CyberAwareUK
📱
Social Media Safety
How grooming, sextortion and bullying start on social platforms — and the settings, habits and reporting routes that stop them.
🚨 Get help now
999 — emergency
NHS 111 — urgent health
Childline 0800 1111
Samaritans 116 123
Shout — text 85258
Please do not upload, email or paste suspected child sexual abuse material to this site. Report it directly to the IWF, CEOP or police instead.
1. What it is
Social media is where most online grooming, sextortion and cyberbullying begins. Predators use fake accounts, gaming communities and comment sections to find children, then move conversations to private messaging where parents can't see. Most platforms require users to be 13+, but enforcement is patchy — so family-level settings matter.
2. Warning signs (five to watch)
- A new "friend" who is an adult, or who quickly becomes very close.
- Secrecy: hiding screens, new apps in hidden folders, deleting messages.
- Being given gifts, money, or in-game items with no explanation.
- Pressure to move chats to a "safer" private app (WhatsApp, Discord DM, Snapchat).
- Requests for photos, "just between us" secrets, or meeting in person.
3. What a child can do
- Block and report anyone who makes you uncomfortable — every app has these buttons.
- Leave the chat — you never owe a stranger an explanation.
- Screenshot evidence (usernames, dates, messages) without sharing it publicly.
- Never send photos you wouldn't want your family to see — even "in private".
- Tell a trusted adult — you will not be in trouble, and it's not your fault.
4. What a parent/carer can do
- Stay calm, listen, avoid blame — shame is the predator's best ally.
- Don't delete evidence — keep the account and messages intact for CEOP/police.
- Report to CEOP (ceop.police.uk) for grooming or sexual contact, and to the platform itself.
- Use Family Pairing / supervised accounts where available (TikTok, Instagram, Google).
- Check the settings in the Parental Controls guide for each app.
5. Platform safety centres (official links)
🚨 Grooming or sextortion?
Report to CEOP — you don't need proof, suspicion is enough.
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