Children’s Safety Statement

Site: uksocials.club
Operator: CMP Technologies Ltd
Last updated: 30 April 2026
Version: 1.0

What this statement is

UK Socials (uksocials.club) is open to anyone aged 13 or over. That means there are teenage users on the platform — typically aged 13 to 17 — alongside adults. This statement explains what we do to keep teenage users safe on UK Socials, what rules apply to interactions with under-18s, and what to do if you have concerns about a child on the platform.

This statement sits alongside our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, and is required by:

• The Online Safety Act 2023 (Ofcom’s Protection of Children Codes apply to us)
• The ICO Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children’s Code)
• The Communications Act 2003

Our age policy in plain English

• Minimum age: 13. Anyone under 13 cannot use UK Socials. If we find an under-13 account we delete it.
• Maximum age: none. UK Socials is a platform for adults and teenagers to find each other for in-person socials.
• Age verification at signup. We ask for your date of birth and check the calculation. We have additional behavioural signals that flag suspicious accounts. We do not currently use third-party age-assurance services (e.g. ID-check or biometric estimation) at the 13 boundary, because Ofcom and the ICO accept self-declaration plus behavioural checks as proportionate for general 13+ services that don’t host adult content. We will revisit this if regulator guidance changes.

If you are using UK Socials and you are under 13, please stop and ask a parent or guardian to help you find an age-appropriate platform. We do not operate a junior version.

What changes for under-18 users

We treat 13–17 year-olds as a protected category. That means:

Higher privacy by default

• All optional profile information is private by default for under-18 accounts. They have to actively choose to make any individual element public.
• The Privacy Policy uses an age-appropriate default privacy bundle: postcode is never exposed beyond approximate area, photos are not visible to non-logged-in viewers, and direct messages from strangers are off by default.
• This default-privacy approach is part of our compliance with the ICO Children’s Code.

Profiling and matching are off

• Our matching feature (planned post-MVP) is off by default for under-18s and cannot be turned on for those accounts, even if the user wants it.
• We do not personalise the experience for under-18 users based on profiling.
• Aggregate / anonymous analytics still apply (we count under-18s in usage statistics) but no personalised recommendations are made.

The 21-and-up cannot message 16-and-under rule

• A user aged 21 or older cannot send messages to a user aged 16 or younger.
• This block is enforced automatically by the platform — there is no opt-out for adults.
• It applies to all message types, not just direct messages.

Family Link

• The single exception to the 21+ ↔ 16– block is Family Link — a mutual opt-in feature for people who are family members (siblings, cousins, parent/child relationships) and want to be able to message each other on the platform.
• Both sides must explicitly opt in. The under-18 side’s parent or guardian should be aware of and approve the connection — by using Family Link, the under-18 user confirms they have done so.
• Family Link does NOT override any of our other safety rules. The Community Guidelines apply to family connections in the same way.
• We may revoke Family Link if we believe it’s being misused.

No sexual content, ever

• UK Socials does not allow sexual content anywhere on the platform — for under-18s OR adults.
• Soliciting or producing sexually explicit material involving anyone under 18 is illegal and will result in immediate account termination and a report to the National Crime Agency.

Reduced advertising and commercial pressure

• We do not run advertising on UK Socials.
• We do not “nudge” users toward higher-cost subscriptions through dark patterns, false urgency, or guilt mechanics.
• Subscription upsells are minimal and clearly priced.

What we do to protect children on the platform

Image safety scanning — current and future

At launch, photos uploaded to UK Socials are reviewed by an administrator on report. We do not currently operate automated hash-matching against the Internet Watch Foundation’s (IWF) hash list of known child sexual abuse material. We hope to bring this in once the platform gains the traction to fund it — IWF membership costs around £1,000 per year for small platforms, which is a price we can’t justify before we have meaningful revenue but absolutely intend to take on as soon as we can. We will also evaluate Cloudflare’s free CSAM Scanning Tool as a possible interim measure if we move the site behind Cloudflare. Until automated scanning is in place:

1. Suspected child sexual abuse material is reported to UK Socials via the Report button or info@uksocials.club
2. Reports are reviewed by an administrator within hours
3. Any image confirmed or strongly suspected as CSAM is removed immediately, the uploading account is suspended, and we report manually to the IWF (https://report.iwf.org.uk/) and to the National Crime Agency
4. We preserve evidence as required by the NCA in line with our duty under the Online Safety Act 2023 s.66

Reporting and moderation

• Every photo, video, message, profile, comment, and review has a Report button.
• Reports involving children’s safety are prioritised and reviewed within hours.
• A specific category in our moderation system flags child-safety reports for fast handling.
• All admins handling child-safety reports operate under a documented internal child-protection procedure.

Behavioural detection — planned

We are building automated pattern-detection that will flag the kinds of behaviour associated with grooming attempts (21+ accounts repeatedly attempting to message 16– users, sudden profile changes after building contacts, accounts with unusual age-mix message patterns). This is a roadmap feature, not yet live. Until it is, our defences are: the automatic 21+ ↔ 16– messaging block, the report button on every message, and admin review of reported behaviour. Suspected grooming is reported to the police as a matter of policy whether the detection is automated or not.

Cross-referencing across the platform

• A user reported for child-safety concerns has their full account history reviewed (profile, photos, messages, activity, attendance), as set out in our admin moderation panel design.
• We may suspend account access during the investigation.

Cooperation with authorities

• We cooperate fully with police, the NCA, the IWF, and other child-protection bodies when they make lawful requests.
• We have a documented procedure for handling these requests promptly.

What parents and guardians should know

If you are a parent or guardian of a child aged 13 or older who uses UK Socials, here’s what you should know.

What your child can do on the platform

• Set up a profile with a username and display name (real or chosen)
• Browse public events, venues, and organisers
• RSVP to events (free events; paid events require Stripe checkout, which has its own age policies)
• Send and receive messages with other users their age (the 21+ block prevents adults messaging them unless Family Link is in place)
• Customise their profile with photos, hobbies, and interests
• Optionally answer the political-affiliation question (private by default for under-18s)

What we don’t allow

• Sexual content, drug references, violent content, content promoting self-harm, gambling content, or content otherwise inappropriate for a 13+ audience.
• Adult users (21+) cannot message under-17s.
• We do not run a private-photo or “premium content” feature.

How to monitor your child’s use

• We recommend following the standard parental advice for any social platform: have an open conversation about who they are talking to, what they are sharing, and what to do if they feel uncomfortable.
• Encourage your child to use the Report button if anything makes them uncomfortable.
• They can show you their profile and message history at any time — both are visible from their own account view.

How to escalate a concern

• For non-urgent concerns (something that’s been happening to your child on the platform that you want us to look at): email info@uksocials.club with subject “Parental concern” and we will treat it as a child-safety priority complaint.
• For urgent concerns (your child is being targeted, threatened, or you suspect grooming): email us with subject “URGENT — child safety”. We will respond within hours.
• For imminent danger: call 999, then tell us.

How to delete your child’s account

You don’t need an account yourself to ask us to delete your child’s. Email info@uksocials.club from a verifiable address (we may ask you to verify the relationship) with the username and we will delete the account, including data, in line with the Privacy Policy §7.

Concerns about a child you don’t know

If you’ve spotted something on UK Socials that concerns you — a child being targeted, an account that seems to be misrepresenting age, content that shouldn’t be on the platform — please report it. You don’t need to know the people involved.

• Use the Report button on the content
• Email info@uksocials.club with subject “URGENT — child safety”
• For criminal content, also report to the police (101 for non-emergency) and to the IWF: https://report.iwf.org.uk/
• For imminent danger, call 999 first.

How the platform protects you by design

Before listing the per-user tools, here’s the architectural baseline: UK Socials is built so you can’t be reached by people you haven’t agreed to be reachable by.

• Only matched members can message you. A non-matched member cannot send you a private message, comment on your activity, or invite you to events. Matching is mutual — both sides have to agree before any messaging channel opens.
• You can cancel a match at any time. Once cancelled, the other member loses the ability to message you. Future messages from them are blocked.
• You choose what’s on your profile. Every optional widget (interests, hobbies, political affiliation, music, sigils) has its own visibility setting — Public / Matches only / Private. You can run a profile that shows nothing but your name and photo if that’s what you want.
• Browse-only is not enough. UK Socials isn’t a search engine for events. Profiles exist so members find each other; the platform’s purpose is to make in-person meet-ups happen. If you don’t want anyone to see you exist, this isn’t the right service for you.

The match-gate plus the per-element privacy controls together mean: even if someone unpleasant is on the platform, they cannot reach you unless you’ve agreed to be reached. The tools below add to that baseline; they do not replace it.

Tools you can use as a member

We are honest about what is in place today and what is on the MVP build list.

Available now

Coming for MVP launch

These are on the build list for the MVP and will ship before the platform opens to public paid signups. We list them so you know what’s on the way and so we can be held to them.

Until each of these lands, the workaround is the same: email info@uksocials.club. Child-safety messages are handled as same-day priority by an admin.

We will move items from “Coming for MVP launch” to “Available now” as they ship, and we will update this page in the same release. The “Last updated” date at the top tells you the current version.

If a tool you need is in either column and you can’t find it / it isn’t working, email info@uksocials.club and we will help directly.

Internal documentation we maintain

For OSA / Children’s Code compliance, we keep the following documents internally and update them annually or when the platform changes materially:

• Children’s Access Assessment — confirming UK Socials is likely to be accessed by children
• Children’s Risk Assessment — identifying the specific risks that arise from teenage users on the platform and the controls we’ve put in place
• Illegal Content Risk Assessment — covering all OSA priority illegal content categories
• CSAM-reporting procedure — the operational steps when a hit is detected
• Moderation policy and admin training records

These are not public documents — they’re internal compliance documents — but Ofcom can request them and we provide them on request.

Updates to this statement

We update this statement when our child-safety practices change. The “Last updated” date at the top tells you the current version.

Significant updates are notified via in-platform message and where possible by email.

Contact

• Child-safety complaints / parental concerns: info@uksocials.club (subject: “URGENT — child safety” or “Parental concern”)
• Imminent danger: 999
• Police non-emergency: 101
• Internet Watch Foundation: https://report.iwf.org.uk/
• NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
• Childline: 0800 1111