POPJAM APP - Danger, please be aware and help stop this App

[Stoppopjam]

I am posting here to make you aware of the Popjam app and the danger I believe it poses to children. It is an app which is marketed to children aged from 7 to 13. It is made by a company called Mind Candy who also are behind other games such as Mooshi Monsters, and your child may see this app advertised through using these games.

I have started a campaign in order to make parents aware of the dangers of this app and to hopefully get this app stopped. You can find this on facebook www.facebook.com/stoppopjam and also on twitter @stoppopjam

Without my knowledge my daughter was using this app for a month. It is easy to set up an account, you just choose a profile name and a password and you are in. It is marketed by the company as a game, as a safe environment for children to be empowered and express their creativity. It is far from this, it is a dangerous and dark place for children to be where they are being put in a very difficult position.

In the one month that my daughter was on the app she posted 235 times, and managed to accrue 555 followers, none of whom she knew. She was also following in excess of 800 people as the app incentivises children to follow, be followed and to post. She had posted photographs of herself, in her uniform, in her bed in pyjamas, photos of her siblings, of our pets. She had made comments in public view to other users disclosing facts about her location, where she went to school etc.

I have seen many children posting selfies and photographs which put their safety at real risk. They are discussing in full public view details of their lives, where they are going, what they are doing, where they go to school, how old they are, what their hobbies are and where they like to hang out. These children do not see the danger in this site as they see it as a game, because that is how it is marketed to them through using other Mind Candy games.

POPJAM is supposed to be only for children but there is no knowing how many people using the site are actually adults with sinister intent. I have created an account for myself and it took less than a minute. No email required, no parental consent required, nothing, choose your name and password and welcome to a world that is basically instagram for children. I have posted a video on facebook and twitter to show just how easy it is for an adult with sinister motive to get onto this app.

I have asked popjam how they can know how many adults are on this site posing as children, but in their response the omitted to an answer this question. I found a man on the site who was following my daughter, he was clearly in his 30s as he had posted photographs of himself. I have asked Popjam what his possible motive could be being on this app for children, but again they have omitted to reply to this question. I have created my own profile, I have asked them how they will find me, how they will know I am an adult and again they have omitted to answer this. I have pointed out how easy it would be for me to now groom children if I was an adult with that intent, again they have not addressed this issue in their reply to me.

I have seen photographs of children, selfies that they have taken, when the comments underneath from other users are words such as "bitch" "ugly" and "scum".

Please join my campaign to raise awareness of this app, and follow us on facebook and twitter. Please be aware if your child is using this app as in my view it is not a safe online environment for children in any way, and the makers of this app have not answered any of my questions regarding safety issues.

Many thanks

This thread is so odd

Good Lord why are there so many children on mumsnet?
Anyway. My two cents here, as a parent and a child of the early 00s when the internet truly was a wild west.
I was a teenager when the internet became a real thing. I remember the birth of chatrooms, forums, asl, obscure webcomics, the height of newgrounds, etc etc. I can honestly say that the internet has been a genuine hobby of mine since I was roughly 13. My partner and I have both worked for internet based projects such as games, web design, graphics and apps.

As a result, our girl has yet to be posted on social media and I refuse point blank for her to be. She is still a baby but we know the internet too bloody well, as only 20 years of experience can give. I remember the days of r/jailbait where users would harvest images and information of children from Facebook and apps such as this one and post them on this subreddit, it has since been closed down but you can bet your house on other likewise areas still active.

The second, and as DD gets older it'll be something highly taught about, is the sheer pressure social media puts on everyone. Especially children and young teenagers who feel safe to share information about themselves online. It is not safe. It is never safe. People lie on the internet, so much so it's one of the unofficial "rules" written way back in 2004-ish time. Children do not recognise danger, lack the life experience to really question "should I post this?" And "is this person really who they say they are" and "Will this post come back to haunt me in a year's time?"
I did it myself as a kid, i understand! I said similar to what some of the young people on this thread are saying. Then I grew up, had one too many creepy encounters, grew some sense. I was horrifically naive.
Children need to be taught better websense, and do not need certain services until they are responsible enough to deal with them. this thread and the young people posting here are sadly proving it.

I understand your concerns. But to be honest I just think you should be monitoring what your daughter is downloading. I don’t know how old she is, but it sounds like she is between 7-13 so where is she downloading this. If it is a phone then it is your problem, kids under secondary school age should not have phones due to the dangers of social media. I understand that kids can do stupid things, trust me I did my fair share as a kid, but you just need to talk to her. If it is on a phone or like a pad and you have the same make of phone i.e Apple, you can link up your downloads, so whenever she downloads an app it automatically either sends you a message (if parental controls is on) or download the app onto your device.