We’ve all wondered it. Whether you’ve heard someone mention the app, come across it on social media, or seen it on the app store’s list of social networking apps. Before downloading, while looking at that bright yellow smile, you think:

It’s a social discovery app that utilizes swiping between profiles and live stream videos in order to meet new people from all over the world. And yes, it is just friends. 

There’s a whole Yuboverse to explore. On the live streaming side you can go live with up to 10 friends on camera or mic, and if that’s not enough, an infinite number of viewers can also be engaging in the comments section and joining in on the jokes you and your friends make live. Spend quality time with your friends by playing virtual games like charades or pictionary to get the icebreakers out of the way, or screensharing your phone to watch TikToks and funny videos with others who could use a good laugh.

Despite those features, the best part of Yubo is the people. In the lives, you truly won’t ever know what to expect. Dancing cosplayers, the cutest and funniest looking pets (yes, even snakes), soon-to-be comedians inviting viewers to their live “stage” one by one, and many other forever memories being made each day. Take your own time getting acclimated to the virtual live environment, and start small with solo streamer lives or hop into the biggest live and start commenting right away. That way, you’re putting yourself out there at your own pace.

Worried about not finding your friend group? Don’t be. There’s every type of personality on the Yubo App, and people are just as eager as you to meet new friends. It may take a few lives, a few messages, or even a few friend requests to find exactly who you connect with best, but eventually, like all our users, you’ll find it. 

If you’re not quite ready to hop into live streams, check out the swipes. Find profiles of users that match your interests and starting creating friendships right away. Or go to tags, your profile’s banners that showcase your favorite interests. Dying to discuss the new episodes of Stranger Things but none of your IRL friends have seen it? Click on the tag to find other Stranger Things enthusiasts, maybe they’ll even be able to give you some other recommendations. Making friends hasn’t been this easy since giving someone your pudding cup in first grade. 

Don’t have any pudding cups to give out? Try Pixels instead. They’re the Yubo App’s digital collectables meant to send as gifts to friends or collect them yourself! Bonus points for doing both. For every new Pixel collection, we work with an artist who creates a series of fun, unique, funky and fresh characters that combine the energy of Yubo with the true style of the artist. 

Pixels are just one of the many aspects of Yubo that allow our users to develop more meaningful connections with each other. If you’re celebrating your birthday with Yubo, get ready to receive your zodiac sign Pixel, which is way better than the classic birthday post. But, stay alert, there are a lot of Pixel fiends on Yubo and you may even become one too. Can you collect them all?

Yubo emphasizes the social aspect of being a social media app. There’s no feed to post carefully curated moments or likes to compare popularity through numbers. On Yubo, life is live. You can put forth the real you and feel accepted by millions of other users searching for that same level of friendship. The Yuboverse is wide, and there’s a piece of it waiting for you.

No, we’re a friendship app. Yubo’s features are designed for small group interactions, just like hanging out with your friends. We don’t encourage meeting in real life to prioritize the safety of you and all of our users. Yubo is designed for friendship and friendship only.

Well, Yubo was originally Yellow (shoutout to our users who’ve been with us since Yellow). You may even remember that. Yellow was a Snapchat companion app that would help you find new friends on Snapchat. Everyday, Yellow would randomly pair you up with another person, and you would take the conversation from there, possibly creating a new beautiful friendship in the process. Since the days of Yellow, our core values still remain the same: we want to connect people virtually and give them a place to socialize in a real way – as real as they would in real life. Since then, we have come a long way and created a truly unique user experience with community at its center. Why did Yellow change its name to Yubo? We actually allowed the community to decide! We hosted a vote asking our users what name they think we should take on for the next iteration of the app, and Yubo was the final verdict! 

Have you always wondered what Yubo is all about? Come and find out what makes Yubo a unique app where you can meet new friends through amazing features like livestreams. Your new group of friends is waiting for you on Yubo!

What is Yubo?

POV: You’re on the Yubo app, and possibilities in the live feed are endless. What do you do now? We’ll help you decide with the persona that matches you best. 

The Entertainer: Click that plus button and start your own live! Dance, sing, tell stories, wash the dishes, water your dog, walk your fish, whatever you want! People are constantly looking for lives to hang out in, so make yours a welcoming space and instantly start connecting with those who jump in to join you. Don’t stress about the views, Yubo is all about friends, not followers. 

The One Who Uses Yubo To Pass The Time: Need something to fill the silence while you’re doing – well, anything? For these types of needs we recommend hopping into one of our lives with multiple streamers – bonus points if you can find a full panel with 10 streamers!  With multiple people in one live, you’re guaranteed to never have a silent moment. Even better, stream Youtube into your live directly from the Yubo App! Fill your own silence and help others fill theirs as well. 

The Debater: We know your type well on Yubo. No matter the hour, you’ll always be able to find a debate live to hop into. While you're entitled to share your opinions, we do want to ensure debate lives are a safe space. Stay respectful and be sure to enunciate. Comment warriors, this is for you as well.

The One Here for A Good Time: If you’re ready for it, join the #1 live on Yubo! The more viewers, the more energy. Be sure to raise your hand to join the stream and add to the entertainment, or react from the comments and raise the energy in your own way! 

The World Traveler: Do you want to see the world, but still have to save up for the big trip? Meet people from all over the world with Yubo! Set your preferred live location to Tokyo, Rome, Paris, or anywhere you want! Meet people who will virtually show you around their hometowns or who can even help you learn their language, just like this user who learned 7 languages with Yubo – C'est incroyable!

The Gamer or Anime Lover: Tired of gamers being grouped in with anime? Don’t worry, the Yubo App separates these into two separate categories of lives. Users hosting lives about gaming or anime can be found in dedicated tabs to help you ensure you find your kind of people that you can weeb out with. 

The User Who Isn’t Into Lives: Don’t worry there’s room on Yubo for you too! Head over to our swipes tab and start matching with friends! Maybe you’ll even find a friend group that makes you love lives. 

Discover with us the essence of Yubo where you can chat, play games and share your passions! Livestreams are where all the fun happens on Yubo, so follow us in an introduction to the different types of Yubo streamers. And maybe you'll recognize yourself in one of them!

Tips and Tricks On How To Make the Most Out of Yubo Lives

We take seriously our responsibility to make Yubo as safe as possible, and we have put safety at the core of every decision since our launch to fulfill that responsibility. As the online landscape continues to change, we, too, are constantly evolving and upgrading our practices and systems to ensure safety is built in by design.

The devastating events of 24 May in Uvalde, Texas, brought to light systemic issues in society that need to be addressed. We are dedicated to doing our part by identifying and implementing safety solutions to the Yubo platform. In the days since, we have been working to accelerate safety developments in our pipeline and further expand the scope of existing safeguards across our platform. We have made meaningful changes to Yubo during this time and will continue to roll out additional developments in the weeks ahead as part of our continuing commitment to safety innovation in social media. 

The following enhancements have been expedited to supplement our existing safety practices and provide greater support for our users:

Updated risk-detection policy
Yubo has broadened its policy to review content and act on infractions based on more stringent laws and regulations around sexual behavior and harassment; hate speech; weapons; violence; drugs; and animal abuse, among other risks. Previously, our response to content related to these risk areas was determined by corresponding laws in the region where the content was posted. We feel it is in all users’ best interest that we apply more severe standards to content review and intervention across the board.


Enhanced user-reporting capabilities
This summer, Yubo users worldwide will be able to attach up to four media files, such as screenshots or video recordings, to any reports they submit, thereby providing greater context to Yubo team members tasked with reviewing reports and taking action accordingly. Yubo is committed to ensuring that every user has sufficient agency to acknowledge how they are feeling, and if uncomfortable, take steps to voice their concerns. User feedback is essential to our mission to continually improve the safety of our platform. 


Audio-moderation technology 
Roughly half of people who have reported experiencing harassment in online gaming, where live streaming has historically been most prevalent, were targeted by voice, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. Yet innovations in audio moderation have struggled to keep pace with advances in real-time image and video moderation. On Tuesday, 31 May, Yubo became one of the first social media companies in the world to deploy audio-moderation technology, supplementing our existing capabilities to allow for comprehensive automatic moderation across the platform. Developed in partnership with Hive, the technology is being tested in beta for English-speaking users with the goal of expanding to additional languages. 


 Combined-signals risk detection algorithm 
On Tuesday, 31 May, Yubo deployed a new algorithm-based detection system, which we have been developing for over six months. The algorithm aggregates and assesses a combination of signals – keywords, emojis, and images, for example – to evaluate content with context. This bolsters our other safety detection tools, which scan for individual signals of infractions or risk, and provides enriched context to our emergency escalation team.

As a leading social platform for teens and young adults, we are committed to prioritizing the safety of our users. As such, Yubo is guided by a safety advisory board of respected thought leaders from organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Thorn, as well as partner organizations in government, law enforcement, NGOs, and charities. We are thankful for their support as we continue to develop and improve the Yubo platform for our users.

We remain shocked and deeply saddened by this recent tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all who have been impacted.

At Yubo, we take seriously our responsibility to make Yubo as safe as possible, and we have put safety at the core of every decision since our launch to fulfill that responsibility. As the online landscape continues to change, we, too, are constantly evolving and upgrading our practices and systems to ensure safety is built in by design. We have made meaningful changes to Yubo and will continue to roll out additional developments as part of our continuing commitment to safety innovation in social media.

A letter from our CEO on new safety policies and features on Yubo

A Letter From Our CEO on New Safety Policies and Features on Yubo

What's this new feature on Yubo all about? 

In May 2022, Yubo introduced a new age verification feature to help keep all of our users safe while on the app. If you are a Yubo user, here’s what you need to know! 

You might have received a new pop-up either while using the app or while creating an account on Yubo. Far from being mysterious, this pop-up is simply the launch of Yubo's new age verification system – and this time it’s an easy and simple process, without any need for an ID card, documentation or other form of proof. 

Why is Yubo introducing this new feature?

Online age verification allows platforms to confirm age and identity of users over the internet. Yubo’s main purpose for introducing this new verification feature is to help continue to keep everyone on Yubo safe. By confirming our users’ ages, we can ensure that everyone is the age they say when they are interacting with each other on the app. This will help prevent people who intend to lie about who they are or create false profiles. It also allows users on Yubo to be confident they are interacting with others in their similar age group, just as they would in real life. 

What is Yubo's new age verification system? 

Yubo’s age verification system was developed in collaboration with Yoti, who has been our trusted partner since 2019 in helping to verify the identities of suspicious user accounts on Yubo. Yoti and Yubo are now adding this new safety feature to the mix to provide another step in age verification for all our users. It will serve as an initial filter when entering the app helping to ensure users are the age they claim to be.

How does Yubo's age verification system work?

This new age verification process is intentionally very easy and simple. In fact, all it requires is a real-time photo that you, as a user, will take within the app. Yoti’s age estimation technology will then analyze your photo and estimate your age – and it is 98.9% accurate! It also uses a special liveness algorithm that takes a short video to detect that it is a real photo and not a screenshot or image pulled from Google. Once your age is delivered and it matches the age on your profile, you are verified and can access the app. However, if your age doesn’t match, you will need to go through an additional verification process. 

Yubo How To Verify Your Age

Why was I asked to verify my age and not another user I know? 

The age verification feature has been launched in beta stage for users ages 13 and 14, but will begin rolling out to the rest of users with the goal of age verifying everyone on Yubo by the end of 2022. 

Protecting your data is particularly important to us when creating any feature on the app, and our new age verification system is no exception. Thanks to this new system, no identification documents or personal information will be required and instead you will only need to take a real-time photo of yourself within the Yubo app, which will then be processed by Yoti's age estimation technology. At Yubo, our ultimate goal is to make age verification accessible while guaranteeing the protection of our users' data. We are proud to be the first major social media platform who will have age verified all of its users! 

You can check out our step-by-step guide below or watch this video to learn more about how this new verification feature works. 

 When you receive the initial pop-up, you will first be directed to verify your age and agree to the terms of the verification. 

Once you accept, your camera will activate and you will be prompted to place your face within an oval that appears on the screen. 

Once your photo is taken, Yoti’s age estimation technology will analyze the photo. You will be notified that your age is verified, that your age doesn’t match or that you are not using a legitimate picture. 

If your age is verified, you will be brought to the Yubo homepage. If your verification fails, you will not be able to access the app and will need to provide additional ID documentation to verify your age.

And that’s all it takes! It’s as easy as that. If you have questions, you can always reach out to Yubo Support or check out our online Safety Hub to learn more about what we do to keep Yubo a safe place for everyone.

Yubo, the social live-streaming app for Gen Z implements an industry-leading age verification feature in partnership with Yoti. Yubo will become the first major social media app to institute a wide age verification process across its platform. Yubo’s goal is to age-verify 100% of all users on the platform by the end of 2022.

Yubo’s new age verification feature helps keep you safe

Yubo’s New Age Verification Feature Helps Keep You Safe

At Yubo, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and all of the Ukrainian people in the wake of the current military invasion. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering as a result of the ongoing violence and who have been displaced from their homes. As a European company, we feel deeply affected by this war on our home continent. We are committed to supporting our employees whose families have been impacted by this devastating crisis, and have pledged to donate to essential on-the-ground relief efforts by organizations such as UNICEF, World Food Program, Direct Relief, International Rescue Committee among others to help deliver urgent supplies and services. We are donating to make a difference and will continue to follow the news closely to determine other ways in which we can show our support.  

On February 24, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, ordered an invasion of its neighboring country Ukraine in protest of Ukraine’s moves towards joining the European Union and NATO (an international military alliance). Within the first day of the attack, hundreds of thousands of Ukranains fled their homes and tried to seek refuge across borders in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania. That number has now reached nearly over 1 million, and the EU believes that figure could quickly climb to 7 million. The Ukrainian people are living through terrifying times as bombs and air missiles rain down on them and they seek cover in bomb shelters left over from the Cold War. With millions displaced from their homes and left in freezing temperatures without food, water, shelter, medical supplies and other essential services, Ukraine is facing one of Europe’s worst humanitarian crises in decades. To learn more about the conflict and what’s happening, you can read about it here. 

Stay informed: Follow journalists, media sources and aid organizations who are on the ground to stay up to date on the current situation and how to help – and be cautious of misinformation by unreliable news sources.

Donate: With millions of Ukrainian people in need of relief, organizations across the world are rallying together to ensure essential resources reach them safely. You can easily support by making a donation to these organizations, or to general funds and personal fundraisers linked here.  

Speak up: Help spread awareness of what is happening in Ukraine and share useful resources with your network of friends and family. 

Go local: See if there are any local food or clothing drives in your area that are transporting supplies to Ukraine for humanitarian aid. 

Contact your government officials: Reach out to your local or national government representatives and urge them to provide safety and protection for Ukrainian refugees. 

At Yubo, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and all of the Ukrainian people in the wake of the current military invasion. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering as a result of the ongoing violence and who have been displaced from their homes. As a European company, we feel deeply affected by this war on our home continent. We are committed to supporting our employees whose families have been impacted by this devastating crisis

In Support of Ukraine

Gender is the socially constructed qualities, roles, and characteristics historically associated with being a man or a woman. In the many discussions about gender on Yubo last year, our users largely viewed gender as “fluid, and can change, and can be both interpreted and expressed in various different ways.” They saw gender as a spectrum that, according to Coach Woodzy who came to Yubo to speak about trans identity during pride month, “is not only representative of various degrees of feminine and masculine, but holds space for the presence of both femininity and masculinity all at once, and also holds space for us to identify with and express neither of those qualities.” 

The Gender Binary is the classification of gender into only the opposing categories of masculine and feminine. It is the traditional view of gender that is being replaced with the gender spectrum. Our Gen Z users told us that they see the gender binary as “outdated and often harmful” because it forces people to only embrace their qualities that align with stereotypes of masculinity or femininity. 

Coach Woodzy disagrees with the gender binary because it does not “hold space for people to be whoever they want to be, on their own terms, and not because society says they have to be a certain way.” As our society moves to a broader definition of what “gender means,” individuals who are stuck in a binary idea of gender have a difficult time wrapping their brains around individuals who do not fit into a strict gender dichotomy, or do not identify with any gender at all.

A gender stereotype is an overgeneralized assumption about the characteristics of a man or woman. Gender stereotypes create widely accepted biases and perpetuate the notion of the gender binary. Gender stereotypes are dangerous because when individuals don’t conform to our gender stereotypes, they often face discrimination and unequal or unfair treatment. While gender stereotypes are still pervasive in our society, our users say that they are “slowly but surely” becoming less common and they see a great increase in “changing government documents, physical spaces, and social movements” to be more inclusive. For example, at Yubo we offer 35 genders and 50 pronouns to make sure our app is a safe and inclusive space for everyone.  

Our users also told us that gender stereotypes make it difficult to express their gender and pronouns to others. Coach Woozy, a binary trans man, says that it has taken him many years to feel enough “comfort and security within myself and my masculinity that I now feel safe to enjoy my femininity while being a masculine individual.” Even for someone like him, who has embraced the fluidity of gender from a young age, he says that “sometimes I just want to be me and I’m still learning how to best describe that.” The pressure to conform to gender stereotypes makes that learning process even harder. 

Gender fluid is when someone, in their gender identity, does not feel they are either completely male or completely female. People’s gender identity can often change over time. That change might be in expression, but not identity, or in identity, but not expression. Or both expression and identity might change together. Coach Woodzy says that while he feels “affirmed by doing traditionally masculine things,” and that while he lost many of his “feminine behaviors and qualities” throughout his gender transition, he has recently regained them. He attributes this shift in his gender expression to feeling more safe and secure in his masculinity. However, shifts are natural and can happen for no reason at all. For some people, gender fluidity may continue indefinitely as part of their life experience with gender.

Some people describe themselves as gender-fluid, which as an identity, typically fits under the transgender and nonbinary umbrella. Gender-fluid applies to people whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex assigned to them on their original birth certificate. (Nonbinary means a person’s gender identity doesn’t fit into strict cultural categories of female or male). Not everyone who experiences changes in their gender expression or identity identifies as gender-fluid. Nor does everyone desire gender-affirming medical treatment to change their body to better align with their gender identity. Ultimately, anyone who identifies as gender-fluid is a gender-fluid person. Often, the term is used to mean that a person’s gender expression or gender identity — essentially, their internal sense of self — changes frequently. But gender fluidity can look different for different people.

Gender-neutral means that something is not associated with either women or men. It can be both an identity or a way of referring to things without dividing them into genders. As an identity, gender-neutral falls under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. Gender-neutral individuals have a neutral gender identity or expression, or identify with the preference for gender-neutral language and pronouns.

As a way of speaking, being gender-neutral means using gender-neutral pronouns like “they” instead of “he” or “she,” or saying “everyone” instead of “ladies and gentlemen.” Using gender-neutral language can seem like a trivial thing, but for those who don’t fall neatly into the male or female categories, these constant references to the binary male and female groupings can be alienating. Even for those who do identify as male or female, these constant reminders of gender have an impact. By constantly dividing everyone into male and female categories we make ourselves perceive men and women as more different than they really are.  

What are the thoughts of Gen Z about gender roles and gender in general? 

Gen Z does not subscribe to traditional gender roles and sees gender as a spectrum that allows for multiple genders. When we asked Coach Woodzy this question, he said that “When [Gen Z] considers traditional roles and their place in today’s society, we think it’s important to let people be whoever they want to be, and do whatever they want to do. If someone enjoys aligning with gendered norms, that’s great. If someone doesn’t, that’s okay too.” They prioritize people being their most authentic selves over fitting into clear-cut gender categories, and see any pressure to conform to gender categories as destructive. 

What are the differences between Gen Z and Millenials about the topic of gender? 

Gen Z grew up surrounded by less gender stereotypes than Millenials, so they are more accepting of multiple genders and less likely to subscribe to the gender binary compared to millennials. According to a Pew Research Center Study, ​​Gen Z respondents were more likely than Millennials to say they knew someone who prefers that others use gender-neutral pronouns to refer to them: 35% say this is the case, compared with a quarter of Millennials. 

Coach Woodzy described first learning about gender spectrum in the third grade when his teacher put a string across the classroom that on one end had images of highly feminized things, like makeup, flowers, dolls, and the color pink; and masculine images like trucks, sports, and the color blue on the other side. The teacher asked the students to put their hand somewhere along the line, based on their hobbies and interests. According to Woodzy, “Not one single student was entirely feminine or entirely masculine” and showed that “it is okay to embrace the things we enjoy, regardless of what genders we assign to certain things.” Millennials were less likely to have been exposed to the gender spectrum at such a young age, and as a result, grew up internalizing more gender stereotypes than Gen Z. 

How can parents help their children in their personal journey about gender? 

Parents can help their children in their personal journey with their gender by avoiding gender stereotypes, using the correct pronouns, and embracing gender fluidity. Doing activities like the one Coach Woodzy described above, or encouraging them to embrace their interests that do not traditionally align with gender stereotypes, are great ways to subvert gender norms and make sure they feel comfortable being themselves. Coach Woodzy says that parents support their children in affirming their gender identity by asking themselves about their preconceived notions or biases about gender. He says that “It’s one thing to memorize the way that someone would like to be seen and acknowledged, it’s another to challenge your headspace about WHY you struggle to affirm someone else in the first place.” 

Gender and Gen Zwas one of the hottest topics on Yubo this year. So, we asked the Yubo users to describe how they view gender, its role in society, their thoughts on gender stereotypes, how their parents can support them in their personal gender journey, and so much more.

Gender and Gen Z

In honor of October being Black History Month in the UK, Yubo teamed up with activist Kaia Allen-Beven to host a special racial justice Live Session! Kaia is the organiser of Brighton’s Black Lives Matter protest. She is an inspiring advocate for police reform, social justice, and antiracism. During the interactive Q&A, she answered participants' questions and shared how Gen Z can leverage social media to fight for the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, Kaia organized a Black Lives Matter chapter in her hometown of Brighton, England. By leveraging the power and speed of social media, Kaia and her fellow organizers brought together 10,000 people to march for BLM in just a few weeks. Before the live, she said that she was excited to talk about how Gen Z can use social media to organize, inform, and connect to create social change like never before. 

Black history month was first celebrated in the UK in October of 1987 in recognition of the contributions of African, Asian, and Caribbean people to the UK. Today, Black History Month is amplified by the Black Lives Matter movement's powerful strides towards eradicating white supremacy and systemic racism. Systemic racism and white supremacy manifest themselves in police brutality, disproportionate COVID-19 deaths in communities of color, and persisting inequities in education, housing, access to jobs, and pay. Black History Month is an opportunity to honor the triumphs and contributions of black people in the UK. But, just as importantly, it is a time to reflect on how racism still persists in the UK and around the world, and to commit to continuing to fight for racial equality through the rest of the year. 

During the Live, Kaia, her friend Mahalia, Murphy and two US activists talked about their own experiences with blackness, racism, and what it means to be an activist and an ally. She asked questions that challenged the participants and created a space for vulnerability, sharing, and growth.  

Kaia’s sincerity and insight inspired participants to be equally as open about their own experiences of racism. Participants shared stories of unequal treatment from teachers, insensitive jokes, and their family members experiences of racial profiling and state violence. To all of these, Kaia listened, empathized, and connected the individual's stories to why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important.  

The panel also received questions from white participants who were unsure how to be part of the solution. They asked questions about how to help and defend conversations like this one, how to educate themselves and others about white privilege, and how to have conversations with people that disagree with BLM. The panel listened to all of their questions and gave concrete advice on how anyone can be a part of the movement for racial justice. 

What does it mean to be young and an activist? 

One question Kaia asked was “what is an activist” and whether participants identified themselves as an activist. Mahalia said that while she is active in the Black Lives Matter movement, she does not identify as an activist. She said that an activist is someone who “works every day to try and change the narrative about what is going on”. In the age of social media, activism can often be mistaken as just reposting an infographic on Instagram. Participants talked about how just posting is often performative because true activism requires action. 

Throughout the Live, Kaia repeatedly emphasized the importance of continuing BLM efforts beyond Black History Month, because “if we only focus on the well-publicized events, we will never achieve change” To Kaia, the everyday opportunities to stand up to ignorance and practice antiracism are just as important as attending protests and rallies. Kaia believes that when we practice antiracism every day, our cities and our countries become more anti-racist as a result. And that this is how day by day, person by person, change happens.

In honor of October being Black History Month in the UK, Yubo teamed up with activist Kaia Allen-Beven to host a special racial justice Live Session! Kaia is the organiser of Brighton’s Black Lives Matter protest. She is an inspiring advocate for police reform, social justice, and antiracism.

How to fight for Racial Justice this Black History Month and Beyond

How to Fight for Racial Justice This Black History Month and Beyond

Safer Internet Day is an international celebration to promote safety and wellbeing online. It is celebrated by millions of people each February. Each year, Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. While it especially promotes online safety for young people, everyone benefits from a safer online world. From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, Safer Internet Day inspires an international conversation about using technology responsibly, critically, and creatively. 

In 2021, the theme for Safer Internet Day was “Together for a Better Internet”. It emphasized that whether you are a young person, a parent, a teacher, a policymaker, or whether you represent an organisation or industry, everyone has a role to play in creating and maintaining a better online world. Thousands of local, national, and international organisations participated to promote the positive use of digital technology for children and young people. 

Safer internet day is run by Insafe, a European network of Safer Internet Centres. Centres implement awareness and educational campaigns, run helplines, and work closely with youth to create a better internet. However, Safer Internet Day is also celebrated outside Europe. In 2009, the concept of Safer Internet Day Committees was introduced, and now, more than 100 global Committees work closely with the Safer Internet Day Coordination Team. Many external organizations also support Safer Internet Day with awareness-raising events and activities. Everyone is encouraged to participate in Safer Internet Day, whether they are an organization, a parent, or a young person!

Safer Internet day was created as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project in 2004 to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. Safer Internet Day is even more important since the coronavirus crisis forced most of our daily activities to move online. On Safer Internet Day 2021, a brand new research report, “An Internet Young People Can Trust” surveyed over 2,000 young people aged 8-17, and revealed that 77% of 8-17s felt being online had been a more important part of their life in 2020 than before. As young people spend more and more time browsing the internet, we want them to be protected.          

What is the theme of Safer Internet Day 2022? 

The theme of Safer Internet Day 2022 is “All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online”. Each year, Safer Internet Day explores a new issue or theme which is impacting the lives of young people online. For 2022, the Day celebrates young people’s role in creating a safer internet and the ways they use the interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Online communities and relationships are very important to young people and have only become more important over the last few years. From gaming and chat to streaming and video, young people are shaping interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Safer Internet Day 2022 celebrates young people's role in creating a safer internet, whether that is while gaming and creating content or interacting with their friends and peers.

Safer Internet Day 2022 will take place on 8th February 2022!

Celebrate on Yubo, of course! Whether you are taking part in our live streams, or talking to some new friends, make staying safe online a part of the conversation. Here are some other ideas of how to celebrate safer internet day: 

Start a Live on Yubo to raise awareness about online safety! Share your screen and show videos, share tips, and engage with viewers by encouraging them to share how they stay safe online. 

DM a friend to let them know about the activities taking place on Yubo or in your life to celebrate Online Safety Day. Encourage them to become more engaged in the importance of online safety. 

Watch an online safety video. There are so many videos on important safety issues like respectful communication, cyberbullying, online advertising, false information, image sharing, and self-esteem. Watch one to become more informed about online safety and share it with your friends and family so that they can be too!

Develop an online Code of Conduct. Think about how you want to be treated and treat others online. Write down some rules and best practices for yourself. Brainstorms actions you can take to make the online world a better place!

How many countries celebrate safer internet day?

Approximately 200 countries and territories celebrate Safer Internet Day. From its launch in 2004 in the EU, it has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated worldwide. Its size makes Safer Internet Day a landmark event in the online safety calendar. 

The internet is not inherently unsafe, but there are some emerging safety issues in these spaces as well as issues young people have been navigating for some time; particularly the lack of respect individuals display towards each other, groups ‘ganging up’ against other groups, and the sense that it is easy to ‘get away’ with negative behaviour such as meanness, bullying and swearing. They speak about hate directed at particular groups, particularly LGBT+ users, and misogyny on gaming platforms. They tell us the apparent lack of consequences for negative behaviour has an impact on their safety and wellbeing. 

The internet is also unsafe because research consistently shows that many children do not tell an adult if something goes wrong online. Safer Internet Day inspires parents to have conversations with their children about online safety. There is currently a lack of policy enforcing that everything that is illegal offline, is equally prohibited on the internet. That’s why talking to your child is one of the most effective ways of ensuring they feel safe on the internet and will come to an adult if they encounter an issue. 

What does Yubo do to make the internet safer? 

Not just on Safer Internet Day, but everyday, Yubo fosters supportive relationships and respectful communities. We equip our users with the tools they need to keep themselves and others on Yubo safe. We have a zero-tolerance policy for hate, bullying, and harassment. Our platform is a place for connection, community and collaboration because we empower our users to treat each other respectfully and arm them with resources if they encounter hate or bullying directed at them or someone else. 

Safer Internet Day is an international celebration to promote safety and wellbeing online. Yubo takes this opportunity to reiterate its daily commitment to making its platform a safe environment for its entire community. Yubo is a place for connection, community and collaboration because we empower our users to treat each other respectfully and arm them with resources if they encounter hate or bullying directed at them or someone else.

Everything you need to know about Safer Internet Day

Everything You Need to Know About Safer Internet Day

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the unequal treatment of the black community, our users had countless conversations on how they can educate themselves and others on antiracism, racial justice, and systemic inequality. This was one of our most talked about topics in 2021, so we thought we would provide a guide for the basics of racial justice, and how our GenZ users feel about it.

Racial justice is the systematic fair treatment of all people, resulting in fair opportunities and outcomes for everyone. Earlier this Year, to celebrate UK Black History Month, Yubo hosted a Live with Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Advocate, Kaia Allen-Beven who shared that “ordinary citizens can integrate daily antiracism practices in their daily lives” in order to work towards ending the current social, economic and political disenfranchisement of historically marginalized and minority ethnic groups. She told viewers that we need values and institutions that ensure fairness and justice, but that starts at the individual level by “bringing activism into their own homes and daily practices”. 

What is racial equity and social justice? 

Racial equity is actualized fairness and justice; and is the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no longer predicted, statistically, the outcomes of a person’s life. Meanwhile, social justice is fairness in society as a whole. During a live session, Kaia explained how there are many intersections between racial equity and social justice. One example she shared was in “fast fashion [where there is] intersectionality between environmentalism and how that disproportionately affects people of color, especially black people.” She said that this intersection shows the importance of individual and institutional change because while “we want to take down corporations” that are destroying the environment for fast fashion“ at our level to get that big change takes a long time, so it is about us as individuals having a conversation about why fast fashion is bad” These conversations allow us to reflect on ourselves and educate others at the same time.

What is the difference between equity and equality? 

Equity and equality are completely different from one another. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities; meanwhile, equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the specific resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. 

Race is a social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on certain characteristics such as physical appearance (particularly skin color), ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation, cultural history, ethnic classification. However, this is only a technical definition of race. When Kaia asked participants in the Live “what does being Black mean to you?” They said it means “happiness”, “to be able to fight through all struggles that you face”, and “a power in society because it was something that was meant to be used as a negative thing, but our community flipped it and made it mean something beautiful”. 

Social disparity is the condition in which unequal opportunities, rights, benefits, incentives are afforded to some, but not to others. This is due to their membership, or non-membership, to a particular class, gender, age group, or race. Currently, social disparity is often manifested in the lack of opportunities, lower socio-economic status, higher unemployment and the racial wealth gap of historically marginalized and minority groups. 

Racial profiling is when the police use generalization based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin, rather than individual behavior, specific suspect descriptions or intelligence. As one user, Steven, put it: “the police are more likely to stop a group of black guys than a group of white guys and it’s not fair at all if we are going about in our everyday lives”. Police officers are racially profiling when they view people as suspicious because of who they are, what they look like, or where they pray, rather than what they have done, and this has resulted in the police brutality which sparked the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

One user on Kaia’s live shared that racial profiling makes him “scared, as me being a black man, I was scared because if what happened to [Eric Garner and Tamira Rice’s died at the hands of police], who did nothing wrong at all, what can happen to me?”. He stated that this fear is what made him join the Black Lives Matter movement because now there is a movement for “people speaking out against the police, and holding police officers accountable who had been getting away with [racial profiling and police brutality] for decades”. 

The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, and the system is set up to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences. The disproportionate effect of race on sentencing is an example of “what happened, and what is still happening to the extent of it being modern day slavery” according to Kaia. 

Racial health disparities are caused by the conditions in which people live, including access to good food, water, and housing; the quality of schools, workplaces, and communities; and the composition of social networks and nature of social relations. Racial health disparities are systematic differences in the opportunities groups towards achieving optimal health, leading to unfair and avoidable differences in health outcomes. 

Racial justice organizations that you can support 

Racial justice and equity will never be achieved by one leader or one group alone. It’ll take an array of activists and organizations operating at all levels, from the local to the international, to make change happen. Here are some organizations doing everything they can to make racial equity a reality:

Black lives matter is a dynamic, chapter-based, international organization whose goal is to create a world where violence is no longer inflicted on Black people. On the live, when asked what the BLM movement means to him, a user said that he feels “very proud of the Black Lives Matter movement” because “it is very effective at making change… and has achieved police reform, gone into education and helped black students in their schools when it comes down to fighting for teaching other parts of black history besides slavery”. 

The Color of Change is the US’s largest online racial justice organization. It addresses racial inequality through campaigns that  move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.

Showing Up for Racial Justice uses community organizing, mobilizing, and education, to move white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for racial justice.

Young Black Americans are often talked about in the media, but it seems like they’re rarely heard from. The Black Youth Project provides a much-needed platform for the ideas and voices of Black millennials. The Black Youth project is so important because according to Mahalia “it can take years for a black person to get recognized compared to a person who isn’t black”. 

What is the purpose of the racial justice act?

The North Carolina Racial Justice Act, serves to ensure that the death penalty is not invoked on the basis of race. It was enacted in 2009 after comprehensive studies from studies in North Carolina and other southern states showed racial bias in the administration of the death penalty. The Racial Justice Act is one of the critical pieces of the criminal justice system today that is trying to combat the system’s disproportionate harm in Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities.

Racial justice initiatives work to achieve racial equality and end racism. They strive to advance genuinely inclusive and equitable social, democratic, and economic institutions. Many of these initiatives are spearheaded by activists. An activist for racial justice is, according to Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Advocate Mahalia, “someone who puts a lot of time and effort into educating people on being Black and the issues amongst Black people”. These activists “work to change the narrative about what’s going on” according to Mahalia. They challenge dominant normative value of whiteness and replace exploitative practices with an anti-racist ethos that values diversity, inclusion, and reinforces the dignity of all people. 

Racial justice initiatives can also take the form of fairly funding, supporting, and promoting black culture, whether it be through it’s organizations, creators, or achievements. When we asked one user about this, he told us that “as a society, we could be promoting black and African cultures by having community cook out’s, family outings and community events to promote the culture”. Kaia echoed the importance of this for “bringing black excellence to the forefront, because it is very easy to associate blackness with its trauma, but to be able to say that blackness is beyond that, it is about the excellence” of people pursuing their passions even in the face of disproportionate oppression. 

At Yubo we are taking action for racial justice by partnering with racial justice NGOs,  teaming up with BLM activists like Kaia Allen-Beven to host a racial justice Live Sessions, and helping our users leverage social media to fight for racial justice. Yubo has been a place for organizing for social change. During our Live session, Kaia and the fellow activists who joined her planned the best ways to advocate for racial justice beyond Black History Month. At Yubo our belief is that we can make a difference, but only if we all stand together. 

Yubo users had countless conversations on how they can educate themselves and others on antiracism, racial justice, and systemic inequality. This was one of the most talked about topics in 2021 on Yubo. So the Yubo team thought they would provide some resources about the basics of racial justice, insights on how our GenZ users feel about it, and NGOs you can support to further the fight.

Racial justice : Definition, Initiatives, Organizations

Gen Z is unlike any generation that came before them. They are outspoken, skeptical, and individualistic. They grew up in the digital age, where technology was rapidly transforming things that had stayed constant across generations, like gender, social justice, and even relationships. Gen Z is rethinking how relationships are made, kept, and ended… and they have a lot to say about it. Relationships and Gen Z was one of the most talked-about topics on Yubo this year, making up a whopping six million live streams! So, to celebrate the end of 2021, we wanted to ask our users to tell us more about why they couldn’t stop talking about relationships and Gen Z. 

Technically,  Gen Z is anyone born between 1997 and 2012, but at Yubo, we know it goes deeper than that. Gen Z is the first truly global generation. They grew up on social media, making friends with people halfway across the world, and their connectivity makes them a generation unlike any before. 

What is setting apart Gen Z from Millenials and other generations when it comes to relationships?  

The biggest thing that sets Gen Z apart from the Millennials, Gen X, and the Baby Boomer generations is that their relationships have been forming over social media ever since they were old enough to have them. They are stalking their middle school crushes on Instagram, getting asked to their high school’s prom over DM, and hopping on dating apps as soon as they get to college. It’s a completely new landscape when it comes to relationships in Gen Z. Now, a man is more likely to ask someone for their Snapchat than on a date, Instagram posts are the markers of milestones and anniversaries, and ghosting is the new breakup. 

But our users don’t think that social media is a bad thing for their relationships. According to one user, Messai growing up on social media has “helped him connect with more people”. Social media might be changing relationships, but it is enabling new connections that could have never existed in previous generations.

Gen Z, unlike Millennials, does not differentiate between online and offline friends. For Messai, this became even more apparent during the pandemic as it became easier “to make connections [online] as everybody was on their phones at that time”. Having grown up with social media at the core of their relationships, Gen Z was ready for the transition to online socializing during the pandemic.

 Millennials, however, are struggling to meet people on and offline. According to one survey by CVS Health, the youngest millennials were much more likely to say that they do not consider their friends on social media their real friends, and overall, 53% of millennials reported that they do not know where to meet new friends at all. 

While it’s obviously not safe for Gen Z’s to be on dating apps when they are teenagers, dating apps are the norm once they become adults. In the study “Swipe Right For Love”, they surveyed 5,000 current college students and found that 91% of college students use dating apps. According to the report,  all genders said they used online dating for “entertainment” purposes more than any other reason. Respondents said that their other popular uses of dating apps were getting an ego boost, casual dating and love.

What are the priorities of Gen Z before marriage? 

When it comes to marriage, our users told us that they see it “as a sign of loyalty and devoting your time and love to one person” and that they would want to have financial independence first. The prioritization of financial independence could be a result of Gen Z’s rejection of traditional gender roles. According to Messai, ​​”where back in the day it was more the woman doing the chores and looking after a kid… in today’s society, it’s normal for a man to do the same”. Denying traditional gender roles makes marriage less of a financial proposition than it once was, and makes individual financial independence a bigger priority as a result. 

Work and sex: what is the most important for Gen Z? 

To put it simply, both. Gen Z is fighting back against stigmas around sex, especially for women, that existed in previous generations. So when it comes to a trade-off between work and sex, its all about balance and empowerment. 

The difficulty for Gen Z to identify a Wokefisher

Another modern phenomenon influencing Gen Z relationships is Wokefishers. A Wokefisher is someone who asks the person they like vague questions about a social cause, in order to pretend that they feel the same way. In a generation as politically active as Gen Z, woke fishing leads to people getting into relationships under false pretenses. Moreover, many of our users said that “in many social causes, the issue is so deeply rooted in how I see the world that it can be hard to be with someone who doesn’t understand or believe in it” Our users said that they want a relationship with someone who they see eye to eye with, or at least have an honest conversation with about political views, and Wokefishing makes this impossible. 

So many relationships are starting on the internet, and even more are ending there as well, in the unsatisfying silence known as “ghosting”. Ghosting is when someone cuts off all digital communication with a person without an explanation. Ghosting is the equivalent of breaking up, and the lack of closure often makes it even more painful. 

Our users told us that ghosting is so prevalent because of another development in Gen Z relationships: the talking stage. The talking phase is amorphous, but an unavoidable step to starting a relationship where there are no set rules except that it isn’t an “official relationship”. The vagueness of the talking stage often leads to misunderstandings, and because it isn’t “official”, it often ends in ghosting. 

Gen Z and commitment: better make it official 

Which brings us to another pressure unique to Gen Z – the pressure to become “official”. A relationship is official when it graduates from the talking phase and enters the phase of the relationship where it is not socially acceptable to break up by ghosting. This pressure is compounded by the constant bombardment on social media of relationships that are shown off and glamorized. Trends and hashtags like couple goals and cuffing season on social media stigmatize being alone and push people in Gen Z to feel like they need to be in an official relationship.

Nope, not in this global generation. Thanks to the power of technology, Gen Z knows that there are too many people to connect with for there to only be one person that could make them happy. That being said, Gen Z believes in relationships, and finding someone worthy of treating with all the love and loyalty that traditionally comes along with finding “The One”. What’s changed isn’t the belief that they CAN love one person forever, but that there is ONLY one person that they can love forever.

Relationships and Gen Z was one of the most talked-about topics on Yubo this year, making up a whopping six million live streams! So, to celebrate the end of 2021, we wanted to ask our users to tell us more about why they couldn’t stop talking about relationships on Yubo. 

A Guide to Gen Z and Relationships

Derrick and Darnel have built a huge community on Yubo-- with Lives hitting over 1000 viewers. They told us that they were able to create their community and make real friendships because Yubo gives them the freedom to be themselves and just have fun. That’s why we invited them to our blog to tell us more about how they use Yubo to make friends and form strong communities.

Derrick and Darnel are two brothers from Broward County, Florida that are known for their “Bored and Black” and “Rant” Lives. Their Bored and Black lives are hilarious and chaotic, while their Rant Lives are a mix of humor and actual advice. On the Rant Lives, they ask viewers to come on and share something that’s bothering them, and they give them advice that can be anywhere from serious to ridiculous… depending on the ranter. They’ll make jokes when someone comes on to rant about a minor inconvenience, like their uber eats order being messed up. But, when a viewer actually needs their advice, they do everything to support them and let them know that they matter. It's their mix of banter and advice that keeps users coming back to their Lives and has created their community on Yubo. Here’s just a few hilarious quotes from their last Live to show you what we mean:   

“What’s bothering your biscuits?” 

“All that sauce with only six chicken tenders, It’s like life is trying to tell me I’m a joke” 

“Life’s not Subway, you can’t have it your way” 

They say that they found Yubo completely by accident, but ever since, they’ve been using it to be creative, make friends, and have fun.

How did they build a Community on Yubo? 

The way that Derrick and Darnel use Yubo has allowed them to quickly build a tight-knit community. They don’t always host, but every two weeks they do a Rant live. Meanwhile, their Bored and Black Lives could be anytime, and it's always exciting for the people who know them when they see it pop up on the app. These lives tend to be more chaotic than Rants but both show how hilarious, authentic, and fun these two are. 

Other than that, they told us that they don’t really have a structure, but that’s ok because that’s not what Yubo is about. Yubo gives users the freedom to be themselves and just have fun in Lives. Derrick and Darnel are perfect examples that being yourself, and having fun talking to people is all it takes to build an amazing community on Yubo!

Derrick and Darnel told us that they love Yubo because it lets them get to know, and sometimes even become friends with their viewers. They may have a big community, but they said that it feels like on Yubo, everyone knows everyone! They have such a large community that when they join a Live, they are often greeted by the hosts saying excitedly, “Is that Derrick?! Hi Darnel!!”. But, they explained that when this happens on Yubo, it's different from Live streaming on their Youtube, or their Instagrams. On those platforms that person would be a fan that they would have likely never talked to. Meanwhile, they said that when that happens on Yubo, odds are, they have talked to that person before. It’s these meaningful interactions that have led to them making friends while they built their community on Yubo. 

Community Building and Making Friends on Yubo

Community Building and Making Friends on Yubo: Interview

Between miscommunications, lack of trust, discrimination, and cultural discord, finding friends from other countries can seem impossible. However, this is changing because of platforms like Yubo where people from around the world can engage in live conversations with each other. At Yubo, we are on a mission to create more international friendships.

In honor of international friendship, we wanted to give the floor to one of our users, Gonzalo Pacini, who has used Yubo to make friends all over the world. Since 2018, he has used Yubo to learn new languages, meet new people, and learn about other cultures. Gonzalo shows that with a little help from Yubo, friendships can form no matter the distance, and how connecting with people with different backgrounds lets us grow! 

I am Gonzalo Pacini, a 21-year-old Yubo user who learned seven languages and made dozens of friends from different countries by going Live on Yubo. 

Since I joined Yubo in 2018, I have learned English, French, Mandarin, Italian, Portuguese, German and am currently learning Russian. I keep learning more because I made so many friends that I never would have if I hadn’t been able to connect with them on Yubo. 

If you are learning a foreign language in school or on your own and looking for a way to practice? Go Live on Yubo! It lets you practice another language and meet people your age from all over the world while you’re at it! 

I believe that going live on Yubo offers young people something unique: the possibility of practising another language in a group setting. Unlike language learning apps, on Yubo Lives you can talk in real-time and carry a conversation with 3 or 6 native speakers talking one on top of each other, all at a native pace. I personally use Yubo for languages and it allows me to get out of my comfort zone, to speak quickly, to learn new words, local phrases, and to fit into a culture that is different from mine. While this was scary at first, I never gave up because meeting people with diverse backgrounds is so rewarding and because of them, my life improved immensely.

I have close friends all over the world because of Yubo. Sometimes in Lives I will even translate between two people because it's a shame to miss out on people because of a language barrier. It's still shocking every time I get to know someone, that if I hadn’t learned their language on Yubo or joined their Live, I would’ve otherwise never met. Meeting so many new people makes me see the world in a different light since other cultures are no different than yours. And when I get to know someone and understand them, I always come to realize that we are very similar as people.

How to use Tags to Make International Friends

Yubo is challenging you to try and make a friend from a different country. Plus, this is easier than ever with our new add friends by tag feature. Just hashtag the place you want to meet someone from and start making friends! If you’re hesitant about joining lives in another language, try just starting as a viewer. However you choose to celebrate, International Friendship Day shows us that we grow by connecting with people that are different from us, and there's no better place to do this than on Yubo!

In honor of international friendship, Yubo wanted to give the floor to one of its users: Gonzalo Pacini, who has used Yubo to make friends all over the world. Since 2018, he has used Yubo to learn new languages, meet new people, and learn about other cultures.

Make International Friends on Yubo

Make International Friends on Yubo: Interview

At Yubo, we’ve been focusing on building a place for Gen Z to make meaningful connections and have fulfilling conversations. That’s why we’ve been busy building features that help new users easily make groups of friends with common interests. More specifically, we want to encourage new users to express their hobbies and interests in their profiles and also explain that joining a live for the first time isn’t as high-stakes or intimidating as it may seem. 

Adding Tags at Sign-up = A More Personalized User Experience 

Users add tags to their profiles to show their new friends the latest topics that they’re keen to chat about. To make sure new users start off with plenty to discuss, we’ve included the tags feature in the account creation flow. In order for them to find the right tags to add to their profile, new categories have been launched– making it easier than ever to find everything from your favorite show or your favorite hobby. Already, this feature has been adopted by 65 percent of new users! 

We want our users to make friends with common interests, so it will now be possible to add friends by tags too! This new feature is super easy to access. Now, user’s top tags will appear directly in their “friends” tab so that all they need to do is click on them to find their future friends. 

This feature will also be available directly from users’ profiles. If a user comes across a profile with a  tag that interests them, they can click on it to find other users who share that interest. This feature is going to help users make valuable new connections and meaningful friendships. Not to mention that sharing the same interests is the perfect ice-breaking to start a new friendship! 

We Know Going Live can be Scary: So Let’s do a Test Run First 

Yubo is for all personality types,  from type A extroverts to the painfully shy. And no matter where someone falls on that spectrum, joining a live for the first time can seem intimidating. That’s why we added a new onboarding step that will differentiate between a watcher and a  streamer, and show users that they can join a livestream with their microphones and camera turned off. We hope that this improvement will show every user that they can socialize on Live without barriers, no matter what their comfort level is.

In Yubo's newest product update, we've added two new features: Adding friends by tag, and a Live test run when you create your account. We hope these new features will encourage new users to express their hobbies and interests in their profiles and also explain that joining a live for the first time isn’t as high-stakes or intimidating as it may seem. Adding friends by tag will enable users to make friends with common interests, and to show their new friends the latest topics they are looking to connect about.

Yubo Launches New Features: Live Onboarding and Add Friends by Tag

Yubo Launches New Features: Add Friends by Tag

Yubo knows it has been a tough year for everyone, especially Gen Z.  That’s why we went all out for World Mental Health Day this year! We partnered with the inspiring model and influencer AJ Clementine! During her live, she answered questions, gave advice on staying sane during Australia’s lockdown, and had a meaningful conversation about mental health. Here’s a wrap-up of the event in case you missed it live! 

If you don’t know who AJ is, she’s one of Australia’s most popular social media stars and LGBTQIA+ advocates. AJ is only 25 years old but is changing the world by sharing her transition, mental health tips and body positivity. While we are obsessed with her fairy princess aesthetic, it was her openness and positivity that made her the obvious choice to host our live. 

During the event, she and some special guests got real with users about how to deal with anxiety, lockdown loneliness, online school,  and so much more. Participants asked her for advice on dealing with COVID-19 lockdowns, and Clementine said that she has been coping by “romanticizing everything in her life”…even if it’s just while binge watching a TV show. Clementine’s friend chimed in to say that she makes herself feel better by keeping her space clean. AJ  completely agreed. For her, “a clean space means a clean mind,  especially when you’re stuck inside all day”. 

AJ was not afraid to draw on her own life. When a user opened up about being nervous to see a therapist, AJ  shared that it took her a while “to work up the courage to take the first step” towards therapy, but that “as long as you are on that road,  you are doing amazing”. That being said, AJ knows what works for her might not be for everyone. Like when people ask Clementine about her gender identity,  she says that she is comfortable answering their questions and advocating for the transgender community. But she added that other people in this situation “don’t owe anyone information” and shouldn’t feel pressure to be open with their gender identity if they don’t want to.

Yubo's Take

Here for all of it.

What is Yubo?

Tips and Tricks On How To Make the Most Out of Yubo Lives

A Letter From Our CEO on New Safety Policies and Features on Yubo

Yubo’s New Age Verification Feature Helps Keep You Safe

In Support of Ukraine

Gender and Gen Z

How to Fight for Racial Justice This Black History Month and Beyond

Everything You Need to Know About Safer Internet Day

Racial justice : Definition, Initiatives, Organizations

A Guide to Gen Z and Relationships

Community Building and Making Friends on Yubo: Interview

Make International Friends on Yubo: Interview

Yubo Launches New Features: Add Friends by Tag

AJ Clementine Celebrates World Mental Day on Yubo

Yubo x World Mental Health Day

Looking Back at Pride Month

Friends not Followers

Thank You, Next

Social justice and Social Media

Maintaining Good Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic