#ENDGAME - helping you stay safe online
The internet can be great, and we know that being online is an essential way of keeping up with the world, whether it’s scrolling or sharing pictures to your favourite social media app, a great game you’re really into, or just chatting and sharing memes with your mates.
Sometimes things, or people, aren’t what they seem to be, so it’s important that you know how to keep yourself safe online.
If something doesn’t seem quite right, or someone is making you feel uncomfortable, BLOCK them from your page or profile, REPORT them via the app or platform you’re on and TELL someone so it can be reported to the police.
Think about the #ENDGAME
Who are you really talking to online?
You’ve been chatting away to someone you’ve met online. They seem nice, say they are the same age as you and you definitely have banter, but they are pressuring you to send them topless pictures of yourself and you just don’t feel comfortable with that.
Sadly, not everyone online is who they claim to be. Grooming can happen online, as well as in person, often by a stranger, but it can also be someone you know.
The groomer will build a relationship with you to gain your trust so they can trick you into doing something you’re not sure of, like talking to you in a sexual way or asking you to send nude pictures.
They are good at lying about who they are, particularly online where they can create a false identity and pretend to be someone your age, but in real life they are a lot older.
What’s the #ENDGAME? Pause and think - do you really know who the other player is?
The consequences of sharing nude images
You’ve been with your boyfriend/girlfriend for a while now and they have asked you to send them a nude picture of yourself. You can’t see the problem with it as they have promised it’s for their eyes only and you trust that they won’t share it with their mates.
But what if they just show it to or share it with one other person? Can you be sure that that picture won’t end up being shared around the whole school?
More and more teenagers are sharing explicit images of themselves, either online, or with other people via messaging or social media apps.
Please remember that sharing nude images with someone can be risky – even if it is someone you trust - which is often known as ‘sexting.’
Once you have shared an image with someone else, you no longer have any control over where it will end up, who else it will be shared with, or what other people may do with it.
Knowing that others have seen a nude image of you can cause a lot of stress and anxiety and pictures circulated online could also affect any future educational and job opportunities.
What a lot of teenagers don’t realise is that whilst ‘sexting’ may be very common, it is actually a criminal offence to create and share explicit images of someone under the age of 18, even if it is an image you have taken of yourself, as this will still be classed as creating and distributing an indecent image of a child.
What’s the #ENDGAME? Pause and think before you make the move to send a personal image to someone – is this person really on the same team?
Find out more about online abuse and sexting.
We also have some information on deepfakes, which are digitally created and altered content often in the form of fake images, videos and audio recordings, and what to do if you have been a victim of this.
The issue of consent
You felt like you were ready to have a sexual relationship with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but suddenly realise you don’t want to when it comes to it.
This is perfectly fine. You can change your mind at any point and withdraw consent for anything sexual you're doing. Saying yes to one thing doesn't mean you've consented to anything else, and you don’t have to do anything just because your partner wants you to.
Consent means agreeing to what's happening by choice and having the freedom and ability to make or change that choice.
If you are thinking about taking part in sexual activity with someone, then everyone needs to have consented. You need to check with your partner that they are OK and comfortable with it.
You can also withdraw consent during sexual activity - you don’t have to continue just because you’ve started something.
If you feel threatened or pressured into something, then you haven't consented freely and it's a crime.
What’s the #ENDGAME? You can change your mind at any time. Stop the game if it doesn’t feel right.
Find out more about consent and what it means.
'Sextortion’ - how to protect yourself from online blackmail
You’ve been talking to someone online for a while, got to know them, liked them and when they asked, you sent them a personal video of you. You thought it would be just a bit of fun.
Now they’ve said that they will share this video with all your friends and family unless you give them money. But you don’t have that kind of money and are now worried they will carry out their threat.
Online blackmail, also known as 'sextortion', is when someone threatens to publish sexual information, photos or videos about you.
This may be to extort money from you, to force you to do something against your will. Sometimes they may take photos or film you without you realising or consenting.
We are finding more and more that criminal groups are targeting people through dating apps, social media, webcams or pornography sites. They may use a fake identity to befriend you online and then threaten to send images to your family and friends.
Don’t panic and definitely don’t pay – there is help and support available. Save the evidence, take screenshots and report it to police as soon as you can.
What’s the #ENDGAME? Show them the red card.
Trust your instincts and don’t share sexual images or information about yourself if you are not comfortable.
Find out more about ‘sextortion, how to report it and what support is available to you if you think you are a victim.
Intimate image abuse
You’ve recently found out that your ex-partner filmed the two of you during an intimate moment and because you have refused to get back together with them, they have shared it to their Instagram account.
You didn’t even know you were being filmed, let alone gave consent for it to be posted online and now the video has been seen by many of your friends.
It is illegal to share or threaten to share private, sexual photos or videos of someone without their permission.
This is intimate image abuse, more commonly known as ‘revenge porn’, and it includes sharing images to the internet, via text or email or showing them to someone else.
What’s the #ENDGAME? Remember this foul against you is not your fault.
If you have been targeted, save the evidence, block all communication from the person targeting you and report to us.
Find out more about ‘revenge porn’ and what to do if you become a victim.
How to report any concerns to us:
If you have any concerns about someone you have met online, or have been the victim of online criminality, you can report it to us via our website or by calling us on 101.
Further information and support on online safety:
- Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
- Get Safe Online.
- Report and Remove.
- Childline.
- Think Before You Share.
- Internet Watch Foundation.
- Childnet.
- The Breck Foundation.
- It’s Not Okay.
- Revenge Porn Helpline.
- Safeline.