For aged 13+

Snapchat is an app where you can take pictures or videos and send it to your friends. Users choose how long a photo will be live after it’s viewed. It’s important that children understand that the receiver can take a screenshot or use another method to save it.

Unlike many social networks, you can’t post publicly to everyone by default. You share with friends, and you decide who to send to each time. Depending on settings, people who know your username or phone number may be able to contact you.

In the app settings, under the privacy options for who can contact you, choose “My Friends” rather than “Everyone”.

Snap Maps is a feature that can show your location, placing your avatar on a map like a pin so others can zoom in and see roughly where you are. It is very important to review this setting. You can choose who sees your location: all friends, select friends, or only me. “Only me” activates what Snapchat calls Ghost Mode, meaning your child can see others but they can’t see your child. To stop location data altogether, go to the phone’s settings, find Snapchat, choose “Location” and select never share.

A streak is when you send snaps back and forth with a friend on consecutive days. The longer the chain, the longer the streak, and Snapchat rewards long streaks with special emojis. Many young people become preoccupied with keeping streaks alive, and losing a streak they have put months into can feel devastating. Children can become anxious or stressed if they haven’t done their streaks. Talk to your child about this so they understand how the virtual world can impact their emotional and mental health.

To block a user, open the friends list, find their name and use the options menu next to it to block or remove them.  If your child receives inappropriate photos or is being harassed, report it in the app, or contact Snapchat through its support pages or at safety@snapchat.com.

You can delete the account if you have the username and password. If your child won’t share their password, you can submit a deletion request through Snapchat’s support pages.

Read Snapchat’s parents guide for more information.

For aged 13+

Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that lets users edit pictures taken on their phone and post them to Instagram and, with a tap, to other platforms. Accounts are public by default unless you change this, which means anyone can browse and follow

In settings, you can switch the account to private. This means your teen has to approve each person who wants to follow them, and their posts won’t be visible to the wider public.

Work with your teen to choose a profile photo you both agree on. It’s best to avoid an actual photo of your teen and pick something that represents their interests instead. Turn off location of photos and posts so that, even if a post reaches a wider audience, no one can tell where your child is.

Instagram has introduced teen accounts, which add protections for under-18s. Settings need parental approval to change, and there are built-in protections around who teens interact with, what content they see and how much time they spend on the app. Accounts are private by default and teens must manually approve new followers. They only receive messages from people they already follow, and parents can use supervision tools to see who their child is messaging, set time limits and block access during certain hours, such as bedtime. Teens can also choose topics they want to prioritise in their feeds.

Read Instagram’s privacy policy for more information.

For aged 13+

TikTok is a hugely popular app that lets users create and watch short videos, often set to music. Some features are restricted for under-18s, including live videos and direct messaging.

TikTok has introduced a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes for all accounts belonging to users under 18, though this can be changed. Teens may also receive a notification recapping how much time they’ve spent on the app.

Family Pairing lets parents manage certain aspects of a child’s account if they are under 16. Parents can control what their child can search for, set screen time limits, switch off comments on their videos, and decide whether others can see their liked content. Parents do not have access to their child’s actual videos. You can deactivate a TikTok account to put it on temporary hold, and reactivate it at any time, or delete it permanently.

TikTok’s Guardian’s Guide explains family pairing set up, including passwords and linking phone numbers.

For aged 13+

WhatsApp lets people send text messages, videos, photos and short audio messages to one person or groups, with no message limits. It works over the internet, and both people need to have WhatsApp. Once you install it, the app checks your address book to see who else you know is using it and connects you automatically.

Group chats can be added to by people your child may not know well, so talk about what is and isn’t appropriate to send and receive and check who can add them to groups in the privacy settings. WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and include a disappearing messages option.

WhatsApp’s safety centre has more information.

For aged 13+

Facebook is the most widely used social networking service, but teenagers are using it less. It lets users connect with friends and family and make new connections.

Facebook has tools to help teens manage who sees their content and how they interact with others. They can set their profile so only friends see posts, limit who can tag them, control post visibility, and remove the friend request button. The reporting function lets them flag content that breaks community guidelines or upsets them.

Facebook has a guide with safety resources for parents.

For aged 13+

YouTube is a video sharing platform best known for long-form videos and is popular with all age groups. You don’t need an account to watch videos.

YouTube offers Supervised Experiences, which lets you set content levels based on your teen’s maturity. For younger teens, the Explore setting includes videos suitable for ages 9+, while Explore More” is geared toward ages 13+. Once they’re 13 or older, they can have their own account, and you can still turn on Restricted Mode to filter out potentially inappropriate content. Encourage open discussions about responsible viewing and periodically look at their watch history together.

YouTube’s Family Safety pages have more guidance.

For aged 13+

Reddit is a collection of thousands of communities called subreddits, where people post, comment and vote on content about almost any topic, from football and gaming to homework help and TV shows. Users post under usernames rather than real names.

Reddit hosts adult content as well as family-friendly communities. Some communities are marked as mature (18+). Reddit has introduced age checks in the UK to access some of this content, but checks aren’t foolproof.

Communities are moderated by volunteers, so the quality of moderation and the tone of discussions vary a lot from one subreddit to another. Anyone can read public posts without an account, and users can send private messages and chat requests to each other. Posts and comments can stay public for a long time, and old comments can be found through search.

Look through the communities your child follows together and talk about what feels positive and what does not.

In settings, restrict who can message or chat with your child, and keep mature content filters switched on. Encourage your child not to share personal details such as their school, address or full name in posts or profiles. Show them how to block users and report posts or users who break the rules.

Aged 16+

Telegram is a messaging app that supports one-to-one chats, large group chats, and public channels that broadcast to many followers. Groups can hold very large numbers of people, and channels and groups can be public and searchable. Telegram terms don’t set a clear minimum age for UK users, and app stores rate it for 17+, so it isn’t designed with younger children in mind.

Ordinary Telegram chats are stored on Telegram’s servers and are not end-to-end encrypted by default. Only “Secret Chats” are end-to-end encrypted.

Public groups and channels can contain adult, explicit or harmful material, and may be shared widely with little moderation. Users can be added to groups by others, and strangers can find public groups through search.

Secret Chats and self-destruct timers on messages mean content can vanish, making it harder to report or evidence problems. Bots and third-party tools are common, and not all of them are trustworthy.

In privacy settings, limit who can see your child’s phone number, who can message them, and who can add them to groups.

Check out which groups and channels your child has joined and talk about whether they are appropriate. Tell them to leave groups that make them uncomfortable, and show them how to report channels, groups, and users. Remind them never to click unknown links or share personal details or images with people they don’t know.

Aged 13+

Discord started as a chat tool for gamers and is now used by all kinds of communities. Users join “servers”, which are communities made up of text channels and voice channels and can also send direct messages and take part in group calls or video streams.

Servers can be small and private, with a few friends, or large and public, with thousands of members your child doesn’t know.

Some servers are age-restricted and contain adult content. Discord asks users to confirm their age to access these, but it is easy to get this wrong or bypass it.

Strangers on the same server can send direct messages, friend requests and join voice chats, and conversations can move quickly out of sight of other users. Moderation depends heavily on the volunteers who run on each server.

In privacy and safety settings, restrict direct messages from server members and limit who can send friend requests. Turn on the sensitive content filters Discord provides for images and media.

Use Discord’s Family Centre, which lets a parent link an account and see who their teen is talking to and which servers they have joined, but they cannot see the messages.

Ask your child to show you the servers they use and encourage them to stick to ones with active moderation and clear rules. Show them how to block, report, and leave servers.

Aged 13+

Kik is a messaging app where people chat using a username rather than a phone number. You can message individuals or groups, send photos and videos, and join public group chats.

Because accounts are anonymous and based on usernames, it is hard to know who your child is really speaking to.

Kik has been linked to a number of cases where adults contacted children, and it also has a reputation for adult content and spam. Public groups and “find new people” style features make it easier for strangers to get in touch.

Many users share their Kik username on other social media to find new contacts, which is a risk if your child does the same. Ask your child why they use it. If it’s to chat with real-life friends, there are usually safer alternatives.

Make sure they never share their username publicly and don’t accept chats from people they don’t know. Use the block and report options and consider whether this app is right for your child at all.

Keep talking about the red flags of online grooming, requests for secrecy, asking for photos, moving chats to other apps, or gifts and flattery and let them know that they must let you know if anything feels wrong or uncomfortable.

Aged 13+

Signal is a private messaging app for text, voice and video calls, group chats, and file sharing. It is known for strong privacy: all messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, and it collects very little data about its users. Users can use a username instead of showing their phone number.

Signal is not designed for social networking, but it is used by some young people for private group chats. Because messages are fully encrypted, neither Signal nor the police can see them, and they can’t be monitored for illegal activity.

It has disappearing messages, which can be switched on in any chat, and screen security options. Anyone who knows a user’s phone number or username can contact them, so check the privacy settings.

Talk about who your child is chatting to, and why they have chosen a private app. In settings, limit who can find your child by phone number or username, and review message requests from unknown people. Remind them that screenshots can still be taken of disappearing messages. Make sure they know how to block and report and who they can come to if anything goes wrong.

End-to-end encryption means that only you and the person or people you’re communicating with can view the messages that have been sent.

The company that runs the messaging service or app can’t view end-to-end encrypted messages. They also can’t be remotely accessed by police or government when preventing crime and can’t be seen by hackers. This means message privacy is more secure, but also that messages can’t be monitored for illegal activity.

One-to-one messages or group chats can be end-to-end encrypted. This can include written messages, photos, videos, voice messages, audio, documents and calls.

A lot of popular apps are automatically end-to-end encrypted, and some are not. What matters most is how safe your child is on each app, site and game they use, whether it is encrypted or not. That means talking to your child about what they’re sharing, who they’re talking to and how to stay safe.

There are several sites and apps whose main aim is to connect you with random other users. This can be through text, but also through sharing images and videos and live streaming. Many of these sites are designed for adults, but without age verification in place, young people can easily gain access.

There is a high risk that children could come across inappropriate or sexually explicit behaviour on this type of platform, and that young people could be contacted by adults they don’t know.

Many chat apps now have disappearing message functions. This means that once a message has been viewed, or after a certain amount of time, it disappears from the recipient’s device. This type of message carries extra risks for young people:

It can give young people a false sense that it is safe to share riskier content because it will disappear. The recipient can still screenshot or record the content before it disappears, without the sender’s knowledge or consent.

Disappearing messages make it harder to report inappropriate contact or content, and harder for enforcement agencies to capture evidence of child exploitation or abuse, such as grooming.

Young people may feel there is less risk of getting caught when using disappearing messages, which can encourage peer-on-peer abuse and bullying.

Disappearing messages go by different names, including “snaps” and “vanishing messages”. They are available on many apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat. Facebook has “secret conversations” that can only be seen on the device they were sent from and won’t appear if you log in to the account on a different device.

Talk to your child about what they’re sharing and let them know they can come to you or another trusted adult if someone sends them something upsetting or worrying. Looking together at the reporting and blocking features of the apps they use can be very helpful.

If your teen has seen something in a chat room that has made them feel unsafe, you can report it to Report Harmful Content, which can help get things taken down.

CEOP Safety Centre can help you report online sexual abuse or grooming of a child to the police.

Childnet can provide help and guidance on online safety

Internet Matters have lots of helpful advice for parents with a helpful guide to social media apps

This article was reviewed by Jeremy Todd, Managing Director. Last reviewed 19 October 2026.