Warbler 3rd Edition

Internet Safety
Does anyone in your household use musical.ly? Musical.ly is an
app which allows you to make videos using existing soundtracks
or vocals. You can then share these videos, watch the videos of
others and private message friends. This app is designed for
those aged 13+; it has been given this age rating because it is a
criminal offence in the UK to collect data about young people
under the age of 13.
The Musical.ly app has received a lot of press attention recently as there is the belief
that some young people have been ‘groomed’ through it. This grooming has taken
place through the private messaging feature of the app and has encouraged the user
to interact through text, image and video in an inappropriate way. In addition, some
young people have been sent pornographic, inappropriate and upsetting images
through this feature. Unfortunately, any app which entices and engages young people
will also attract child predators and paedophiles.
There are ways to use this app safely:
1) Use your first name; do not use your full name with surname
2) Choose a cartoon picture or a picture of a pet for your ‘profile
picture’ not a photograph
3) Do not disclose your age in your profile
4) Change your user settings to private (see screen
shots). Click on settings (the cog in the top right
corner) and activate ‘only friends can direct.ly me’
‘hide location info’ and ‘private account’)
5) Only follow and accept follow requests from
people who you know in real life
6) Check you know the people who are following you
regularly; key danger signs to look out for are:
a. Multiple users with the same profile picture
b. Users with profile pictures who look like
models
c. Users who have not made any musical.ly
videos themselves
d. Users following a large amount (thousands) of people but who have few
people following them
Stay safe online!