Smart Social Podcast: Keeping students safe so they can Shine Online
Yubo App is Not Safe for Students
Episode Summary
The Yubo app markets itself as a way to make friends and socialize. But it's often called “Tinder for Teens” and a teen dating app. The Yubo app's popularity is skyrocketing in 2020 as students look for new forms of entertainment at home. SmartSocial.com Founder Josh Ochs explains the risks every parents, student, and educator should know about the Yubo app.
Episode Notes
What is the Yubo app?
- Yubo markets itself as a way to chat and livestream with new friends
- It was formerly called Yellow
- Yubo’s website says users must be ages 13+ with parental permission
- Users ages 13 – 17 have their own Yubo community that is separate from adults, however there is no age verification to enter the adult chat area
- New users provide their name, birthday, gender, photo, and phone number. They can opt to have their ID verified through a website called Yoti. Verified users have a yellow check displayed on their profiles
Why students like Yubo
- Yubo app users can join group livestreams
- Students can have fun swiping through profiles
- If two users swipe right on each other’s photos, they become a match. They can then chat or share Instagram and Snapchat usernames
- The app offers a Q & A game called “To Be Honest” where users ask other users questions about themselves
- Users can earn rewards for recruiting other people to use Yubo
- The Yubo app is free. Users can pay for a premium subscription to up their visibility and get rid of ads
Where is the Yubo available?
The Yubo app in the news
A man drove roughly 90 miles… where he sexually abused a girl younger than 16… The girl told detectives she had met [the 28 year-old suspect] through Yubo, an app and social media network designed for members of Generation Z. According to an arrest affidavit, the girl said she thought [the man] was 16 years old.
Orlando Sentinel
One of the criticisms that Yubo has faced is that its socialization element is a veil for dating, and the platform is, in a way, a Tinder for teens. [But the company’s CEO says] Yubo’s core use are group chats and the intention is for users to socialize in a group setting. He says that these rooms offer various activities, like cooking, singing battles, playing games — activities that these teenagers would have been doing outside anyway, except Yubo offers it online.
Forbes
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