Figure 1Courtesy of Julia M. Cameron-Pexels

Do you want to protect your children online without banning them from social media outright? We do too. That is why, after a lot of thought and work, we are creating TABU-KIDS, a social media platform that is safe for both kids and teens. Our main focus is the safety, peace, and coexistence of your child when they are online.

Safety – What does it mean?

Are you always checking your children’s screens to make sure they are safe? Our startup understands your concerns, which is why we consider the following elements on our social media app:

• Privacy: Our app keeps your child’s name, location, and school name hidden. We will take care of these features. For example, there will be settings that only allow trusted family members to have access to certain user content such as images.
• Protection: In addition to privacy settings, a safety-first social media platform must protect children from exploitative advertisements and algorithmic recommendations that keep a child glued to their screens the whole day. We will create new algorithms and improve upon existing ones. When we pilot we will make use of simple mechanisms, because these will take place in well known environments.
• Dealing with bad behaviors: Tabu is developing a special feature that clearly and as fairly as possible guide users away from bad behavior and being a nuisance to others. Besides usual reporting features; we will implement some humor and self reflection to this mix. Keeping a platform safe is a community effort. We like to do it in such away, that it awards the behavior that makes the platform a good place to be with others.

Peace – What does it mean?

We invite kids to make a safe space of mutual respect and constructive interaction on our social media app.  Our platform has tools that allow for much more insights and integrity.  These tools we will build from scratch and aim to also give your child access to wholesome and educational content that inform and entertain.

Coexistence-What does it mean?

Our platform allows for diversity in all its forms so that your child can coexist with others. This includes encouraging healthy collaborative interaction with children or teens from other cultures and religions.  With this exposure to diversity, your child will develop empathy, social skills, and critical thinking skills.

No Nasty Hidden Features

We say “NO” to nasty features that collect user data without permission to use to train AI or sell to third-parties.  Our user agreement clearly outlines that we collect some data for the purpose of improving user experience on the app. We will take great care of making this as understandable as possible. Saying no to nasty hidden features also means that we have to invent and create different structures and feature. We take this mission seriously. It also means, we can make a mistake, or that something has to change. We will be transparent about it. This is grassroots.

How Can You Support Us?

We are at the early stages (MVP stage) of creating our social media app, and we need your help to make it a reality. By supporting us, you automatically earn a co-creation badge as a thank-you for being part of the journey, along with a few appreciation rewards. For example, co-creators may be invited to test the app before launch and share feedback that helps shape its design and direction.

Our goal is to create a safe platform for your kids or teens to interact with their peers safely and peacefully.