Guidance for dealing with online abuse/harassment

Snaps automatically disappear after they're sent but they can still be screenshotted so it's important to be careful. Some people sue special apps or just a simple handheld camera to take permanent pictures of a snap without the sender knowing.

Follow the instructions below or find more information at the Snapchat website.

1. To change your privacy settings on Snapchat, go to your profile and tap the gear icon. Scroll down to "Who can...":

• Contact me: select friends only
• View my story: select friends only
• See my location: choose ghost mode or your location will always be available on snap maps
• Show me in quick add: Turn this off.

It can also help to remember:

• to block people you don't know who add you, including friends of friends
• if you're in a group chat, anyone in the group can talk to you and see your messages.

2. Make a report

If you receive an abusive or worrying message. It can help to take a screenshot so you’ve got a record. The person who messaged you will see if you’ve taken a screenshot, so it’s important to think about how they might react if they knew. 

If someone’s bullying or harassing you, or sending naked pictures you can report that person to Snapchat. To make a report:

• In the app, go to the person’s Snapchat account
• Press the 3 dots or the cog wheel
• Press ‘Report’

To report a Snapchat or Snapchat Live Story that contains nudity or bullying content:

• press and hold the snap or story
• press the flag in the bottom left hand corner
• select the reason you're making a report

if you're reporting bullying you might be asked to give more information, it's important to explain as much as possible. After you've made the report you'll be asked whether you would like to block the person, doing this can help to stop them upsetting you.

3. Block someone

Blocking someone on Snapchat will stop them from seeing your story or sending you snaps and chats. It can help if someone’s sending you abusive messages. To block someone:

• in Snapchat, open the chat for the person you want to block
• press the 3 lines in the top left hand corner
• press Block.

There are lots of privacy settings on Facebook but there are a few simple steps you can make to help keep you safer.

To get to your privacy settings on the Facebook app:

• tap the menu icon (3 horizontal lines)
• scroll down to Settings and Privacy
• tap Privacy shortcuts.

Important things to change on Facebook

Who can see your posts
Change the default to Friends for your future posts. If you're worried about people you're friends with seeing what you've written, you can select "Friends except" to choose who you don't want included. You can change who can see your past posts as well.

People and pages that you follow
Change this to friends only or to "Friends except" if there's someone you're friends with who you don't want included.

Friends requests
You can choose either everyone or friends of friends. Remember that even if someone is a friend of a friend, it doesn't mean you can trust them.

Search engines linking to your profile
Turning this off will stop people being able to search for you on sites like Google.

Check what info is on your profile
Make sure your phone number, place of work, and address can't be seen publically. Remember that if you're wearing something with a uniform logo on then they can see where you work or study.

Facebook live
Only live stream to friends and don't share your location.

Reporting content on Facebook

The way to report abuse changes depending on what you're reporting. You can find out how to report abuse on the Facebook help page or by reading Facebook information on reporting and blocking.

Report bullying, sexting or nude images

Most naked images are against Facebook’s rules and naked pictures of someone under 18 are never allowed. To report a naked picture of you, bullying or something you’ve seen on a live video

On the Facebook app:

• select the 3 dots in the top right hand corner of the post or photo
• select to leave feedback or report
• if you have to leave feedback, select to report the post afterwards
• you'll be asked some questions about why you're making a report.

You can also fill out Facebook’s form to report an image or select what best describes what you want to report. Facebook won’t tell the person you’re reporting that it was you. They’ll tell you in your Support Inbox if they’ve been able to take the picture down.

To report something on Facebook Messenger

• go to the conversation you want to report
• press the i symbol in the top right corner
• press "Something's wrong"
• select what's happening
• after you've left feedback, you can also select to report or block the person.

You can also make a report to Facebook by filling in this form even if you don't have an account.
Facebook has lots of information on how to report other types of content that's being used to bully or threaten you.

Reports are anonymous so the person doing the bullying won’t know who reported it. Facebook will tell you in your Support Inbox if they've been able to help.

Have a look at Facebook's page on privacy to change your privacy settings and control who sees your profile and posts.

You can also hide someone on Facebook. This means that you won't see their posts in your newsfeed, but you'll still be friends with them.

In the Eye of the Storm

• Turn off notifications for posts which are overwhelming, you can do this for the post itself or the app as a whole in your phone settings
• You can temporarily deactivate your account during stressful or scary times.
• Don’t stay in group chats or pages that are stressful

Instagram sets your account to public automatically, which means that anyone can see what you do or post.

If your account is private, you can approve who can see your photos and videos, and only people who you've approved can comment on your posts.

Live streams shared to your followers will disappear after they've finished unless you add them to your story. But people are still able to screenshot or record it and Instagram can't delete this.

1. To set your account as private:

• go to your profile and tap menu (the 3 horizontal lines)
• tap settings
• scroll down to Private Account and turn this on.

Remember that you can still block and report anyone who is bullying you on Instagram.

2. Report a naked image or something you find threatening

• press the 3 dots in the top right hand corner above the picture or video
• select Report
• select the reasons you want to report the image.

3.Report bullying, threatening or sending photos to you via direct message

• open the direct message from the person you want to report
• press the i in the top right hand corner
• select Report and enter the reasons you want to report them
• you can also block the person by pressing Block User.

Instagram won't tell someone if they've been blocked. Once they are blocked, they won't be able to find your profile, posts or story on Instagram. But they can still mention you using the '@' sign. Changing your username can be a good way to make sure that they can't mention it.

Find out more about reporting to Instagram from their website.

What you tweet on Twitter is public unless you've set your account to private. This means that anyone can read, retweet and respond to anything you tweet.

If you protect your tweets, people won't be able to retweet you, and they can only view what you tweet if you approve them to follow you.

1. To protect your tweets

• go to your account and select Privacy and safety
• select Protect your Tweets.

2. In the Eye of the Storm

• Unfollow anyone who is bullying or harassing you by going to their profile and pressing the 'following' button
• Block anyone who is bullying or harassing you by going to their profile, pressing the 3 dots (on Android) or the gear (on iOS) in the top right hand corner and selecting block. Blocking someone stops them from contacting or following you. You can always unblock them if you want to in the future.
• If someone creates new accounts to keep harassing you or posts a naked photo of you then you can also make a report to Twitter.
• Turn off notifications for posts which are overwhelming, you can do this for the post itself or the app as a whole in your phone settings
• You can temporarily deactivate your account during stressful or scary times.
• You can mute certain words, phrases, usernames or hashtags which are scary or stressful in advanced muting options.

WhatsApp will automatically allow people to see what's on your profile and when you were last on. Changing your privacy settings can help to keep you safe and stop people bullying or abusing you.

1. To change your settings:

• go to your profile
• select Account and then Privacy.

You can change the following settings:

• Last seen (You can change this to My Contacts to stop people you don't know seeing if you've been online.)
• Profile photo and info about you (Setting this to My Contacts can help to keep people you don't know seeing information about you.)
• Live location (If you're sharing your location with anyone, you can turn this off here.)

If someone is bullying or harassing you, or sending naked photos of you then you can report and block them. This won’t delete any photos they’ve saved but can get them banned from using the app.

2. To block or report someone

• go to the chat with the person you want to report
• tap on the group or person’s name to open their profile
• scroll down and press Report
• you can also block the person on this page.

Blocking someone on messenger apps means they won’t be able to send you nasty messages. Usually the other person won’t know that you’ve blocked them. You'll just appear offline when they look at their contacts.

3. Can I delete an image I’ve sent to someone?

When you share images on WhatsApp, the person receiving them will then have copies on their phone, which they can share with people inside and outside of WhatsApp. Even if you delete a message or an image from your chat, others may still have a back-up or screenshot.

Video chatting on WhatsApp isn’t recorded automatically, but can still be recorded or screenshotted. Once this happens, you lose control of it.

Your Tik Tok account is set to public automatically, that means that anyone can view or comment on your videos. It also means that people can search for your account on Tik Tok.

1. Change your privacy settings

• go to your profile on the app
• tap the 3 dots in the top right hand corner
• select Privacy and Safety.

Changing these settings can help to keep your account safe:

• Allow others to find me (Turning this off can help to stop people you don't know from seeing your profile.)
• Private account(When your account is private, only people you approve can see your videos and follow you.)
• Who can send me comments (Setting this to friends only can stop people you don't know posting nasty comments or pressuring you.)

Tik Tok does not allow sexually explicit videos or live streams, especially when it involves someone under 18. They also don't allow bullying in comments, posts or private messages.

2. To report a video or live stream

• on the video, tap the share icon
• tap Report
• select It's Inappropriate
• choose the reason you're making a report
• press Report.

3. To report a comment

• tap and hold the comment you want to report
• tap Report
• select It's Inappropriate
• select the reason you're making a report
• press Report.

4. To report a chat:

• open the conversation you want to report
• tap the 3 dots in the corner of the screen
• select It's Inappropriate
• tap Report
• select the reason you're making a report
• press Report.

5. To report an account

• go to the account you want to report
• tap the 3 dots in the corner of the screen
• tap Report
• select It's Inappropriate
• select the reason you're making a report
• press Report.

Find out more about making a report to Tik Tok.

Tinder and other apps require you to share your location in order to use the app and sets your profile to public automatically. Unless you deactivate the account you were using before deleting the app your profile will sometimes stay public for some time after you have deleted it. If you link your Facebook and Instagram accounts it can be easy for anyone to trace them from your profile. Online dating sites and apps don’t perform background checks or vet their users, so you need to be vigilant when using these services.

Report any instance of misconduct on tinder by clicking the red flag in the top right corner after clicking on their profile or in message view.

• Tinder safety tips
• Hinge safety tips
• Bumble guidelines and safety advice.

Read more about being careful talking to strangers and staying safe online.

When you create an account on Skype, everyone can see your Skype name and location. The best way to keep your name and location private is to not include it on your profile.

You can hide your profile picture from people you don't know. How to do this depends on which type of device you're using, but you can find out how here.

To change who can contact you on Skype

• in the app, go to the menu (3 horizontal lines)
• scroll down to privacy
• set "Receive IMs From" and "Receive Calls From" to "Contacts Only".

It's important to remember that when you're using video chat sites like Skype, Omegle and Discord, whoever is watching you can record or screenshot your conversation without your knowledge.

Video chat sites can't delete images or videos that have been screenshotted or recorded. This is because they're saved directly to the person's device.

Some sites do allow you to report if something's happened, find out how to make a report on:

• Skype
• Discord

Tumblr automatically sets your blog and profile to public, meaning that anyone can find and comment on them. You can change these settings to help protect yourself from abuse and keep your account private.

How to change your privacy settings depends on which type of device you're using. Find out how to change your privacy options.

If someone is bullying on Tumblr or they've posted a naked photo of you, you can report it here.

You can change your Periscope privacy settings to decide

• whether you'll appear on someone's Superfans list
• which live streams Periscope suggests you watch
• if people on your Facebook friends list can find you on Periscope.

To change your settings on the Periscope app:

• go to your profile page
• tap settings
• scroll down to Privacy
• tap the toggle for anything you want to switch off.

Find out more about changing your privacy settings on Periscope.

You can change your email settings to decide

• which email addresses and email domains you can receive emails from and choose to block or redirect them
• which keywords you would like to filter from messages or subject lines

Use this guide to learn how to set up Rules on our university email system

• Guidance for Blocking or Moving Emails in Outlook

Contact Exeter IT if you have any questions about implementing this.

• Find out more about setting up rules in Gmail
• Find out more about setting up rules in Outlook
• Find out more about staying safe online

Safeguarding measures one can take to minimize their chances of becoming a target of online harassment include: 

• Check privacy settings on social networking sites and limit the amount of information you supply 
• Google yourself frequently to check your digital footprint 
• Use secure and unique passwords, check out our password tips
• Be aware of geolocation and tagging on social networking sites, turning off location settings can help protect your privacy
• Keep your antivirus software up to date 
• Cover your webcam when you are not using it
• If you receive an email from a stranger, think before clicking on a link or an attachment - it could contain a virus.
• If you believe that your smartphone or computer has been hacked or compromised, stop using it immediately and get advice from a repair shop.
• Be careful who you chat to, if somebody you don't know adds you as a friend, ignore them and delete their request.
• Don't share personal information like your address or phone number with somebody you don't know.
• Before entering private information such as passwords or payment details, look for the padlock symbol after the web address or 'https' in front of the web address in your browser

The University has set out guidance regarding use of social media for University staff and students.

Don't upload or share anything you wouldn't want your parents, co-workers, or friends seeing. Once you press send, it is no longer private. Anything you send can be shared with other people and you can't be sure who will end up seeing it.

Live streaming and apps like Snapchat can feel safer because they aren't permanent but anything you post online can be screenshotted and recorded and if that happens it's out of your control.

Used poorly, social media may cause serious and lasting damage to you and others: it could affect your friendships and ultimately your University career and the future.   

It is important to be aware that the line between personal and professional can sometimes be blurred and the line between the private and public space can be equally blurry.  

If you work for the University ensure you maintain professional boundaries in your use of social media.  When you are on our campuses, you are accessing the internet via the University’s networks – please do not use these facilities inappropriately.

Remember, when you post on social media you are publishing material that you should consider public (even if it is part of a closed group), searchable, permanent and quotable.  It is very easy to post something to the world in just one click.  Social media is not a place to let off steam.  Before posting something, take a moment to think:  

“Would I say this to the person’s face?” 

“What would I think if I saw this post on the internet?”  

“How might my current/ future employer consider this?” 

“How would I feel if someone posted this about me?”  

“Could I be committing a criminal offence?” 

“What would my family think?” 

“How would I feel if someone read about me posting this in the media?” 

Social media is a great way to keep in touch with friends, find out what's happening and share things about your life. When you're using social media, it can help to remember:

• You don't see everything: You might feel like people are all having a good time when you're not, but people don't always post their true feelings online or share when things aren't so good.
• What you see isn't the same as real life: Lots of pictures you see online have been staged, planned or edited to look as good as possible, just because something is online doesn't mean it's real.
• Take breaks: If looking at social media is making you feel worse, take a break and do something else for 10 minutes before you let yourself check it again.
• Obsessive behaviour: There is no shame in a Social Media detox to stop it taking over your life and distracting you too much from your work. There are lots of apps available to help, some features are inbuilt in phones to limit app time and others are available from app stores like Forest app, the newsfeed blocker, or StrictWorkFlow.

There are lots of great sites, apps and communities to join or browse through. But there's also a lot online with content you might not be expecting or find upsetting.

Online communities can be great for getting help with lots of different things. But sometimes it’s hard to know if an online community is making things better or worse.

Sometimes people go on websites which promote anorexia, bulimia or self-harm. This could be because they feel people in their life don’t understand what they’re going through.

However, harmful online communities can change the way you see life – even if you don’t want that to happen. It can also trigger thoughts and emotions. For example, looking at a ‘pro-ana’ website might make people think they are overweight even if they're a good, healthy weight.

Ask yourself: “is a community really trying to help me or is it making things worse?” If you’re part of an online community that is negative or harmful, it is okay to leave. You have control over the websites you visit. Don’t feel guilty about going to a more positive community instead. You could try the student room for message boards, where young people talk about their experiences and support each other with what they’re going through.

Facts about sexting

1. Images sent on sites like Snapchat can still be saved and screenshotted.
2. It’s not okay for someone to pressure you into sending a nude.
3. Sending, receiving or storing a nude when of someone under 18 is against the law.
4. Not everyone in a relationship will share nudes.
5. If something goes wrong, there’s support to help.

There are lots of reasons you might want to send a nude. But if you’re not sure whether you should or you’re being pressured by friends, it can help to talk to someone you trust about what’s happened.

Sharing nudes, dick pics, videos or sexual messages with someone who doesn’t consent to receive them isn’t okay and it can be against the law.

• If you’ve shared a message or picture with someone who doesn’t want it:
• Apologise about what you’ve sent
• Stop contacting the person if they don’t want you to talk to them
• Don’t pressure the person to send images or messages back
• Talk to someone you trust about what happened

Find out more about what should happen in a healthy relationship from Brook.

If you’ve sent a nude and you’re worried about what might happen, there are things you can do:

• Ask for the message to be deleted: Explain that you’re not comfortable with them keeping the picture and ask them to delete it.
• Don’t reply to threats: if someone is trying to threaten or blackmail you don’t send more photos. It can be scary, but it can help you to keep in control.
• Talk to someone you trust: Talking can be scary, especially if you’re being threatened but it can also help you get support and stay in control
• If something goes wrong: having a nude shared by other people without your consent is against the law and it isn’t your fault. If you’re struggling to cope or you don’t know what to do, talk to the Revenge Pornography Helpline.

Revenge porn

Revenge porn is when someone shares a sexual video or photo of you without your consent. It’s illegal for someone to do this, and there are ways to get support. If someone’s threatening you or has shared an image or photo of you online, there are things you can do:

• Report it: If you’re over 18 you can get support from the Revenge Porn Helpline. Take screenshots of anything you’re sent as evidence.
• Don’t respond to messages, comments, or threats: It can be natural to panic when you see something posted about you or someone threatens you. But don’t respond to threatening messages or comments.
• Talk about it: It might be scary talking about what’s happening, but you’ve not done anything wrong. If you can’t talk to an adult you trust, try talking to a counsellor who is specifically trained in sexual abuse cases through Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services
• Take a break: Let out how you’re feeling by using the self-help tools on the Wellbeing website like SilverCloud, talking to someone you trust, or doing a hobby you enjoy.