Grooming on Social Media Apps

Social apps are built to connect people, and most of the time that is a good thing. But the same features that help kids stay in touch with friends can also put them within reach of adults who mean harm. This article looks at how grooming and unwanted contact happen on apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok, and the practical settings and conversations that reduce the risk.

How it happens

The NSPCC reports that online grooming crimes in the UK reached record levels, with 7,062 Sexual Communication with a Child offences recorded in 2023 to 2024, up 89 percent since the offence came into force in 2017 to 2018. Where a platform was identified in the offences the NSPCC analyzed, a large share took place on Snapchat. eSafety describes offenders going onto the apps popular with children so they can befriend them, and asking for private photos or trying to build a very close relationship quickly.

A few features of social apps make contact easier for offenders.

• Direct messages. Private DMs let a stranger reach a child one on one, away from public view.
• Disappearing messages. On apps where content disappears after it is viewed, abusive messages and images can vanish, which the NSPCC notes makes abuse harder to notice and report.
• Recommendations that surface strangers. Suggestion features that point users toward new accounts can put a child in front of adults they have no real connection to, and put adults in front of children.
• Pressure for images. After building rapport, an offender may push for a sexual photo or video, sometimes moving the chat to a more private space first.

Warning signs

eSafety points to stories that do not add up, a new contact who seems to have many mutual friends the child has never met, someone overly interested in the child's life but vague about their own, or an account that finds a child across platforms they never shared. A young person may also become withdrawn, anxious, or secretive about a device. Because grooming often happens at home and offenders ask children to keep it secret, these changes can be easy to miss.

What platforms are doing

Several platforms have tightened defaults for younger users. Instagram Teen Accounts, introduced in 2024, set teens to private by default, place them in the strictest messaging settings so they can be messaged only by people they already follow or are connected to, and require a parent's permission for under-16s to loosen these protections. Parents using supervision can see who their teen has messaged in the past seven days, though not the content, and can set time limits. Knowing these controls exist is useful, but they work best alongside conversation.

What parents and carers can do

Advice from the NSPCC, eSafety, and Internet Matters is consistent.

• Set accounts to private. A private account limits who can see a child's posts and who can reach them.
• Restrict who can message and tag. Limit direct messages to known contacts. Use the app's official safety center for the current steps, since menus change.
• Review contacts together. Ask where they met their online friends and how they know them. Remind them that people online may not be who they claim to be.
• Talk about pressure for photos. Make it clear that anyone pressuring for images, pushing to move to a private or disappearing chat, or asking to keep things secret is a reason to stop and tell a trusted adult.
• Keep the door open. Let your child know they can come to you about anything online and that they will not be in trouble or lose their device for telling you.
• Show how to block and report. Make sure they know how to block a user and report an account inside the app.

If you are worried

If you believe a child is being groomed or pressured, report it. In the United States, reports to the NCMEC CyberTipline are reviewed by people. Report at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678. Report the account to the platform as well, and contact local police if a child is in immediate danger. If a sexual image of someone under 18 may be shared, NCMEC's Take It Down service can help limit its spread while keeping the image on the device.