Go Bubble is a brand-new social media platform aimed at children under 13, and it has launched in the UAE.
We talk to the founders of this new app, Henry and Danielle Petton, who explain what Go Bubble is all about.
What is Go Bubble?
GoBubble is a safer, healthier and kinder social media for kids under 13. It has been created by a mother, Danielle, and father, Henry, (a former police sergeant), who wanted to make the internet a safer place for children.
What age group is it aimed at?
Between seven and 12. It is web based, so there’s no requirement for a child to have access to a mobile device. “We care greatly about children’s mental health and wellbeing, so have engrained safety and kindness into the DNA of GoBubble,” Danielle says.
What will a child get out of it?
The want to chat with their friends, connect and collaborate but 24 percent of children have been approached by an unknown adult through social media – meaning there are two main risks for children: contact from adults and inappropriate content. GoBubble has strict age verification and content moderation, which checks all text, emojis, photos and videos before they appear.
How did Go Bubble come about?
Danielle ran an educational company teaching children about online safety, called eCadets, which was used by more than one million children and won awards for innovation. Children wanted to use a social media platform but there were none which were safe enough for them to be able to recommend so Danielle and Henry set about designing and building it.
Parents have a lot of fears surrounding their children and social media, why is this different?
It will only allow children in, once parents have given their consent then there’s a moderator acting as a virtual nanny. It also turns off at night saying “we’re getting some sleep, you should too”. It also rewards the likes you give and not the ones you get, so it rewards kindness and positivity.
How does it monitor who’s on it?
It use bio-metric age verification to check the age of a user when they log in. If they are over 13 it does not give them access to the child GoBubble account.
How does moderation work?
The AI software checks all content before it’s posted.
What is the difference between Go Bubble and Instagram?
It’s designed and built deliberately for kids.
What are the benefits of kids being on Go Bubble?
Parents and headteachers have seen the safety benefits also go hand in glove with improving offline behaviour and reducing bullying, the creators say.
www.gobubble.school/en.
