Yahoo! Messenger Safety Guide

What is Yahoo! Messenger?

Yahoo! Messenger is an all-in-one communication tool that lets you exchange instant messages and emails, make phone calls, and share photos with your friends and family.

Yahoo!’s younger members might use Yahoo! Messenger to send instant messages about homework to a classmate, chat with friends or family around the country, or read sports headlines with the Yahoo! News plug-in.

To learn more, please read through Yahoo! Messenger Help.

What are some risks to my child on Yahoo! Messenger?

Yahoo! Messenger users are expected to behave in ways that foster community and must abide by the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Just as there may be risks in the community where you live, the Yahoo! Messenger community may pose certain risks to children. Yahoo! Messenger provides a number of safety features, but as a parent or caregiver, you are expected to take an active role in protecting your child online.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. In addition, please keep the following in mind when your child is using Yahoo! Messenger:

Protecting personal information. Your child might divulge personal information when exchanging instant messages with unknown users. A stranger could use this information to figure out your child’s physical location.

Harassment. Other Yahoo! Messenger users can see when your child is online unless the Messenger preferences have been changed to ignore anyone not on your child’s Messenger List. If unknown users contact your child by instant message, they could expose him or her to unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive language. You and your child should discuss whom to communicate with and whom to ignore. You should also advise your child not to click on web links sent by unknown users, as these might be spam promoting pornographic web sites.

Mature content. Your child might also receive harmful files or explicit photos through Yahoo! Messenger. Advise your child to open files and photos only from trusted contacts. If your child is exposed to inappropriate material, please report the abuse to Yahoo!.

Voice calls. Yahoo! Messenger offers built-in voice calling features, both free computer-to-computer calls and fee-based computer-to-telephone calls. Unless your child’s preferences have been set to ignore unknown users, he or she might receive calls or voice messages that contain unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive language. You and your child should discuss whom to communicate with and whom to ignore. Please note that 911 emergency services are not available through Yahoo! Messenger’s voice calling.

Webcam. Yahoo! Messenger allows users to connect a webcam and display video of themselves to the Yahoo! community. If your child uses a webcam and has contact with unknown users, they might try to convince your child to pose or act in an inappropriate manner. If your child views others' webcams, he or she might be exposed to sexually explicit images.

Chat. Yahoo! Messenger also contains functionality for chatting online, but members under the age of 18 are not permitted to use Yahoo! Chat. Online chat carries the risk of encountering unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive language, as well as opening your child up to users who might try to contact them by phone or in person. To find a safe place for your child to chat, browse Yahoo! Kids’ chat category.

Payments. Yahoo! Messenger offers premium, fee-based voice calling services that require a credit card for payment on Yahoo! Wallet. If your child has access to a credit card, you should discuss what constitutes appropriate use of the card.

What can be done to limit these risks? Review Yahoo! Messenger’s safety features, learn how to report abuse, and read what parents and caregivers can do to help kids be safe using Yahoo! Messenger.

What safety features should I know about to help protect my child on Yahoo! Messenger?

Yahoo! Messenger provides a number of safety features. In addition to knowing how to manage contacts, your child should be able to do the following:

Use an avatar. An avatar is a made-up cartoon character that can be used to represent your child on Yahoo! Messenger in place of a real, identifiable photo. Yahoo! Avatars lets your child create a personalized character with any of dozens of hairstyles, clothing combinations, accessories, and backgrounds.

Use an alias. An alias can be used in place of your child’s real Yahoo! ID when he or she exchanges instant messages with others. To use an alias, open the Send As pull-down menu on the bottom of the screen before typing a message. If you don’t have an alias, you can create one by selecting My Profiles on the Messenger menu and following the instructions to Create/Edit My Profiles. An alias without any personally identifiable information is best. For example, instead of "tedjones1992dallas," try something more generic like "bluesky50." Learn more about choosing an online ID.

Change online status. People on your child’s Messenger List can see his or her online status (“Available,” "Not at My Desk,” etc.). For additional privacy — or just to avoid distractions at homework time — online status can be set to invisible.

Avoid contact with people. Users who make inappropriate or unpleasant contacts or who simply won’t go away can be avoided. Your child can change his or her online status to invisible, use stealth settings to selectively appear online or offline to specific people, ignore specific users or anyone not on his or her Messenger List, or delete a contact entirely.

Archive instant messages. If archiving is turned on, Yahoo! Messenger will automatically save all IM conversations. If someone makes inappropriate, offensive, harassing, or sexually explicit comments to your child, you can review the saved conversation.

Yahoo! Messenger also offers voice calling. If your child uses this service, he or she should know how to do the following:

Ignore users. Stop calls from specific people or, for more privacy, block anyone who is not on your child’s Messenger List.

Set Caller ID. Change settings to identify the origin of incoming calls and hide contact information on outgoing calls.

View call history. Turn on archiving to save old voice messages and a list of past calls.

Yahoo! Messenger can also install and use a webcam. If you permit your child to use a webcam, place the computer and webcam in a public area of your home so you can monitor activity. In addition, make sure that your child knows how to do the following.

Control who can watch. Specify who is permitted to watch the webcam and make everyone else ask for permission. Many webcams come with software that indicates who is watching, as well as functionality to block people who try to watch as “anonymous.”

Manage Yahoo! Messenger’s status message. Don't allow other users to see that your child has a webcam. Select Preferences on the Messenger pull-down menu. On the Webcam tab, uncheck the box next to When I show my webcam, change my status message to:.

Ignore users. Prevent specific users from asking to view your child’s webcam or, for more privacy, block anyone who is not on your child’s Messenger List.

Yahoo! Messenger also contains functionality for joining chat rooms, however, Yahoo! users under the age of 18 are not permitted to use Yahoo! Chat. To learn more about chat, please review Yahoo! Chat’s general safety precautions. To find a safe place for your child to chat, browse Yahoo! Kids’ chat category.

Finally, you or your child can report any inappropriate contact or offensive communication with other Messenger users.

How can I report problems that my child encounters on Yahoo! Messenger?

Yahoo! Messenger provides a customer care form to report abuse. Please complete this form if your child is exposed to obscene language, mature content, threats of physical violence, harassment, or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Make sure to provide specific information about the location of the offending content and the identity of the user in question.

Yahoo!’s customer care team receives abuse reports and takes appropriate action as necessary, which may include deactivating an abuser’s account. Reports that indicate activity involving child pornography or solicitation of a minor are dealt with promptly by Yahoo!’s legal team and, when appropriate, reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

What can I do to help my child use Yahoo! Messenger in a safe manner?

Yahoo! is committed to providing a safe online experience for all users and, accordingly, complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Yahoo! Messenger provides a number of safety features to limit potential risks to users. However, protecting children online is a responsibility shared with parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. These include safeguarding identity online, keeping passwords secret, being cautious about contact with strangers, and creating a pledge for online safety.

You can also ask your child to show you an archive of his or her instant message conversations and voice calling and voice message history.

If your child is exposed to obscene language, mature content, threats of physical violence, harassment, or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Messenger Terms of Service, please report the abuse.

And remember, Yahoo! Kids offers all kinds of age-appropriate content and activities for children under 13.