Warning against using Tellonym

Tellonym is an anonymous messaging app that was launched on iOS and Android in 2016. It's available for free on both the App Store and the Google Play Store and claims to have over eight million users around the world.The app has a warning on it that requires parental permission from anyone under 15. But as we all know, it's all-too-easy for a child to bypass these permissions.

It was launched in Germany a couple of years ago and Tellonym is an anonymous messaging app that allows people to post and answer questions and messages. Many pupils use it through snapchat.

On it's website it calls itself "the most honest place on the internet", it requires a post of a comment or question to send out a link to their contacts. For example; when using snapchat the child has given permission for it to use all their snapchat friends. They anyone of their friends can answer, anonymously, giving their thoughts.

It says "See what your friends think of you, answer anonymous questions and ask others the things you have never dared before!"

Over the last few years the app has faced a backlash for heightening the potential risk of cyber bullying because users can post inappropriate and potentially distressing messages.

The app does have a page on its' website that gives parents information on it.

It says "To protect against unwanted messages, you have the following options at the time of recording:

"Messages from completely anonymous persons can be deactivated - this means that your child can only receive messages from persons who have registered on Tellonym. This has the advantage that we can lock users out of our system more reliable, but at the same time has the disadvantage that significantly fewer messages are sent.

"Your child can also block certain words. Every time a message is sent to your child and our filters recognize this word in the message, the entire message is deleted immediately and not put through.

"In addition, your child can block the sender of a specific message at any time. After that, we do our best to prevent the sender from sending a message to your child again - but this does not always work with 100% reliability if the sender is not a registered user."

For further information on Cyber-bullying and how to deal with it please click here Internet Matters.

For further information and advice on some the apps your child is using please click here Apps advice for Parents