1. Author: Spencer Akerman
CSE Analyst at South West Regional Organised Crime Unit
Month: May
This document contains apps/websites of note that have appeared in Child Sexual Exploitation or Abuse cases in the Southwest region for the month stated above. The document may also contain apps/websites that are prominent in other regions or are believed to be an emerging issue.
If you have any apps you believe may be used in the facilitation of CSE/A please send an to the above address.
For the latest social media library created by Jasvinder Chohhan or the latest version of the Social media APP bulletin please visit

2. Seeking arrangements promises a modern take on dating, by bringing together sugar daddies and sugar babies. Sugar daddies will fund a luxury lifestyle for the sugar babies, in return for accompaniment.
However the reality is young women are resorting to selling themselves for sex. Experts have described the ‘no-sex required’ claim by the website as ‘disingenuous and misleading’, putting some women in a vulnerable position. CEO Brandon Wade, But Wade, admitted “It is difficult to police [what happens on the site] but we have made a huge effort to improve our reporting tools and monitoring what happens on the site.“
Case Study
A hotel contacted police after a young couple (16) who turned up to use a room that had not been paid for. The female stated her dad would be paying, the dad was unable to pay by telephone and attended the hotel to pay in person. The male (54) was not related to the couple and upon debriefing the couple admitted they had met the male on the “seeking arrangements” website by purporting to be 18 years of age and were both offing sexual services to men in exchange for money. Neither are willing to assist police further.

3. #paypalme
#Paypalme – Twitter hashtag with loads of price lists soliciting sexual acts/ sending of indecent images when money is paid into account holder’s PayPal account.
A lot of the accounts involve young people under the age of 16 and there are clear CSE concerns.
Twitters response regarding this has been somewhat muted as when an adult does this twitter allow it on their platform and that whilst it’s likely to be different for a child their policy doesn’t seem to clarify this.
Currently the UK safer internet centre is clarifying with them as in simple terms this would mean they are allowing young people to solicit sex on their platform. Although a very much grey area from an adult point of view but clear cut from the point of view of young people. Discussions are ongoing.
Identified by the UK safer internet centre

4. Yubo is a social media app that allows users to make new friends and create live videos with them. It also allows users to chat with one another in the app. The app is a rebrand of Yellow (which was dubbed tinder for children), and builds upon the original app. Unlike many streaming apps yubo has set up separate areas for year olds and adults. However anyone can lie about their age to gain access to a different area, which is evidenced in the cases seen in the region.
It appears Yubo have learned lessons from yellow; they have safeguarding guides for both users and parents with signposting of where to find help, I would advice viewing them as the safeguarding advice is of a very high standard as whole not just around the app itself.
Case Study
The only cases seen are where older males have purported to be young males in order to acquire indecent images from young girls. In one example the male user has then attempted to extort the victim with her images by threating to send them to her schools friends if she did not comply and send more, demonstrating his commitment by posting to another snapchat account. She eventually confided in a friend and investigations are ongoing to identify the male.

5. ChildLine and the Internet Watch Foundation have come together to provide a service where children can request the removal of sexual images of themselves which have been shared online. As part of that process the child would be asked to provide a link to where the image is stored online, rather than send the image itself.
The child is also required to verify their identity and age and this is done through the YOTI app. YOTI will not store images of the child’s ID following the verification process.
Below are a couple of online resources which contain details regarding this service:
- There is a section which covers what you can do if you’ve lost control of a sexual image and refers to the YOTI app.
– This is the portal where you can report images and videos for take down and again refers to using the app to verify age.

6. With the internet and apps evolving every week it can be easy to feel like technology is moving too fast for us, however it doesn’t change the fact that young people will always seek to interact with technology and will always require our advice and support when online.
Below are a number of resources to help educate adults and young people around the issue of online safety and app security:
The UK safer internet centre; where you can find e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe online. For help and advice contact: or
The Revenge porn hotline; the only organisation providing such a service in the UK, providing support and advice to the victims of the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and cyber-enabled blackmail (known as sextortion).
POSH (The Professionals Online Safety Helpline); The Professionals Online Safety Helpline is a free service for all professionals and volunteers working with children and young people. It provides signposting, advice and mediation to resolve online safety issues staff face about themselves, such as protecting professional identity and online harassment, or problems affecting young people, for example cyber-bullying or sexting issues. Where appropriate we can also provide advice or facilitate in the removal on harmful content. POSH have created good relationships with many of the giant tech companies and are a great place to start if you have any concerns with a particular site or App.
UK Safer internet centre
Professionals Online Safety Helpline
Revenge porn helpline
Protecting young people from online grooming