Marco Polo is a video messaging app where users send asynchronous short videos rather than text messages or live calls. It is marketed primarily at families and close friends. Users see a stack of recent videos from people they have chosen to follow, and reply with their own video.

Is it safer than DMs on Snapchat or Instagram?

It feels safer because the audience is usually known family members and there is no public feed. However, every video is stored on Marco Polo's servers and remains accessible to the recipients indefinitely. Recipients can also share videos out of the app, and group chats can include people invited by other family members rather than your child directly.

What is the minimum age?

Marco Polo's terms set the minimum age at 13 in most regions, with parental consent below that. The app does not have a dedicated under-13 mode and the same features are available regardless of stated age.

What should I do if there is a problem on this app?

Use the app's in-app report and block tools first - this is usually the fastest way to remove content or restrict an account. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101. The NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000) and Childline (0800 1111) are free and confidential. For a UK reporting decision tree, see /reporting and /tools/reporting-route-finder.

Marco Polo Safety Guide for Parents

What parents need to know about Marco Polo, the family video messaging app, including indefinite storage, group invite risks, and why 'safer than DMs' is only partly true.

Official age

13+

We recommend

10+

Developer

Joya Communications

Risks

Direct messaging

In-app purchases

Overview

Marco Polo is an asynchronous video messaging app marketed at families and close friend groups. Instead of texting or video-calling, users record short videos and send them to a contact or group. Recipients see a stack of waiting videos and reply when convenient. There is no public feed and no algorithm. For families separated by distance - grandparents, deployed parents, university-age siblings - it can feel warmer than text and easier to schedule than a live FaceTime. The trade-offs are that every video is stored on the company's servers indefinitely so the recipients can rewatch them, the audience of a group chat can grow when another adult invites someone new, and recipients can take a screen recording or download the video file.

How children use it

Children typically use Marco Polo to talk to grandparents, cousins, and friends who have moved away. Many enjoy the freedom to record a long video without an adult standing next to them, which is the same freedom that means a child can over-share - school name, address, friend's surnames, what is visible in the bedroom behind them. In multi-family groups, a child's videos can be seen by extended family members or family friends they barely know, and any of those adults can re-share. Because the app is positioned as wholesome, some parents drop the level of supervision they would apply to a Snapchat or iMessage chat with the same people.

Main risks

group chats privacy oversharing online strangers screen time

Recommended privacy settings

Profile and Contact Discovery

Location: Profile -> Settings -> Privacy

Set to: Restricted to people you have invited

Stops the app suggesting your child to people in other contact books who happen to have their number.

Group Membership Notifications

Location: Profile -> Settings -> Notifications

Set to: On for member changes

Sends a notification when a new person is added to a group your child is in, so you can review who is now seeing their videos.

Camera and Microphone Access

Location: Device Settings -> Apps -> Marco Polo -> Permissions

Set to: Only when in use

Standard device permission setting that prevents background access to the camera and microphone.

Linked Phone Number

Location: Profile -> Settings -> Account

Set to: Parent's number for under-13 accounts

Marco Polo links to a phone number. For a young child, using the parent's number keeps the account tied to an adult and removes the need to give the child a SIM.