App Safety Alerts
When popular apps and platforms make changes that affect children's safety, we break down what changed, what it means, and what you should do.
Snapchat UK: Find Friends Turned Off by Default for Children
Ofcom said on 6 November 2026 that Snapchat has begun turning off its Find Friends feature by default for child users in the UK, and that Snap has told Ofcom age checks should cover all under-18s by the end of 2026.
ChatGPT: New Limits on Weapons Information for Teens and Violence Safeguards
OpenAI said on 30 October 2026 that it is adding limits on weapons-related information for teens, will be able to end chats that show fixation on violence, and is working on new parent notifications.
Discord: Public Server Conversations Become Easier to Find on the Web
Discord said on 27 October 2026 that from 16 November every Discoverable Server will have a public web page that may show conversation summaries; in the UK members' own messages stay off the web unless they opt in, and teen-group users cannot opt in. Summaries are controlled by server admins.
Apple UK Age Confirmation: Selfie Option and Safety Settings
Apple's UK support page says adults will have to confirm they are 18 or older to use certain services or features, and a selfie is now one of the ways to do it on iOS 27.2 or later.
Grok: Ofcom Update on the X Investigation and UK Restrictions
Ofcom's 14 October 2026 update says it has narrowed its investigation into X and describes restrictions the company behind Grok has put in place for UK users.
Character.AI: Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Planned Sale of the Company
Character.AI began a voluntary Chapter 11 case on 12 October 2026 to sell the company; the platform is still running, and the company says it will be wound down if no bid keeps it going.
Meta AI App: Parental Supervision and Limited Content for Teens
Meta says that from 5 October 2026 parents can set up supervision in the Meta AI app and choose a stricter Limited Content setting for their teen.
WhatsApp: Optional Parental Controls for Teens
WhatsApp introduced optional parental controls for teens aged 13 to 17 on 30 September 2026; they are rolling out gradually and UK availability is not yet confirmed.
Discord: New Age Groups Elsewhere, UK Users Still Confirm Their Age
Discord's automatic age groups, announced on 22 September 2026, are not used in the UK, where safety protections apply to all users until they confirm they are adults.
iOS 27: New Apple Child Safety and Screen Time Tools
Apple says its new child safety tools, including Ask to Browse and Time Allowances, are available with iOS 27, released on 14 September 2026.
Snapchat UK: Age Checks and Group Chat Notices
Snap said on 8 September 2026 that more than one million UK Snapchatters have been confirmed as over 18 through its age assurance rollout, and that it is rolling out a group chat notice for UK under-18s.
Microsoft Copilot: New App and Updated Terms
Microsoft released an updated Copilot app on 18 August 2026; its terms require a Microsoft account and an age of at least 13, sometimes older.
Meta AI: Parent Alerts if a Teen's Chat Suggests Risk of Self-Harm
Meta says alerts are live for parents using Instagram supervision in the UK if their teen's Meta AI chat suggests a risk of suicide or self-harm.
TikTok: Ofcom Investigation into Protecting Children
Ofcom opened an investigation into TikTok on 16 July 2026 into its duties to protect children from harmful content; it has reached no findings so far.
Roblox Kids and Select Accounts, and Age Checks for Chat
Roblox Kids (ages 5 to 8) and Roblox Select (ages 9 to 15) accounts became globally available on 16 June 2026, and users who have not completed an age check cannot chat.
Snapchat: Friends-Only Profile for Under-16s' Stories and Spotlight
On 10 June 2026 Snap said it was beginning to roll out a friends-only profile for 13 to 15-year-olds to share Stories and Spotlight videos.
Ofcom: Snap, Meta and Roblox Commit to Stronger Anti-Grooming Measures
On 21 May 2026 Ofcom said Snap, Meta and Roblox confirmed they will bring in new measures against online strangers; Ofcom's report said the changes had not yet been implemented.
Older alerts
These are more than 6 months old. Platforms may have changed again since — always confirm against the app’s current settings and our app guides.
Instagram Close Friends: Privacy Upside, Social Downside
Instagram's Close Friends feature lets a user share Stories and some other content with a chosen subset of followers instead of their full audience.
TikTok LIVE and Virtual Gifts: The Age Rules
TikTok's own policies restrict LIVE streaming and its money features to adults: a user must be 18 or over to host a LIVE and to send or receive virtual gifts (bought with TikTok Coins and convertible by creators into money).
TikTok Shop and In-App Spending: What Parents Should Know
TikTok includes shopping (TikTok Shop) and in-app spending (Coins, used to buy virtual gifts).
Snapchat AI Selfie Features: Privacy Considerations
Snapchat offers generative-AI features (such as Dreams) that take a user's selfies and produce stylised or fantastical AI images of them.
Meta AI in Instagram: What Parents Should Know
Meta's AI assistant is built into Instagram (and Facebook), where it appears in search and chat and can answer questions, generate images and hold extended conversations.
Yubo: Grooming Risks on a Live-Streaming App
This is a standing advisory: Yubo is a social live-streaming app, now 18+ only, whose core mechanic — going live and 'swiping' to make new connections — is built around meeting strangers rather than keeping up with existing friends.
Discord: Family Centre and Teen Safety Settings
Discord's Family Centre lets a parent connect to their teen's account — with the teen's consent — and see activity summaries: which servers they have joined and who they have been messaging or calling, but not the content of messages.
Telegram: Why It Is Hard to Make Safe for Children
This is a standing advisory rather than news of a change: Telegram remains poorly suited to children.
Apple Communication Safety: What It Does
Apple's Communication Safety feature can detect nudity in photos and videos a child sends or receives, stepping in with a warning and age-appropriate guidance before the content is viewed or sent.
Roblox: Age Verification and What 13+ Accounts Can Do
Roblox filters text chat for everyone, but more strictly for accounts registered as under 13, and some features — voice chat among them — are only available to users who complete age verification showing they are 13 or over.
YouTube Kids: Content Controls for Parents
YouTube Kids gives parents meaningful control over what a child can watch.
Reddit: Adult Content and Younger Users
Reddit's minimum age is 13, and the platform hosts an enormous range of communities, including many marked 18+ that carry adult content.
Google Family Link: Supervision Basics
Google Family Link is Google's free supervision tool for a child's Google account and Android device.
Discord Activities: Games and Watch-Together in Voice Channels
Discord voice channels support Activities — embedded games and watch-together apps that let everyone in the channel play or watch simultaneously without leaving Discord.
Pinterest: Body Image Content and Teen Wellbeing
Pinterest is heavily used for appearance, fitness and lifestyle 'inspiration', which is exactly the kind of content that can quietly shape a teenager's body image.
TikTok: Direct Messages and Under-16 Accounts
TikTok does not make direct messaging available to accounts registered as under 16 — these accounts cannot send or receive DMs at all.
Snapchat My AI: What Parents Should Know
My AI is Snapchat's built-in AI chatbot, available to users including teenagers, and it appears pinned in the chat feed like a friend.
Apple Screen Time: Core Parental Controls
Apple's Screen Time, managed through Family Sharing, is the built-in way to supervise a child's iPhone or iPad.
WhatsApp: Controlling Who Can Add Your Child to Groups
WhatsApp includes a privacy setting that controls who can add a user directly to group chats, with the options Everyone, My Contacts, and My Contacts Except.
Character.AI: What Parents Should Know
Character.AI is an AI chatbot platform, popular with teenagers, where users hold open-ended conversations with AI 'characters'.
Steam: Family Controls and Purchase Approvals
Steam provides family tools that let a parent control what a child can do on the platform: restricting which games in the library the child can play, limiting access to the store, community forums and chat, and handling purchases by approval — a child can request a game and the parent approves (and pays) from their own account.
Snapchat: Snap Map and Location Sharing
Snapchat's Snap Map can share a user's live location with their Snapchat friends.
Roblox Voice Chat: How It Works and the Risks
Roblox offers an optional voice chat feature in supported experiences.
Minecraft: Multiplayer Chat and Family Settings
Minecraft's online multiplayer lets children play and chat with strangers on public servers, and the safety picture depends heavily on which servers they use.
Instagram Teen Accounts: What They Restrict
Instagram places users it knows or suspects to be under 18 into Teen Accounts, which come with built-in protections: accounts are private by default for under-16s and for new under-18 sign-ups (existing public accounts of 16- and 17-year-olds are not switched automatically), messaging is limited to people they follow or are connected to, they are placed in a 13+ content setting that hides more content that may be inappropriate for under-18s, and there are time-management prompts including a sleep mode that silences notifications overnight.