What Parents Need to Know About Yubo, Tinder for Teens [updated]
I was recently introduced to Yubo , which advertises as a friend-making app for teens, but is often referred to as “Tinder for Teens.” The app allows teens (or adults pretending to be) to find others with similar interests and communicate through private messages or public live streams.
As with any app for kids or teens new to me, my first stop was Common Sense Media to get an introduction. They recommend it not for the minimum app age of 13, but for people aged 17 and over:
You can either scroll through current live streams, or view individual profiles by swiping your finger across the screen, Tinder-style – right on the profiles you like and left on the profiles you don’t like. According to the terms, users must be over 13 years old, but the date is easily falsified. Once registered, the app presents users with a safety guide for teens; it also sends information to users in the form of text messages and often reminds users to post relevant content. However, during the survey, it was easy to find substance use, profanity, racial abuse, and scantily clad people.
The app, formerly called Yellow, is available for both iOS and Android and may have been one of the places teens flocked to when Tinder itself banned users under the age of 18 a few years ago. For her part, Yubo has developed the adolescent safety guide mentioned above, as well as a parenting guide . But the safety of use largely depends on whether users are honest with each other and report inappropriate, harmful or illegal content (or moderators who detect it in real time).
But, of course, this is not always the case. As Zinnia Ramirez writes for Parentology :
The Yubo community rules do not interfere with adults. In support of this, Australian journalist Casey Edwards created a fake profile. “It took me about three minutes to create a fake – and unverified – Yubo profile,” Edwards wrote to The Sydney Morning Herald . “I was then presented with images of teenagers who seemed to have other interests besides getting to know my wit and charming personality.”
Edwards, 40, explored further, tapping on Yubo’s live stream, stopping at a seemingly innocuous video of a girl sitting on her bed brushing her hair. A message from another Yubo user appeared on the screen asking the girl to “show her boobs.” The girl obeyed.
Now that I was reasonably prepared, it was time to create my account. Here’s what a Yubo representative told me via email about the in-app age verification process:
To ensure age verification, Yubo has an extensive verification process that includes various information to ensure that only people between the ages of 13 and 25 are on the app.
Users must upload a picture of their face to access the app’s features, and algorithms detect users who have created multiple accounts using the same device or phone number. Yubo scans Google images, detects fake phone numbers, and determines age inconsistencies between the ages specified during registration, in a user’s profile bio, or in communications between users with others.
While the verification process seems extensive, it took me minutes to create a fake unverified account. I used my birthday, which was 15, and a selfie profile picture, in which my hair mostly covered my 38-year-old face. Within seconds, friend requests started coming in from random users. (Yes, this was all very frustrating for me, but I had to test how easy it is to be a fake teenager and there were practically no hurdles. I never made friends, didn’t flick or chat with anyone, and have deleted my account since then. permanent entry.) The ability to create a fake social media profile is not unique to Yubo, but users should be aware of it.
Now that I was tuned in, I started getting in and out of several live streams. I’ve heard a lot of curses and general teenage nonsense: guys dancing, girls putting on makeup, people fidgeting with hoodies. What I regretted the most was joining a live stream called Find a Man for Madison, which had around 30 members. “If you want Madison, turn on the camera,” one girl said, and several of the boys turned on the cameras and their own videos appeared on the screen, with the obvious purpose of winning over Madison’s favor. Then I watched in real time as one boy laughed at another, almost bringing him to tears.
The boy, who was 14 or 15 years old, replied, “I know that no one wants my ugly face. I’m a freak. I’m so ugly, I want to die. ” This child seemed really distraught as he continued to scold himself; other users tried to console him, but then a message from the moderator Yubo came up, saying that the title of the live broadcast was inappropriate and that bullying was not acceptable. Users quickly dropped out of the stream, probably to regroup in another. Whether someone reported the stream or whether the moderator stumbled upon it on their own, I don’t know for sure.
During my time on Yubo, I heard teenagers talk about how drunk they were and some others seemed to be weak. I’ve seen teens exchange information on Snapchat and Discord in front of other viewers to make it easier for them to connect with their new “friends” across platforms. Except for one moderation, everything felt like a free live event.
Parents don’t really have controls to put on Yubo — users can hide their location, block other users, and report inappropriate content — but the teen is responsible for that. If you allow them to use the app, you should both read the safety instructions and reiterate the importance of not disclosing personal information, being inappropriate in a live stream, or meeting strangers they meet through the app.
This article was originally published on November 23, 2020 and updated on December 1, 2020 to remove inaccurate location sharing information and to include information from a Yubo representative about the age verification process.