Kids spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media platforms daily. With so many apps available, they tend to chat more than communicate in real life. While this can be a way to stay connected, it can lead to oversharing personal information with someone they might not really know.
Yubo is one such app that might seem harmless at first. Created to help Gen Z make friends and hang out online, it gained a reputation as a dating app for kids. Is it really so, and should parents be worried? In this article, we’ll answer the most popular questions, tell you how Yubo works and if it’s appropriate for kids.
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What does Yubo stand for?
Yubo is a social networking app designed to make new friends and connect online. Launched in 2015, it allows users to create profiles, join live streams, and chat with others based on shared interests.
Despite being marketed as a platform for friendship, Yubo has raised concerns due to its reputation as a dating app with weak age verification that make it easy to create accounts with fake birth dates. This has sparked significant worry regarding the app’s safety for its users.
Is Yubo made by Snapchat?
Yubo, originally called “Yellow,” started as an app to help Snapchat users find new friends. The app’s developers noticed that Snapchat users often shared their usernames on other social platforms to expand their friend lists.
Yubo noticed this trend and saw an opportunity to help users connect more easily. By 2022, it had grown into its own social media platform, allowing users to livestream and chat with others around the world.
Is Yubo only for under 18?
Formerly Yellow, the Yubo age limit in app stores is 17+. Yet the company says on its website that it aims to help Gen Z meet new friends with similar interests.
While kids under 18 have to get parental consent to use the app, they can simply check the box themselves to create an account and overcome restrictions. This alone can be a red flag for parents.
Many people wonder, “Is Yubo basically Tinder?” due to how the app works. On their website, the company claims the platform isn’t a dating app, but it functions just a lot like Tinder. It offers a swipe feature to connect with others.
How does Yubo work?
To start using an app, you need to create an account by entering your date of birth, uploading your photo and adding a phone number. The interesting fact is that you have to add your own photo to your profile, pictures of pets aren’t accepted.
Next, users have to pass identity and age verification. Regarding the last one, we already know how weak the verification process is, allowing kids as young as 13.
Once you sign in, you’ll see profiles with bios, names, pictures and videos, a list of interests, and emojis representing the person. If you like this profile, you swipe right. If not, you swipe left.
When both you and the person swipe left, you automatically match. You can then start chatting. Yubo also lets you find people with the same interests by adding a tag of things you like.
For users who don’t prefer one-on-one chatting, Yubo offers live streams. You can stream live by yourself or add up to 10 people to discuss anything you want. Anyone can connect to stream and send messages, but you can decide whether to allow them to do this.
What do people use Yubo for?
According to the company, Yubo is designed to help people find new friends with similar interests. However, various articles and reviews reveal a different story. Many users, mostly teens aged 13 to 17, reportedly use the app to share explicit content.
Urban Dictionary describes it as “a Tinder for teens,” where users aged 13 to 26 send each other nudes, or “an app where people will beg you for nudes”. These facts clearly show that Yubo isn’t appropriate for underage users.
How mSpy can help protect your kids on Yubo?
Now that we’ve answered the question, “What is Yubo app used for?”, you might want to know how to keep your kids safe. mSpy is a comprehensive parental control tool designed to help parents safeguard their little ones and promote healthy digital habits by monitoring their activity.
While there are no separate Yubo monitoring features, mSpy offers other tools that can help. You can access the list of installed apps and see if Yubo is there. If it is, you can use mSpy’s app blocker to restrict access completely.
With the keylogger feature, you can see what your kids type in their chats and check whether they discuss anything concerning.
And remember that their conversations aren’t limited to Yubo. This is where the social media monitoring feature can be helpful, letting you gain insights into their conversations on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tinder, and more. mSpy doesn’t stop there; it offers more than 30 features to make parenting less stressful.
