Wattpad says: ‘they will not allow users under 13s to sign up (when using the app) – automatically blocks registration. Here you can toggle on or off the ‘Do not track’ function. Tap the settings icon located in the top-right hand corner then tap ‘Privacy Settings’. You will need to get to your account, first tap the three lines in the top left-hand corner then tap ‘View profile’.
Report Story: Click on the story you want to report.Report a problem: Get to the Help menu by tapping the three lines in the top left-hand corner then Tap ‘Help’ then ‘Report a problem’ – submit your problem by filling out the details.Wattpad features a number of functions to help your child stay safe on the platform: Are there any privacy and security settings on Wattpad? See our tips and Wattpad’s privacy and security settings you can implement below. So it is important to be vigilant to what your child is reading or writing as they are likely to come across these inappropriate stories. Wattpad’s mature or ‘new adult’ stories are given an age ranking of 17+ however users under this age can still have access to these stories. Rating a story – You can set an age ranking as either ‘Mature’ or for ‘Everyone’. Tagged content – Prohibited material such as this can easily be discovered throughout Wattpad via searching tags such as #self harm, #dirtyimages for example. Other content we have come across may be concerning for younger kids, such as: There is also a ‘New Adult’ category which contains erotic, relationship, romance stories – titles such as ‘booty call’, ‘I slept with my stepbrother’ were found also ‘smut’ stories containing sex and inappropriate language.
Categories range from Adventure, LGBTQ+, Fanfiction to Romance.
Some categories are age-appropriate for children and some are not which children can easily access. Wattpad has been given a minimum age limit of 13, but the age limit is 17+ if downloading this via the Apple App Store and given a ‘Parental guidance’ notice via the Google Play store. Our research found 85% of Wattpad’s 45 million-plus readers are between the ages of 13 and 30. Users can also private message with others. Coming to the writing part, you can create your own book and publish it on their platform. Not only that, but you can also follow your favourite writers and get notified whenever they publish something. With Wattpad, you can discover millions of eBooks on every genre that is out there and add them to your reading list.