Gaurav Rathore
His write-ups blend creativity, personal experience, and tailored technical advice, meeting reader needs effectively.
Today I’ve brought you another social media app that’s long been hiding from the parent’s radar, i.e., the Yubo app.
Yubo is a chat and live-streaming app that lets you connect with random people on the internet. However, due to Yubo’s swap-to-match feature, which is pretty similar to dating apps, it was named “Tinder for teens” by TheTimes.
Since then, many parents, including me, have been hesitant about kids using it.
So, before you let your kids anywhere near the app, you must go through this guide and learn what is Yubo and whether its truly safe for your kids.
Yubo is a French social media app that lets you connect with new friends through chatting and streaming. It was launched in 2015 by some French dropout engineering students and was known as the “Yellow app.”
It was originally a Snapchat companion app that was used to find friends, but later it became a social networking app of its own.
Yubo is said to be most popular among the 13–25 age group, i.e., the Gen Zs and Gen Alpha, which is almost 99% of the app users.
It is available to download on both the Google Play Store and Apple Store, but not on a web browser.
To begin with the yellow app, of course, you’ll need an account. For that, you can begin by providing your mobile number, date of birth, and a recent picture of yourself. (An aesthetic picture is not accepted here).
Then, you have to go through an identity and age check. Once you are done, you can start exploring the app.
As the Yubo app’s tagline goes, “Meet like-minded friends,” it makes sure you get to find friends with the same interests. You can chat with people all over the world by swapping left (to dismiss) or right (to add friends) on their profiles.
You can also live stream on the app, where you can add the viewers as friends. Anyone can leave messages on your streams since it is broadcast to the public.
Other than that, you can also play virtual games, add people by tag, and make in-app purchases using the virtual currency, YuBucks.
The user must be at least 13 years old to use Yubo. If your age falls below that criteria, you won’t be able to use the app because of the app’s strict verification system.
The app is rated ‘T‘ (teen) on the Google Play Store, while it is marked 17+ on the Apple Store, which might confuse some users.
From my experience with the Yellow app, the reason why it rose to fame is because it truly focuses on letting you find genuine friends instead of bombarding you with random ads and prompts.
Moreover, since it works a lot like Tinder, you can imagine why it appeals to many youngsters and adults alike.
No, Yubo is not entirely safe for kids, though some people might think otherwise.
When I went to CommonSenseMedia, there were mixed reviews about the app. Some parents were expressing their anger at the app’s inappropriate content. They were complaining about their kids encounters with predators and offenders.
Because of these frequent incidents, ManchesterEveningNews also issued a warning against the Yubo app in the past for ‘exposing children to racism and bullying.’
On the other hand, some users surprisingly said that Yubo’s pretty safe when compared to other apps like Xmegle, etc.
If I were to be honest, Yubo is absolutely a big no!
When I went to the internet to dig up some information on Yubo, I found that it had some serious security loopholes. Here I’m covering the major ones.
The age verification process on the app is not 100% foolproof. So, if your kids want to use Yubo, they can easily do so.
Since Yubo is a social media app, it’s pretty obvious that it will have some inappropriate content. So, the kids are very likely to encounter illicit or harmful content through live streams (hard to moderate) or online chats.
On top of that, there have been many cases of users encountering sexting or illicit encounters with strangers on the app.
The live streaming feature of Yubo is the biggest threat to kids. It can force kids into giving away their personal information or end up becoming the victim of doxxing (when someone’s personal information is leaked online).
As I’ve said many times, not every person approaches you with genuine intent; some are just mere cyberbullies and online trolls looking to have a little fun.
From what I’ve seen, the yellow app also has some users promoting hate speech and promoting wrong trends.
With live-streaming being the main feature of the app, there is always a risk of grooming and exploitation. It is even more serious if we are talking about little kids who are yet to learn about the way the world works.
You would already be tired of hearing about the ongoing scams, but that’s just a proof of how common these incidents have become. Yubo app is no exception when it comes to scams like catfishing, phishing, etc.
With the swipe-to-match feature, there is a high chance that your kid might meet some predators disguising as a teen.
If your kids are pretty young, they might end up right in their trap, becoming the target of some serious crimes, such as grooming or exploitation.
Yubo has this feature of displaying your live location to the public. This can be extremely threatening to your kid’s privacy.
Since Yubo was designed for teenagers and adults, it doesn’t have much social media parental control, except for blocking users and muting words.
Luckily, Yubo is well aware of its risks, and that’s why it offers various safety features to protect children’s well-being.
If you are worried about your kid’s location being exposed, you can rest assured, as the live location is turned off by default for users under 18.
You can also turn it off manually by heading to the profile settings on Yubo app, going to Safety and Privacy >> turn off Use My Location >> toggle off Hide My City.
You can use this setting to customize who comes in your child’s swipes. If you think your 14-year-old child should only match up with kids their age, change the age group to your kids’ age.
If your child has met some creepy or weird user who doesn’t follow the community guidelines, tell them to use the block and report option.
Yubo has some community guidelines in place to protect the users from becoming the target of various crimes. These guidelines work on addressing nudity, violence, hate speech, etc.
If you are caught going against these guidelines, you might get kicked out of the app.
You get pop-up alerts when your kids are about to share personal information like a phone number or an email address.
It is a feature that filters out all the inappropriate comments and chats.
Yubo regularly checks profiles and monitors live streams and DMs using AI filters and human safety specialists to make sure no offenders or predators are roaming on the app.
The social media site has divided the users into two separate communities: one is for users aged 13–17, and the other is for people aged 18 and above. So, your kid will have less chance to encounter any weird adult or inappropriate chat.
When you start with the yellow app, you are asked to do an age and identity verification.
If your tween is dead set on using the app, you will have to give in to their requests. But, as a parent, you can’t just give up on your child’s safety that easily.
I’ve got some professional tips to make things easier for your child’s safety.
If you want more control over your kid’s online activities, you can install a parental control app like mSpy or Norton on their device. It can help you maintain regular supervision and receive instant alerts when something goes wrong.
Always have a regular conversation with your child about the various risks of social media and what it holds for them. Tell them the right way to use social media and share useful tips like straying away from strangers and avoiding sharing personal information with random people on the internet.
No matter which social media your kids use, you must get one thing straight with them: social media have various risks, such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, etc.
While using the app, of course, they might come across some weird users or inappropriate chats. So, you must teach them how to use the block or report feature, mute certain words, disable the mic and camera, or turn off the live location sharing.
Try out the app for yourself and see what kind of people use the app. It will help you to learn about Yubo firsthand and take charge of your children’s safety more responsibly.
I won’t deny that the Yubo app is a decent social media app with tons of safety features, but it’s not 100% safe, especially not for kids.
So, as a concerned parent, I would strictly advise kids under 13 to keep their distance from this app and its alternatives like Camegle, Kik, etc.
However, if you are unable to convince your kids to keep away from Yubo, it would be better to let them be. Just make sure to have an honest conversation and set boundaries on how and when to use social media.
Although Yubo is a decent app with various safety features, it is not safe enough for kids to use.
No, an 8-year-old should not use Yubo, as it is only suitable for users above 13.
No, Yubo is not a dating app. It is a platform that lets users make new friends through chatting and live streaming.
No, Yubo does not have parental controls.
No, Yubo is not affiliated with Snapchat in any way, though it does have a partnership with Snapchat for the Snapchat Camera Kit.
