Report issue

If you’re worried about anything you or your child come across online, we’d advise you to report it immediately to the relevant organisation and to the site where you or your child saw it. The links below take you directly to the report pages of organisations who can offer advice.

There are also links to our online issue advice pages, where you can find advice on specific issues plus recommended forums to get support and talk to other parents.

You can also visit the Report Harmful Content website to get further support on reporting an issue online.

Reporting online issues

Select the issue you would like to report or get more information about and it will expand to show you the information you need:

Cyberbullying

Online grooming

Inappropriate content

Inappropriate content

Privacy & identity theft

Sexting

Online pornography

Radicalisation

Cyberbullying

Report it to school

if the person or people doing the bullying are from your child’s school you may want to contact the school directly about it. All schools should have a policy and may have mentors who can help.

Police

If the content is sexual, targeted at your child’s ethnicity, gender, disability or sexuality, if threats are being made to harm your child or incite your child to harm themselves, then consider reporting the activity to the police.

Social media

You can report to the relevant providers e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter using the flag or report links near the content.

Here is a list of how to report inappropriate content on the social and gaming platforms:

To learn how to report in-game abuse on other platforms, please visit Cybersmile’s website.

For more support visit our social and gaming set up safe how-to guides.

Resources

If your child is affected by cyberbullying, we have compiled a list of recommended helplines, anti-bullying organisations and support and counselling services where you can get more help.

Inappropriate content

CEOP

The CEOP Command of the National Crime Agency is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. You can report concerns about any suspicious sexual behaviour directly to CEOP.

Internet Watch Foundation

Internet Watch Foundation

If you see any criminal sexual content online you can report it anonymously to the Internet Watch Foundation.

Ofcom

See advice from Ofcom on where to report any content that your child has seen that you believe is unsuitable for them.

Resources

If you need more support to help your child deal with seeing inappropriate content, there are lots of places to go for more help and advice. See our list of useful resources for further support.

Social media

You can report to the relevant providers e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter using the flag or report links near the content.

Here is a list of how to report inappropriate content on the social and gaming platforms:

For more support visit our social and gaming set up safe how-to guides.

Online grooming

CEOP

The CEOP Command of the National Crime Agency is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. You can report concerns about any suspicious sexual behaviour directly to CEOP.

Internet Watch Foundation

Internet Watch Foundation

If you see any criminal sexual content online you can report it anonymously to the Internet Watch Foundation.

Ofcom

See advice from Ofcom on where to report any content that your child has seen that you believe is unsuitable for them.

Resources

If your child is affected by online grooming, there are lots of places to go for more help and advice. See our list of useful resources for further support.

Online pornography

Internet Watch Foundation

Internet Watch Foundation

If you see any criminal sexual content online you can report it anonymously to the Internet Watch Foundation.

CEOP

The CEOP Command of the National Crime Agency is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. You can report concerns about any suspicious sexual behaviour directly to CEOP.

Resources

If your child is affected by online grooming, there are lots of places to go for more help and advice. See our list of useful resources for further support.

Sexting

Social media

You can report to the relevant providers e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter using the flag or report links near the content.

Here is a list of how to report inappropriate content on social networking sites:

For more support visit our social media set up safe how-to guides.

CEOP

The CEOP Command of the National Crime Agency is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. You can report concerns about any suspicious sexual behaviour directly to CEOP.

Resources

If your child is affected by online grooming, there are lots of places to go for more help and advice. See our list of useful resources for further support.

Radicalisation / online hate

GOV.UK

GOV.UK

Report illegal or harmful information, pictures or videos you’ve found on the internet. You can make your report anonymously.

Act Early

Learn how to spot the early signs of radicalisation and get support.

True Vision

If you see any content that incites hatred you can report it to True Vision.

National Police Prevent Advice Helpline

National Police Prevent Advice Helpline

If you think someone you love has been radicalised, call 0800 011 3764 and share your concerns with a trained officer. Open 09:00-17:00 every day.

Resources

See a list of resources, organisations and helplines that you can use to help support your child and deal with any concerns you may have about extremism and radicalisation.

Privacy & identity theft

Action Fraud

You can report fraud which includes online or internet crimes, using the Action Fraud reporting tool. Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre.

Resources

To find out more about protecting your child’s privacy online take a look at our advice hub. You can also review your child’s privacy settings on each social networking site they use.

Report online issues on social media

Click or tap on the icons below to see information on where to report online issues on social media sites:

report issue image

Facebook

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following links to find out how to report a range of issues on Facebook social media platform.

Also see advice about what happens to your reports on Facebook once you’ve made a report:

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on Facebook app.

Twitter

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report issues on Twitter social media platform.

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on Twitter app.

YouTube

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report issues on the YouTube platform.

Resources

Use our set up safe how-to guide to set restricted mode on YouTube platform to protect them from adult content.

Instagram

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report issues on Instagram social media platform.

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on the Instagram app.

WhatsApp

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report issues on WhatsApp social media platform.

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on Snapchat app.

Snapchat

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report abuse on Snapchat social media platform.

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on Snapchat app.

TikTok

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to report inappropriate content and of issues on TikTok social media platform.

Resources

Use our privacy settings how-to guide to help your child set the right privacy settings on TikTok app.

Discord

On plaftorm

On plaftorm

Use the following link to find out how to set safety settings on Discord to prevent receiving any unwanted messages.

Where to go for help

If your child is affected by something they’ve seen or experience online there are lots of places to go for more help and advice. Here are some recommended organisations to contact:

NSPCC offer advice and helpline : 0808 800 5000 or by text 88858
Professionals Online Safety Helpline: 0844 381 4772
Stop it Now! Helpline: 0808 1000 900
Kidscape offer support to tackle bullying
Confidential helpline for under 25s - 0808 808 4994 and web chat
Scottish helpline for supporting parents and carers - 08000 28 22 33
Young Minds parent helpline - 0808 802 5544

Parent Forums

If you would rather talk to some of the parents that might be having the same type of issues as you, then join one of these forums to start talking. All offer a friendly place to discuss the issues you may encounter as a parent.

Family lives provides support on online safety issues
Mumsnet Online safety forums
Parent Zone provide info for parents
Netmums connects parents to share experiences