may affect others.
• Try your best to be aware of the meaning of the words you use – whether historically or recently, a lot of explicit language has a hateful intention or background. 

Hate speech is abusive or offensive language targeted at a group or person due to or on the basis of their race, gender, religion, nationality, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate speech can show up in the form of trolling, cyberbullying or even threats of violence.

Being a victim of hate speech – or even witnessing it – can be very upsetting and confusing, especially because hateful comments can often escalate quickly online. 

We have a zero tolerance policy for hate speech and discrimination on our platform. We have a number of safety tools in place, including audio moderation and textual detection, to help protect our users against hate speech. If a crime has been committed, we work closely with the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Have a conversation with your teen or students about the importance of inclusivity and being kind to others online – you might like to remind them about our Community Guidelines, which they accepted when they signed up to Yubo.
• Encourage them to be vigilant and to think carefully before they post and before they share someone else’s posts (Does it attack or discriminate against someone? Might it break the law?).
• Discuss the various tools available on Yubo to help protect young people, such as the ‘block user’ option in their profile settings.
• Explain how hate speech might be considered a hate crime and why it’s important that they report any incidents on the Yubo platform so that we can take action.

(For Teens)

• If you’re currently experiencing hate speech or you’ve noticed hate speech taking place, please report it to our Safety Specialists using the in-app report tool or at this link so we can take the appropriate action - try to attach media files, such as screenshots, so we have as much context as possible.
• Remember that we have a number of safety tools that allow you to decide who you want to interact with while on Yubo, you can always block a user if you don’t want them sending you messages or joining your Lives anymore.
• Being abusive or offensive to others can be extremely hurtful, think about whether you’d want to be spoken to in the same way you’re considering speaking to others. 
• Hate speech can also be considered a hate crime, keep this in mind before using this language on Yubo or anywhere else.
• Here are some helpful resources if you or someone you know is a victim of hate speech.

Harmful and illegal content

Your teen or students may come across illegal, harmful or inappropriate content online, such as violence, drugs, pornography, gambling, and criminal activity. We do not allow content of this nature on Yubo, and we take it down as soon as we become aware of it. 

When required, if we come across content or behaviors in violation of the law we refer it to the relevant authorities so that they can further investigate as needed.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Read our advice about hate speech and our Community Guidelines. 
• Talk openly with your teen or students about the kind of content that could be harmful or illegal.
• Encourage them to let you know if they come across any messages or posts on Yubo that worry them.
• Discuss why it’s important to not share this kind of content with other Yubo users.
• Report any harmful or potentially illegal content to us so we can take action (e.g. remove the content, suspend the user’s account and report it to law enforcement).

(For Teens)

• Take the time to understand what kind of content could be harmful or illegal - we have a whole section on this in our Community Guidelines.
• Report any harmful or potentially illegal content, whether it’s directed at you or others, so we can take action.
• If you can, talk to an adult that you trust so they’re aware of what you’re going to and can help you.
• Here are some helpful resources on how to seek help and for the different types of harmful or illegal content you may come across online. 

From just-for-fun pranks to more serious challenges that encourage risky behavior, such as bullying others or participating in viral video dares, it’s common to feel pressure from others online.

It’s not always easy to say no, but it’s important to understand the consequences or repercussions. Our Community Guidelines make it clear that certain types of behavior are not OK on Yubo. For minor infractions of our Community Guidelines, we take an educational approach recommended by experts to teach our users about online safety best practices, respectful online behavior and accountability. For more serious violations, we have the option to remove content and suspend a user's account temporarily or permanently depending on the severity of the infraction.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Talk to your teen or students about how to make positive decisions online and how to say no to their friends if they don’t want to do something.
• Explain that, just like in the real world, the way they behave online can have serious consequences – what starts off as a joke could have a negative impact on them and other people now and in the future.
• Report any inappropriate behaviour or content to the Yubo team so that we can take action.

(For Teens)

• Remember that you don’t have to do anything - we know how stressful it can be to “fit in” so try your best to stand up for yourself and to act online as you would in real life. 
• Take some time to understand that encouraging others to take part in risky behaviour could impact their life, and yours, forever.
• Report any inappropriate beahviour to our team of Safety Specialists so we can take action - attach any screenshots or videos whenever you can so we have as much context as possible when investigating.
• Here’s our list of organizations that can help if you need support.

In a world of curated content and unrealistic life and beauty standards everywhere you turn, young people often feel constant pressure to look and behave a certain way online. 

Our goal is for Yubo to be a space where our users feel confident and comfortable interacting  authentically, so we’ve eliminated likes and followers to help relieve the pressure they might experience on other platforms. This helps our users express themselves and connect with others as they would in real life and allows them to focus on meaningful interaction and building genuine friendships without the burdens of performance or comparison. Yubo’s zero tolerance policy for hurtful comments, bullying or any other similar behaviors also helps to protect our users’ self-esteem. 

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Help your teen or students to understand that comparing themselves to celebrity influencers or getting fixated on the number of ‘likes’ and ratings they receive on social media isn’t healthy. 
• Discuss why it’s important to be kind to other people online. Something that might seem like harmless fun (such as rating someone based on how attractive they are) could have serious consequences for the other person.
• Encourage them to be themselves and not be defined by what others think of them.

(For Teens)

• We don’t have ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ because we want to try to take away the pressures of social media - our goal is for you to feel empowered to be authentic and build friendships that feel true to who you are.
• Remember that you are the only one who has the power to decide how you view yourself!
• Be kind to others and to yourself online and in the real world, you never know what someone else is going through.
• Here’s a list of organizations that can help if you need support.

Bullying, peer pressure, the COVID-19 pandemic which brought about many new challenges, and other issues can have a significant impact on mental wellbeing. 

Staying connected to others is a great boost for mental health. Our aim at Yubo is for our users to build friendships and be a part of a community where they can belong, feel safe, and hang out.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Let your teen or students know you’re there for them if they’d like to discuss any concerns they have or if they need your support.
• Encourage them to get the online/offline balance right. You might find it useful to discuss the five ways to good mental wellbeing: connect with other people, be physically active, learn something new each day, give to others, pay attention to the present moment.

(For Teens)

• Talk to someone that you trust about what you’re going through and how you feel - try to remember that you’re not alone, everyone has hard days.
• There’s lots of different ways to work towards good mental wellbeing, whether that’s connecting with other people, being physically active, learning something new each day, giving to others, or paying attention to the present moment - find what works for you and see how you can incorporate it into your daily routine!
• Here’s a list of organizations that can help if you need support.

Sometimes, people pretend to be someone else when they are online. They may set up fake social media profiles or try to convince users to send them personal information. Catfishing and other online scams can be disconcerting and upsetting, and could even put some at risk of identity theft.

To ensure our users are who they say they are, we have instated 100% platform-wide age verification – a first for major social media platforms. If a user does not pass the age verification process, their profiles are shut down and when appropriate, reported to the relevant authorities.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Explain to your teen or students that Yubo asks for real information when setting up a profile and encourages them to get verified by Yoti. By not allowing our users to be anonymous, we can identify fake profiles more easily and take action against other inappropriate behaviour.
• Discuss why it’s important to be wary of profiles, photos and messages that seem too good to be true. Imposters are often keen to appear “perfect” so look out for model-like photos, flattering comments and other suspicious behaviour.
• Make sure your teen or students know they haven’t done anything wrong if they fall for a fake profile. Some people can be very convincing.
• Let us know if you suspect a profile on Yubo could be fake so that we can take action.
• If a young person is concerned that someone has stolen their identity to set up a fake profile on Yubo, contact us so that we can remove it.

(For Teens)

• Be wary of profiles, photos and messages that seem too good to be true. Imposters are often keen to appear “perfect” so look out for model-like photos, flattering comments and other suspicious behaviour - if you feel someone isn’t who they say they are, please report the profile to us so we can investigate. 
• Make sure not to send any personally identifiable information (this is called ‘PII’) such as your phone number or address to users that you don’t know personally.

Unfortunately, some individuals choose to target young people for the wrong reasons. They may set up fake profiles to start conversations or gain trust. At Yubo, we understand the importance of our users knowing who they’re talking to and being able to trust the communities they build online. It’s because of this that we require all of our users to undergo age verification in order to use Yubo. This helps to prevent bad actors or people with malintention from joining the platform and pretending to be an age that they’re not. We also have age gating in place to separate users into different communities based on age, so that we can limit interaction between teens and adults.

We have a zero tolerance policy for the sexual exploitation of young people and work closely with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement agencies in the countries in which we operate to report every potential offender for further investigation.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Remind your teen or students to be careful about what they share online (e.g. phone number, address, social media profiles, photos, videos).
• Explain why verified profiles on Yubo (with a yellow badge) can help them to know that the person they are chatting to is who they say they are.
• Discuss how anyone can see livestreams on Yubo, not just their friends and get them to think carefully before filming themselves.
• Explain why no one should pressure them into doing something they don’t want to do – even if it’s someone they know.
• Encourage them to trust their instincts about people they meet online and to recognise that if what someone says to them seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Look out for changes in your teen’s or students’ behaviour. Are they increasingly secretive about the devices and apps they use? Do they go to their room as soon as they receive a message or get defensive when you ask them who they are talking to?
• If your teen or students feel uncomfortable about someone who has approached them on Yubo, report it to us immediately. We pass the details of any potentially criminal activity to law enforcement and other agencies.

(For Teens)

• Be careful of what you share online, everything you post on the Internet can live forever - so think twice before giving someone personally identifiable information (such as your phone number or address) or sending pictures or videos to people you don’t know.
• Remember anyone can see livestreams on Yubo so think carefully before joining a Live.
• Trust your instincts about people you meet online, if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or something doesn’t seem right - report it to us so we can investigate and take the appropriate action.
• Here’s a list of organizations that can help if you need support.

Flirting, exploring sexual feelings and having relationships are a natural part of growing up. It can be difficult to know where to draw the line when sharing photos and videos. Celebrities posting pictures in their underwear and the increasingly sexual images and behaviour in the media can make it confusing. 

Some may feel pressured into sharing nude pictures by their boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, or strangers pretending to be someone else, while others may be trying to get attention or in hopes of achieving another goal. It’s important to understand that these types of photos and videos can be shared with others without consent and could put the individual at risk of sexual exploitation. With users below the age of 18, taking, sharing or possessing these images is unlawful and illegal. 

To help protect our younger users, we detect every photo or video that contains nudity and prevent it from being uploaded on Yubo. We also send a pop-up alert if there is nudity in a livestream and we have the option to disable the Live and/or ban the user. 

We make it clear in our Community Guidelines that nude and sexual images are not allowed on our platform and that we take steps to remove them as soon as we are aware of them. 

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Encourage your teen or students to think carefully before they post or share any images on social media or take part in a livestream. Could their behaviour hurt them or someone else or even be illegal?
• Talk to them about the possibility of other people (perhaps even someone they trust, like a boyfriend or girlfriend) sharing nude images of them online and what they should do if this happens.
• Explain to your teen or students that they could be breaking the law if they take, share or possess nude images of themselves or other under-18s.

(For Teens)

• Think carefully about what you share on social media and with others, do you feel comfortable with someone having an intimate picture of you forever?
• Remember that anyone (even someone you trust) could share any nude images you share with them online or with others.
• Understand that you are breaking the law if you take, share, or possess nude images of yourself or others under the age of 18.
• If someone is sharing nude images of you, our partners at NCMEC have developed a privacy-friendly tool called ‘Take It Down’ to help.
• Please report to us if you know of anyone sharing nude images of yourself or others.

Some people experience depression and low self-esteem, or face other complex personal challenges. Being part of an online community can help users who might be struggling mentally or emotionally by giving them a strong network of support. The opportunity to meet and connect with others who might be going through something similar or can sympathize can help with feeling less alone. While this is one of the greatest benefits of socializing online, in some cases, users may be encouraged by others to participate in unhealthy or dangerous behaviors such as self-harm or suicide. 

If we see this type of behavior taking place on Yubo, we intervene immediately. We assess the situation and offer support to the user, including putting them in touch with a local helpline or in more severe cases, informing law enforcement so that they can perform a wellness visit.

Our advice

(For Parents)

• Reassure your teen or students that you’re there for them and that you’ll help them to get support. 
• Take a look at our list of Resources for support organizations in your region, and if you’re comfortable, share these with your teen too - it’s always helpful for them to know they’re not alone. 
• Encourage them to look out for friends who might be struggling.
• Read our Community Guidelines and report any posts on Yubo about self-harm and suicide so that we can take the appropriate action. We respond immediately to reports of emergencies and contact the police and support agencies where necessary.

(For Teens)

• Talk to someone that you trust about what you’re going through and how you feel - try to remember that you’re not alone, everyone has hard days.
• Here is a list of organizations that can help and provide support if you’re struggling.
• Look out for others who may also be having a hard time and help them get support. 

For more questions you may have on Yubo, check out some of the most asked questions.