Wizz
A guide for families with key information about ‘Wizz’, including the age rating, key terminology, risks and instructions for enabling parental controls and safety settings.
Wizz is a free social networking app developed by VLB in 2022. The intention of the app is for users to find new people to chat with online. The app has a swiping system, similar to popular dating apps and Wink, where users can scroll through profiles and find someone they would like to chat to. There is no upfront cost to using Wizz, however there is an option to buy ‘Wizz Gold’ which allows premium features such as boosting the user’s profile or including videos in their profile. Wizz is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Official age rating
The minimum age restriction for Wizz users is 13.
Wizz verifies the age of its users using facial recognition and the Yoti app. In the event that Yoti is unable to verify the age, a Wizz team member reviews the photo to verify the user’s age. If the user is unable to be verified, they cannot meet and chat with other people.
Wizz is rated 12+ (Teens) on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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
The purpose of Wizz is to allow users to make new friends based on common interests around the world. However, many users also use Wizz as a dating app, adding messages such as ‘straight hmu’ (I am straight/heterosexual, hit me up) to their profile, or advertise their other social media pages.
Key features and terminology
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Short for artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is used on the platform to verify images of users using the Yoti app.
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A feature that allows the user to send a chat to the next 100 profiles in their queue.
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Faking a physical appearance by using photos of a different person, or extremely old photos, to appear as someone else.
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Friends are the mutually added contacts you have accepted to see your profile. These can be people you know in real life but can also include those you’ve only met online. Users can search for friends using the ‘Find new friends’ function.
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A nude or semi-nude image. See the Welsh Government guidance on sharing nude photos.
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A message sent from another user who wants to talk or potentially be friends.
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Rewind allows the user to view a profile they previously swiped past or ignored.
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A chat that is hidden and only accessible with WizzGold, the paid-for premium feature. Alternatively, the user is encouraged to watch an advert to view a secret chat.
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A paid-for 30-minute profile boost that increases the chances of other users finding the boosted profile.
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A chat that stays at the top of the user’s chat list.
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This refers to accounts where the profile picture has been assessed as being that of the account holder and not someone else. To verify an account, users are prompted to take a selfie. If the picture matches that of their profile, the account will be verified.
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This refers to the premium paid-for feature of Wizz, which allows access to many features, such as boosting the user’s profile or revealing secret chats.
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In-app currency used to make purchases, such as a profile boost or a super chat.
Potential risks
Content
Like many other social media chatting apps, the content on the platform is user generated, so it may contain mature language or inappropriate content. In order to find people to connect with on the app, users swipe through other user biographies. Some user biographies have been written in a way that signals their intentions on the app, such as dating or drug-use references. Some younger users may be exposed to written content in those biographies which are not age appropriate. Encourage your child to use the ‘Find new friends’ preferences to help ensure they are only being exposed to profile types that are more suited to their age. Full information on how to do this can be found in the ‘Managing interactions and content’ section of this guide.
All chats and messages on Wizz are sent as direct messages (DMs) which means the content can only be seen by the sender and receiver. Some users choose to send personal or intimate messages and images via DMs, knowing that other people cannot see it. Remind you child to talk to you if they have been sent inappropriate messages or images in DMs. By restricting who your child can access on the platform, your child is less likely to experience language or behaviour that is not suitable for their age.
Connecting with others
To create a Wizz account, all users must add their date of birth and share a photo of themselves. Working in partnership with Yoti, a facial recognition app, Wizz verifies the age of each user. The use of facial recognition to verify accounts also limits the ability for users to create fake accounts, pretending to be someone considerably younger or older than they are. All accounts that have been verified have a blue checkmark on their profile. The use of facial recognition to verify age is a significant difference to many other social media platforms that do not attempt to verify the age of their users.
Wizz aims to connect users on the platform who have similar interests. The use of the ‘Swipe’ feature means users simply swipe right to select who they would like to message and therefore befriend, based only on their profile. By connecting with people who have similar shared interests, there is the potential for a false sense of trust to be established between users, with the assumption that they are friends because they like the same things. Talk to your child about what makes a friend and encourage them to connect with offline friends within the app, rather than people they do not know. Discuss the risks of connecting with strangers and explain the importance of not sharing any personal or identifiable information within chats. Remind your child to tell you if they have been asked personal questions and to report anyone who makes them feel uncomfortable.
User behaviour
If your child has a Wizz account, it is important that they are aware of what they share and the impact this will have on their digital footprint. Have a conversation with your child to help them understand what is and is not appropriate for them to share. Ensure your child knows it can be difficult to keep ownership of any content once it has been shared online, as content can easily be copied and reposted without their knowledge and can then become difficult to remove from the internet.
Design, data and costs
There are frequent opportunities to make in-app purchases or upgrades within Wizz. Users on the platform are invited to subscribe to Wizz Gold, which can be bought in weekly, monthly, or tri-monthly instalments. The upgrade unlocks more chat and profile customisation options, more photo allowance on their profile as well as disabling adverts. Wizz also encourages users to buy in-app currency known as ‘WiCoins’ to send ‘Super chats’ or ‘Bulk messages’. Speak to your child about in-app purchases and ensure they understand that real money is used to make purchases within the app. You can also set the relevant in-app purchase settings on your device. More information on this can be found in the ‘Manage time and purchases’ section of this guide.
Users of Wizz should be aware of how the platform is designed to keep users engaged and active. The app sends frequent notifications, such as if they have not been on the app for more than 24 hours. For example, giving free WiCoins for maintaining a chat streak for a certain period of time. Remind your child to take time away from the app and use the notification settings listed in the ‘Managing time and purchases’ section of this guide to help manage time on the platform.
Tips for keeping your child safe
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Users can turn off their visibility in the ‘Find new friends’ function, which disables people reaching out to them. There is no option to disable age, name or country. However, users can remove which specific part of the country they live in.
To disable ‘Visible in find new friends’:
- Go to your profile in the top left corner and select the gear icon on the top left corner.
- Scroll down to ‘Visibility’ and toggle off the ‘Visible in find new friends’ option.
To generalise your location:
- Go to your profile in the top left corner and select the gear icon on the top left corner.
- Scroll down to ‘Visibility’ and toggle off ‘Show my state’.
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There are no settings available to manage content or specific interactions. However, users can manage their ‘Find new friends’ preferences which may reduce instances of negative behaviour.
To manage ‘Find new friends’ preferences:
- Go to your profile in the top left corner and select the gear icon on the top left corner.
- Scroll to ‘Find new friend preferences’.
- Select preferred gender for new friends from:
- Everyone
- Mostly boys
- Mostly girls.
- Select age preference from:
- My age first (exact age)
- Around my Age (+/-5 years)
- Select the preferred location:
- State/region
- Country
- Worldwide
- Note: ensure users choose to view friends by verification status by selecting ‘Mostly Verified’, which may reduce the number of fake profiles or bots a user is connected with.
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Users can report other users who may be bothering them or behaving inappropriately on the platform.
To report a user:
- Go to the three dots icon on the top right.
- Select ‘Report’.
To block a user:
- Go to the three dots on the top right.
- Select ‘Block’.
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There are limited options to manage time and purchases within the game. Instead, parents and carers should explore the settings menu on individual devices.
To manage time on iOS:
- Go to the settings menu and scroll to ‘Notifications’.
- Find Wizz in the list of apps and toggle off the ‘Allow notifications’ option.
To manage time on Android:
- Go to the settings menu and scroll to ‘Apps’.
- Find Wizz in the list of apps and select ‘Notifications’.
- Toggle off the ‘Show notifications’ option.
To disable in-app purchases on iOS:
- Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Screen time’ and scroll down to ‘Content and privacy restrictions’.
- Select ‘iTunes and App Store purchases’ and set the option to ‘Don’t allow’.
To disable in-app purchases on Android:
- Go to your ‘Google Play Store’ app.
- Select ‘Menu’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Require authentication for purchases’.
- This means you will need to set a password to make in-app purchases.
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Account deletion means all your information will be permanently deleted and cannot be restored.
To delete a Wizz account:
- Go to your ‘Profile’ by choosing your icon on the top-left corner.
- Press the gear icon on the top corner to access ‘Settings’.
- Scroll down and select the rubbish bin labelled ‘Delete Account’.
- Choose your reason for deleting your account, and press ‘Confirm’ to delete your account.
Additional tips
Wizz operates a website with contact information on the page. They are reachable via email.
It is recommended that parents and carers regularly check-in with their child about their time on Wizz. Talk with your child about the people they are connecting with on Wizz and remind them of the risks of chatting with strangers.