Have you seen this app on your child's phone or device? What you should know...

If you read their marketing blurb, it is " the best place to make new friends from all over the world! It’s as easy as starting up a conversation with your potential new bestie. Yay! EXPLORE Swipe through tons of new faces from your own country and worldwide. Check out each person’s profile to decide if you think they could be your new friend! That girl loves soccer, just like you? Say hi! Instant friends. This guy likes the kind of music you can’t stand? Swipe left! No problem. On Wink, you can connect with so many people you have things in common with. Start swiping to meet your new besties!"

Wink connects with Snapchat, shows users Snap profiles of other users, and allows connection with them or swipe away to the next Snap profile. A similar user experience as Tinder the dating app.

Once users have exchanged Snap info inside of Wink, the rest of the conversation happens in Snapchat or Wink messenger. Users earn points for logging in daily, sharing their Snap, verifying their account with a phone number, following Wink on Instagram, getting Snap friends to join Wink, and more.

It is an app designed to meet and chat with strangers online. There is no age verification so there is the danger of exposure to inappropriate adult content and/or adults posing as younger people. 

With Safer Internet Day being this Tuesday, 7th February it is an ideal time to sit down for a chat with your tamariki and rangatahi about keeping safe online. Please see the Safer Internet Day article in this newsletter for further information.