Apps that let people send your child anonymous messages — often bolted onto Snapchat or Instagram. Anonymity removes accountability and drives bullying. What parents should know.
Anonymous Add-ons is apps such as Sendit, YOLO and Tellonym that let people send unsigned questions and comments, usually linked from a Snapchat or Instagram story, popular with teens.
Official age
13+
We recommend
16+
Developer
Various (e.g. Sendit, YOLO, Tellonym)
Risks
3
Sendit, YOLO, Tellonym, and similar apps let users invite anonymous questions and messages, usually by linking to a Snapchat or Instagram story. They are a sibling to NGL, which we cover separately. The appeal is curiosity — 'ask me anything' — but anonymity removes accountability, and these apps are repeatedly linked to bullying, cruel messages, and pressure, because a sender cannot be identified.
A child posts an anonymous-question link to their story; friends and strangers reply without their name attached. What can start as fun quickly turns hurtful, because there is no consequence for cruelty. Some apps have also been criticised for sending fake or provocative 'anonymous' messages themselves to drive engagement, and for paid features that claim to reveal who sent a message but rarely do.
Story link sharing
Location: Snapchat / Instagram story where the anonymous link is posted
Set to: Do not post anonymous-question links; remove existing ones
These apps work by getting your child to broadcast a 'send me anonymous messages' link. Not posting the link is the most effective control — without it, there is no inbound anonymous stream.
In-app purchases
Location: App store / device family settings
Set to: Block — paid 'reveal who sent this' features rarely deliver and drive spending
Much of these apps' money comes from children paying to try to unmask an anonymous sender. Blocking in-app purchases removes that pressure.
Check for anonymous-messaging apps and whether your child has posted an anonymous-question link on their Snapchat or Instagram story
Time: 10 minutes
Talk about how anonymity changes behaviour — that people say cruel things they never would with their name attached, and it is not a reflection of your child's worth
Time: 15 minutes
Agree to remove the app, or at minimum stop posting the links and block in-app purchases
Time: 10 minutes
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
Myth: My child is only at risk if they actually download Sendit, YOLO, or a similar app.
Fact: Sending and receiving these messages usually only needs a link your child has posted to their existing Snapchat or Instagram story — the person sending a message doesn't need the app installed themselves, and the link can be screenshotted and shared well beyond your child's own followers. Not having the app on your child's own phone doesn't remove the exposure if the link is still live on their story.
Myth: If we delete this one app, the anonymous-message problem is solved.
Fact: Deleting Sendit or YOLO closes that particular inbox, but a child who still wants anonymous attention can simply add a different, similar add-on the following week. The habit worth addressing with your child is the appeal of inviting anonymous contact in the first place, not just one specific app.
Myth: These apps carry an age rating, so younger children won't come across one.
Fact: The invite link is posted on a mainstream app your child may already use well below its own age rating, and it's visible to anyone who follows that story — including younger siblings, classmates, or followers under the anonymous app's own stated minimum age. The rating limits who can download the anonymous app; it doesn't limit who can see or tap the link.
This is younger than these apps are intended for, and it's also the age band where cruel anonymous messages tend to sting the most. If you spot an anonymous-question link on your child's story, the calmer opening is curiosity rather than confrontation — ask what made them want to try it, then work together to take the link down.
Many teenagers try one of these apps out of simple curiosity, often not expecting the cruelty that anonymity invites. Rather than an outright ban, a workable middle ground is agreeing the link comes down the moment a message turns from teasing into something unkind, and keeping in-app purchases blocked so a bad experience doesn't also cost money.
By this age most young people have seen how these add-ons play out among friends, but it's still worth checking in occasionally, especially around exam stress or a falling-out, since social friction is often when anonymous cruelty resurfaces.
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