W App
A guide for families with key information about ‘W App’, including the age rating, key terminology, risks and instructions for enabling parental controls and safety settings.
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W App (originally called SLAY – See Who Likes You) is a social media app primarily designed for teens and young people attending school. The app functions as an international, anonymous polling app developed by Slay GmbH in October 2022. W App is primarily a mobile app, accessible on Apple’s App store. Slay GmbH markets the app as a safe space from online negativity and fosters a fun environment for teens and young people. In the app, users can anonymously vote on polls regarding a range of topics about their classmates, such as who the best gamer is, or who they would go camping with. Slay GmbH advertises W App on both TikTok and Instagram. The app is free to use, though some users have noted that they can be prompted to buy premium features. When a new user signs up, they are asked for their full name, age, school year, and school of attendance and are encouraged to share additional information such as location, phone number and contacts. Upon registration, the user is grouped with other users from the same school who are registered on the app.
Official age rating
The minimum age for W App is 13, however it doesn’t have any rigorous age verification methods. There is no difference in functionality for users either under or over 18.
It has been given an age rating of 12+ on the Apple App Store but is unavailable on the Google Play Store.
Find out more about age ratings in our ‘A parent and carer’s guide to age ratings of apps and games’.
How children and young people use the app
W App offers users an easy way for young people to start conversations with their friends and classmates by using randomly selected pre-generated poll questions. Young people overall feel that the polling can be fun and exciting, especially if they know who they are polling with. Young people have additionally felt that the app is a great way to meet new people at their own school and make more friends. Poll questions can range from ‘this friend would buy a kebab after winning the lottery’ to ‘this friend is the best Fortnite player’. Receiving these compliments may feel validating to young people, particularly if they struggle with self-confidence. The mystery of finding out who is specifically complimenting them on the anonymous polls can also be exciting to users.
However, users can send anonymous voice memos to other users. As these voice memos are anonymous, it could result in online bullying. Additionally, young people are expected to provide their full names, the school they currently attend, and encouraged to include any links to their social media profiles. As profiles are public by default, and with no private setting available, this has raised concerns that online groomers could falsify their information and access the app. The public profiles offer contact information for children and young people, which online groomers could access due to the app’s limited safeguards and lack of advisory information for young people.
Key features and terminology
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This refers to an activity feed which shows recent compliments the user’s friends have received.
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This is the in-game currency used on W App to make purchases on the platform.
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When a user is voted on in a poll, they receive a ‘Compliment’ notification about what they were complimented on, such as having good music tastes.
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Refers to how many compliments a user receives from other users.
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A person on the user’s friends list which they may have a deeper or romantic interest in.
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Where ‘Compliments’ the user has received are stored.
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These are special benefits that users can buy using in-game currency, such as putting their name in more polls or putting their name in their crush’s poll.
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This allows a user to see who complimented them.
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‘Ship’ or ‘Shipping’ refers to supporting two individuals on the app to be in a romantic relationship together.
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This refers to how many consecutive days the user has logged onto W App and answered a poll. The app will show the number of days the streak has been going for, beginning on day two.
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Users can send anonymous voice messages to other users within the app.
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This is W App’s premium paid for feature, which promises premium users to see who complimented them, premium game modes, guaranteed compliments from three users, double coin earnings and a jackpot.
Potential risks
Content
Whilst the developers of W App state it is suitable for users aged 13+, there is a risk of exposure to a range of inappropriate content on the app. Despite claims that W App is a safe space away from online negativity, there is no moderation and there are some users who engage with the app to share inappropriate content and negativity. Poll questions in W App, which are app-generated, can involve drug, alcohol and sexual references. Poll questions like these may be confusing and upsetting for younger users. Remind your child to talk to you if they are exposed to something on the app that they find upsetting or do not understand.
It should also be noted that as these inappropriate questions are asked to anybody in the app, your child’s name may be listed as one of the potential poll options to questions of this nature. Check in with your child regularly about the ‘Compliments’ they receive in the app. If your child receives a compliment to an inappropriate question, you can report the question. For information on how to report a question, go to the ‘managing interactions and content’ section of this guide.
If a W App user has linked their account to their other social media accounts, such as Snapchat and Instagram, then they may also send voice memos on W App. By doing so, they can post stories that solicit for anonymous voice messages. As voice memos are user generated, this form of content is generally unmoderated by W App and has led to incidents of online bullying. Talk to your child about the risks involved in sending and listening to voice memos on the app and discourage them from posting these questions on the platform. Remind your child to speak to you if they encounter voice memos that they find upsetting.
Connecting with others
There is no method of direct messaging between users on W App. However, users can send anonymous voice messages to each other. The anonymity of the platform presents a risk as users could share content which they assume cannot be linked to them. Instances of online bullying between young people have been reported because of the anonymous voice message feature. Additionally, users can search for other users on the app without knowing them. W App encourages users to share their other social media accounts, such as TikTok and Snapchat, which may tempt young people to add these details to their profile in order to gain more friends, likes, or views on their social media content. However, there is a significant risk to younger users being connected with older users that they do not know. Unknown users above the age of 18 can sign up to W App and find users who have added social media details to their profiles. Older users and potentially online groomers can add these social media accounts through W App and speak to your child. It is important that you make sure your child understands not to accept friend requests from people they do not know, and that they should not share their social media profiles on W App.
Voice messaging occurs through posting a story on either Instagram or Snapchat, which then links to W App. The story encourages the user’s friends to send them an anonymous voice message by downloading the app. Other users on Instagram or Snapchat can additionally reshare the story on their own stories, which can create a cycle where increasingly unknown users can send anonymous voice messages to the user who originally posted the anonymous voice memo poll. Users can additionally post specific compliments they receive as a story on these social media platforms, which may open them to negative comments from users on Instagram or Snapchat depending on their privacy settings. Speak to your child about the risks of connecting with strangers and explain the importance of not sharing any personal or identifiable information on the platforms they use. Remind your child to tell you if they have been asked more personal questions and to report anyone who makes them feel uncomfortable.
User behaviour
Whilst Slay GmbH promotes a ‘negative-free’ atmosphere and advertises that W App is a ‘positive-only’ app, this is not strictly enforced. Users can send anonymous voice messages to other users by posting a story on either Instagram or Snapchat. It should be noted that these voice messages are user-generated and unmoderated. This can result in online bullying and online harassment, as users will be able to send negative voice messages anonymously. Due to the voice messages being anonymous, it can be difficult to report a user when they send a hurtful voice message or otherwise break the rules. Additionally, because of the way W App connects with external apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, these interactions may not be made through W App. It is recommended that you speak with your child and make them aware of the risks of engaging with the voice function of this app, such as the potential for online bullying. For information on how to report a user, go to the ‘Reporting and blocking’ section of this guide.
Design, data and costs
There are many systems of engagement that W App uses to keep users on the platform. When users complete a set of polls, they are rewarded with ‘Coins’ which act as the in-app currency. Users can spend these coins for bonuses at an in-game store, which currently consists of putting themselves on more polls, with rewards such as more compliments, or specifically adding themselves to a poll of a user-defined ‘Crush’. Talk to your child about the how in-app currency is a design tool used by app developers to encourage users to spend more time on the platform.
There are also two in-app purchases available on W App, though these are noted to only appear after a certain level of engagement has been met. Whilst ‘W App Gold’ promises extensive features, such as new game modes, guaranteed compliments, and the ability to see who compliments the user, reviews suggest that this feature is currently not working. The other optional purchase is ‘Reveal Name’; which will show the user the initials of the person who complimented them. Once again, this has also been reported as not working properly. If your child shows an interest in these purchases, it is advised that you speak with them about their motivations for wanting to buy them. You should also talk to your child and let them know that these purchases are simply another way for an app to make money. It is recommended that you visit your device’s app store and enable extra protections, such as parental controls. For information on how to do this, go to the ‘Managing time and purchases’ section of this guide.
If user activity on W App drops, the app has been noted to use notifications to re-engage the user with W App. These notifications can be misleading, as they may sometimes suggest the user’s crush is waiting for them, or that they have new compliments, even if they really do not. This can be detrimental to your child’s mental health by making them feel lonely or socially isolated. It is recommended that you talk to your child about how notifications are another way that apps and companies pressure them to spend their time on the app. To disable notifications, visit the ‘managing time and purchases’ section of this guide.
Tips for keeping your child safe
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There are no specific settings for managing user privacy on W App. Users can disable location sharing, which is required to create an account, to help manage privacy.
To disable location:
- go to ‘Settings’ on your phone and find and select W App
- choose ‘Location’ and select preference for location access
- there is also the option to limit precision of location settings rather than turning it off completely
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There are no settings available to manage content and interactions on W App.
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Users can report and block other users who may be bothering them or behaving inappropriately on the platform. Users can also report specific questions or compliments that make them uncomfortable.
To block a user:
- go to the profile of the individual you wish to block
- choose the three dots on the top-right corner and select ‘Block’
- select ‘Block account’ to confirm
To report a user:
- go to the profile of the individual you wish to report
- choose the three dots on the top-right corner of the person’s profile
- select ‘Report’ and write the reason you wish to report the user and choose ‘Report user’
To report a question or compliment:
- go to the ‘Compliments page’ by selecting the three stars at the bottom of the screen
- choose the ‘Compliment’ you wish to report
- select the circled exclamation mark icon (!) at the top right of the screen
- write the reason you wish to report this question and select ‘Submit’
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There are no third-party advertisements on W App, though users can purchase ‘W App Gold’ or ‘Reveal Name’. Device holders are encouraged to adjust their payment settings on their iOS devices to help manage purchases.
To manage purchases:
- open the ‘Settings’ app
- under ‘Settings’, go to ‘Screen time’
- find and tap ‘Content & privacy restrictions’ and activate it by toggling it to green
- find and tap ‘iTunes & App Store Purchases’
- change the ‘In-app Purchases’ setting from ‘Allow’ to ‘Don’t allow’
To manage notifications:
- select your avatar on the top left corner
- choose the gear icon on the top right corner
- select the bell icon labelled ‘Notifications’
- choose ‘Push notifications’ (the button will change from green to grey to indicate that push notifications are off)
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Slay GmbH advises that deletions take place within 24 hours. There are no settings for temporarily deactivating a user account, and this deletion is likely permanent and irreversible.
To delete your account:
- select your avatar on the top left corner
- go to the gear icon on the top right corner
- select the praying hands emoji labelled ‘Help’
- choose the cry emoji labelled ‘Delete Account’
- select ‘Delete’
Additional tips
Slay GmbH has a dedicated email address for parents and carers which they can use to contact Slay GmbH with any concerns about W App. It should be noted that we do not know how quickly Slay GmbH responds or if they respond at all. Some users who have emailed Slay for support have reported receiving no reply.
Users should note that paid features such as ‘W App Gold’ or ‘Reveal Name’ reportedly do not work as intended. Additionally, Slay GmbH provides no support and only advises that refunds occur through the Apple App store. Users should therefore be warned of making any in-app purchases.