NSPCC data shows Snapchat cited in 324 child sexual abuse counselling sessions, 19% increase year-on-year
Guardii Analysis
Childline delivered nearly 900 counselling sessions between April 2025 and March 2026 in which children discussed online sexual abuse alongside mentions of specific digital services, according to figures published by the NSPCC in early September 2026. Snapchat was the most frequently cited platform, appearing in 324 sessions, a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year. TikTok was mentioned in 234 sessions, Instagram in 197, Discord in 92, and WhatsApp in 39. Online sexual abuse remained the single most common concern raised in Childline sessions referencing Snapchat and Instagram over a three-year period. The findings coincide with the expiration of a government-mandated three-month deadline for technology companies to deploy device-level nudity-blocking technology on children's phones and tablets, with the NSPCC now pressing the UK government to introduce mandatory legislation in response to what it describes as insufficient urgency from the platforms.
Research identifies where children are being harmed; real-time detection determines whether that harm can be stopped before it begins. The anti-sextortion and anti-grooming modules deployed within Guardii, a Meta Business Partner and world-leading provider of AI-driven abuse-prevention technology, monitor the shape of conversations on Snapchat, Instagram, Discord, WhatsApp and other platforms to identify escalating demands for images, coercive language, boundary-testing, and threats to distribute material. Rather than waiting for a child to self-report to a helpline, Guardii surfaces the conversation to a parent, school, or safeguarding professional at the point of acute risk, flagging the seriousness and trajectory of contact without requiring anyone to read every message. It enables rapid escalation to the appropriate authority when a child is in immediate danger, translating the evidence base that platforms like Snapchat and Instagram are high-risk environments into an operational tool that blocks hostile contact before it reaches the child and prevents the harm documented in these counselling sessions.