Yahoo! Mobile Safety Guide

What is Yahoo! Mobile?

Yahoo! Mobile is a service that allows you to use a number of Yahoo! features on your mobile phone. You can use your phone to get maps or driving directions, check email, find cinema times, or read news.

Yahoo!’s users might use Yahoo! Mobile on their mobile phone to exchange instant messages with friends, upload photos to a Flickr account (over 13s only), or check the latest sports results.

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

What are some risks to me on Yahoo! Mobile?

Yahoo! Mobile users are expected to behave in ways that foster community and must respect the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Mobile communications - whether via voice, email, text, and instant messages - present risks similar to those you may experience while using the Internet on a computer. You can find out more information about how to surf safely in Help Central.

Please keep the following in mind when you are using a mobile phone with Yahoo! Mobile services:

1. Protecting personal information. In email, text messages, or instant messages to people who are not trusted friends or family, you may be tempted to divulge personal information that could be used to find out where you are. You should carefully guard you mobile phone number and Yahoo! ID. In addition, you should be very careful about using the camera on the phone and sending out photos of you and your family or friends, which could be easily forwarded to others and used by strangers.
2. Harassment. If strangers find out your mobile phone number or Yahoo! ID, you could receive unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive behaviour. You should not be afraid to ignore people who behave like this. Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Messenger provide features that block users. If you receive numerous unwanted text messages, you may be able to turn off text messaging for a while. In an extreme situation, you may need to get a new mobile phone number.
3. Adult content. You may also be exposed to explicit photos sent directly from someone else’s phone or through Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, or Flickr’s photo-sharing service. Yahoo! Mobile offers SafeSearch to filter out a large quantity of adult content. But no filter is perfect, and Yahoo! cannot guarantee that all explicit images will be removed from search results.
4. Payments. Using the Internet - email, instant messages, web browsing, etc. - can get expensive. If your provider allows you to access the Internet on your mobile phone, make sure to sign up for an appropriate and affordable package.

What safety features should I know about to help protect myself on Yahoo! Mobile?

A number of Yahoo!’s most popular web services, such as Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Local, are available on mobile phones. The best way to get a feeling for how these work is to try them on a computer. The mobile phone version will have a modified look and set of features, but it will work essentially the same way.

Yahoo!’s offerings vary by network provider and mobile phone model. However, you should know about the following:

1. Flickr. Flickr Mobile allows users to manage and share digital photos in tandem with their web-based Flickr accounts. Flickr Mobile’s Help area explains how to manage photos and contacts and customize settings. Yahoo! also offers a separate guide that introduces Flickr's online safety features.
2. Yahoo! Image Search. Yahoo!'s image database can be searched from a mobile phone. You can turn on SafeSearch to limit your exposure to explicit images. Yahoo! also offers a separate guide that introduces Yahoo! Image Search's online safety features.
3. Local. Yahoo! Mobile’s Help area explains how to work with a map, get driving directions, and review and rate businesses. Yahoo! also offers a separate guide that introduces the Yahoo! Local's online safety features.
4. Yahoo! Mail. Yahoo! Mail provides a simple tutorial that shows how to read, reply to, compose, and delete emails on a mobile phone. In addition, Yahoo! Mobile’s Help area explains how to manage email and spam. Yahoo! also offers a separate guide that introduces Yahoo! Mail's online safety features.
5. Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger provides a simple tutorial that shows how to sign in and out, compose and read instant messages, and set availability status on a mobile phone. Yahoo! Mobile Help explains how to hide the status messages that tell other users when you are using Yahoo! on a mobile phone, turn on invisible mode to completely hide online status, and manage settings such as the list of users to ignore. Yahoo! also offers a separate guide that introduces Yahoo! Messenger's online safety features.

Remember: To protect younger users from risks, some services are not available to children under 13. It is important that you give your true age when you register for your Yahoo! ID.

Advice for younger users

How do I use Yahoo! Mobile safely and responsibly?

Yahoo! is committed to providing a safe Internet experience for all users. Yahoo! Mobile provides a number of safety features to limit potential risks to users.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. These practices, which also apply to accessing the Internet on a mobile phone, include safeguarding identity, keeping passwords secret, being cautious about contact with strangers, and creating a pledge for online safety.

What should I do if I am concerned about myself or another child?

If you are a child or a young person (or their parent or guardian), you should report any inappropriate or upsetting contact from an adult to our customer care team. This behaviour is not acceptable within any Yahoo! service. Our customer care team will handle your report in complete confidence and take steps against the user who is contacting you.

You may also report your concerns direct to the police and learn more about online safety at ThinkuKnow.co.uk or chat online to someone in confidence at There4me.com.