What type of Yubo user are you based on your Zodiac sign?

You’ve used your astrology sign to determine your best matches, how your day will go, and probably what type of Boba tea you are. But, now is the true test: what type of Yubo user are you? What do you do on Yubo? Find your zodiac sign below to discover:

Taurus: The Sleeper. You’re the one who inevitably closes their eyes and falls asleep on live. It hasn’t happened just once or twice, it’s happened a few times and will continue to happen. 

Sagittarius: The Pixel Sender. Everyone’s favorite user. You love Yubo’s pixels and even more than collecting them, you love to send them. Putting a smile on your friends’ faces brings you joy, plus you love your profile appearing under the pixels they received. 

Aries: The 1,000 Swipes a Minute Swiper. You love making matches and making friends, but even more than that you love the excitement of the swipe. With a swipe every 2 seconds though, you like to leave those matches up to chance. 

Pisces: The One Who Misses The Live Because They Were Late. You tell your friends “I’ll be on in 5” – but 5 minutes quickly turns into 30 minutes. Then, the 30 turns into 60, the 60 turns into 90, and you get the idea. Your friends forgive you, but now you missed out on the latest inside joke. 

Leo: The Game Maker: You don’t wait for the fun to start, you create your own. You’re the one the group relies on to make fun and creative game lives. You’re always trying to brainstorm new exciting ideas and the other streamers and viewers love you for it. 

Capricorn: The one who’s always at work. You practically have “I’m at work” set as a shortcut in your phone. During every live you have to constantly mute yourself due to the chatter of the other employees around you. Your friends on live even know your coworkers and manager. You may work a lot, but the time passes quickly since you’re also on Yubo. 

Libra: The Live Hopper. You’re constantly looking for the next thing that keeps your attention. You will even circle back to lives you’ve already hopped in, but you like to only stay a maximum of 90 seconds in each one. Only the most entertaining lives can hope to keep you for 120 seconds.

Gemini: The One Who Only Closes the App Because Their Phone Died. Yubo is life (don’t worry, we get it). Wake up. Yubo. Brush Teeth. Yubo. Eat. Yubo. Anything. Yubo. While some may call it an obsession, we call it spending time with friends and future friends. 

Aquarius: The silent viewer. You stick around to watch the lives out of curiosity or entertainment, but you don’t need to type on the keyboard or be invited up to stream to stay entertained. You’re perfectly fine enjoying the laughs and reading the humorous comments that tend to accompany the best lives. 

Virgo: The Collector. You’re a perfectionist and that means you have to have every pixel. 98% isn't enough. You need the full amount and you will keep messaging @Yubo_App on Instagram until they help you figure out how to add the old pixels to your collection. 

Scorpio: The Live is Not Over Until I Say It’s Over-er. Your friends may slowly drop off the live, either getting tired or having to move on to other tasks in their lives, but you’ll keep that live going like you’re aiming to break a record. You’ll keep messaging friends on and off the app to join and use whatever tactics you must to get them to stay on the live. 

You’ve used your astrology sign to determine your best matches, how your day will go, and probably what type of Boba tea you are. But, now is the true test: what type of Yubo user are you? What do you do on Yubo? The Yubo team has created this list to answer all your questions! Find your sign and discover What type of Yubo user you are.

Yubo Horoscope

We’ve all wondered it. Whether you’ve heard someone mention the app, come across it on social media, or seen it on the app store’s list of social networking apps. Before downloading, while looking at that bright yellow smile, you think:

It’s a social discovery app that utilizes swiping between profiles and live stream videos in order to meet new people from all over the world. And yes, it is just friends. 

What is Yubo?

There’s a whole Yuboverse to explore. On the live streaming side you can go live with up to 10 friends on camera or mic, and if that’s not enough, an infinite number of viewers can also be engaging in the comments section and joining in on the jokes you and your friends make live. Spend quality time with your friends by playing virtual games like charades or pictionary to get the icebreakers out of the way, or screensharing your phone to watch TikToks and funny videos with others who could use a good laugh.

Despite those features, the best part of Yubo is the people. In the lives, you truly won’t ever know what to expect. Dancing cosplayers, the cutest and funniest looking pets (yes, even snakes), soon-to-be comedians inviting viewers to their live “stage” one by one, and many other forever memories being made each day. Take your own time getting acclimated to the virtual live environment, and start small with solo streamer lives or hop into the biggest live and start commenting right away. That way, you’re putting yourself out there at your own pace.

Worried about not finding your friend group? Don’t be. There’s every type of personality on the Yubo App, and people are just as eager as you to meet new friends. It may take a few lives, a few messages, or even a few friend requests to find exactly who you connect with best, but eventually, like all our users, you’ll find it. 

If you’re not quite ready to hop into live streams, check out the swipes. Find profiles of users that match your interests and starting creating friendships right away. Or go to tags, your profile’s banners that showcase your favorite interests. Dying to discuss the new episodes of Stranger Things but none of your IRL friends have seen it? Click on the tag to find other Stranger Things enthusiasts, maybe they’ll even be able to give you some other recommendations. Making friends hasn’t been this easy since giving someone your pudding cup in first grade. 

Don’t have any pudding cups to give out? Try Pixels instead. They’re the Yubo App’s digital collectables meant to send as gifts to friends or collect them yourself! Bonus points for doing both. For every new Pixel collection, we work with an artist who creates a series of fun, unique, funky and fresh characters that combine the energy of Yubo with the true style of the artist. 

Pixels are just one of the many aspects of Yubo that allow our users to develop more meaningful connections with each other. If you’re celebrating your birthday with Yubo, get ready to receive your zodiac sign Pixel, which is way better than the classic birthday post. But, stay alert, there are a lot of Pixel fiends on Yubo and you may even become one too. Can you collect them all?

Yubo emphasizes the social aspect of being a social media app. There’s no feed to post carefully curated moments or likes to compare popularity through numbers. On Yubo, life is live. You can put forth the real you and feel accepted by millions of other users searching for that same level of friendship. The Yuboverse is wide, and there’s a piece of it waiting for you.

No, we’re a friendship app. Yubo’s features are designed for small group interactions, just like hanging out with your friends. We don’t encourage meeting in real life to prioritize the safety of you and all of our users. Yubo is designed for friendship and friendship only.

Well, Yubo was originally Yellow (shoutout to our users who’ve been with us since Yellow). You may even remember that. Yellow was a Snapchat companion app that would help you find new friends on Snapchat. Everyday, Yellow would randomly pair you up with another person, and you would take the conversation from there, possibly creating a new beautiful friendship in the process. Since the days of Yellow, our core values still remain the same: we want to connect people virtually and give them a place to socialize in a real way – as real as they would in real life. Since then, we have come a long way and created a truly unique user experience with community at its center. Why did Yellow change its name to Yubo? We actually allowed the community to decide! We hosted a vote asking our users what name they think we should take on for the next iteration of the app, and Yubo was the final verdict! 

Have you always wondered what Yubo is all about? Come and find out what makes Yubo a unique app where you can meet new friends through amazing features like livestreams. Your new group of friends is waiting for you on Yubo!

POV: You’re on the Yubo app, and possibilities in the live feed are endless. What do you do now? We’ll help you decide with the persona that matches you best. 

The Entertainer: Click that plus button and start your own live! Dance, sing, tell stories, wash the dishes, water your dog, walk your fish, whatever you want! People are constantly looking for lives to hang out in, so make yours a welcoming space and instantly start connecting with those who jump in to join you. Don’t stress about the views, Yubo is all about friends, not followers. 

The One Who Uses Yubo To Pass The Time: Need something to fill the silence while you’re doing – well, anything? For these types of needs, we recommend hopping into one of our lives with multiple streamers – bonus points if you can find a full panel with 10 streamers!  With multiple people in one live, you’re guaranteed to never have a silent moment. Even better, stream Youtube into your live directly from the Yubo App! Fill your own silence and help others fill theirs as well. 

The Debater: We know your type well on Yubo. No matter the hour, you’ll always be able to find a debate live to hop into. While you're entitled to share your opinions, we do want to ensure debate lives are a safe space. Stay respectful and be sure to enunciate. Comment warriors, this is for you as well.

The One Here for A Good Time: If you’re ready for it, join the #1 live on Yubo! The more viewers, the more energy. Be sure to raise your hand to join the stream and add to the entertainment, or react from the comments and raise the energy in your own way! 

The World Traveler: Do you want to see the world, but still have to save up for the big trip? Meet people from all over the world with Yubo! Set your preferred live location to Tokyo, Rome, Paris, or anywhere you want! Meet people who will virtually show you around their hometowns or who can even help you learn their language, just like this user who learned 7 languages with Yubo – C'est incroyable!

The Gamer or Anime Lover: Tired of gamers being grouped in with anime? Don’t worry, the Yubo App separates these into two separate categories of lives. Users hosting lives about gaming or anime can be found in dedicated tabs to help you ensure you find your kind of people that you can weeb out with. 

The User Who Isn’t Into Lives: Don’t worry there’s room on Yubo for you too! Head over to our swipes tab and start matching with friends! Maybe you’ll even find a friend group that makes you love lives. 

Discover with us the essence of Yubo where you can chat, play games and share your passions! Livestreams are where all the fun happens on Yubo, so follow us in an introduction to the different types of Yubo streamers. And maybe you'll recognize yourself in one of them!

Tips and Tricks On How To Make the Most Out of Yubo Lives

We take seriously our responsibility to make Yubo as safe as possible, and we have put safety at the core of every decision since our launch to fulfill that responsibility. As the online landscape continues to change, we, too, are constantly evolving and upgrading our practices and systems to ensure safety is built in by design.

The devastating events of 24 May in Uvalde, Texas, brought to light systemic issues in society that need to be addressed. We are dedicated to doing our part by identifying and implementing safety solutions to the Yubo platform. In the days since, we have been working to accelerate safety developments in our pipeline and further expand the scope of existing safeguards across our platform. We have made meaningful changes to Yubo during this time and will continue to roll out additional developments in the weeks ahead as part of our continuing commitment to safety innovation in social media. 

The following enhancements have been expedited to supplement our existing safety practices and provide greater support for our users:

Updated risk-detection policy
Yubo has broadened its policy to review content and act on infractions based on more stringent laws and regulations around sexual behavior and harassment; hate speech; weapons; violence; drugs; and animal abuse, among other risks. Previously, our response to content related to these risk areas was determined by corresponding laws in the region where the content was posted. We feel it is in all users’ best interest that we apply more severe standards to content review and intervention across the board.



Enhanced user-reporting capabilities
This summer, Yubo users worldwide will be able to attach up to four media files, such as screenshots or video recordings, to any reports they submit, thereby providing greater context to Yubo team members tasked with reviewing reports and taking action accordingly. Yubo is committed to ensuring that every user has sufficient agency to acknowledge how they are feeling, and if uncomfortable, take steps to voice their concerns. User feedback is essential to our mission to continually improve the safety of our platform. 



Audio-moderation technology 
Roughly half of people who have reported experiencing harassment in online gaming, where live streaming has historically been most prevalent, were targeted by voice, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. Yet innovations in audio moderation have struggled to keep pace with advances in real-time image and video moderation. On Tuesday, 31 May, Yubo became one of the first social media companies in the world to deploy audio-moderation technology, supplementing our existing capabilities to allow for comprehensive automatic moderation across the platform. Developed in partnership with Hive, the technology is being tested in beta for English-speaking users with the goal of expanding to additional languages. 



 Combined-signals risk detection algorithm 
On Tuesday, 31 May, Yubo deployed a new algorithm-based detection system, which we have been developing for over six months. The algorithm aggregates and assesses a combination of signals – keywords, emojis, and images, for example – to evaluate content with context. This bolsters our other safety detection tools, which scan for individual signals of infractions or risk, and provides enriched context to our emergency escalation team.

As a leading social platform for teens and young adults, we are committed to prioritizing the safety of our users. As such, Yubo is guided by a safety advisory board of respected thought leaders from organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Thorn, as well as partner organizations in government, law enforcement, NGOs, and charities. We are thankful for their support as we continue to develop and improve the Yubo platform for our users.

We remain shocked and deeply saddened by this recent tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all who have been impacted.

At Yubo, we take seriously our responsibility to make Yubo as safe as possible, and we have put safety at the core of every decision since our launch to fulfill that responsibility. As the online landscape continues to change, we, too, are constantly evolving and upgrading our practices and systems to ensure safety is built in by design. We have made meaningful changes to Yubo and will continue to roll out additional developments as part of our continuing commitment to safety innovation in social media.

A letter from our CEO on new safety policies and features on Yubo

A Letter From Our CEO on New Safety Policies and Features on Yubo

What's this new feature on Yubo all about? 

In May 2022, Yubo introduced a new age verification feature to help keep all of our users safe while on the app. If you are a Yubo user, here’s what you need to know! 

You might have received a new pop-up either while using the app or while creating an account on Yubo. Far from being mysterious, this pop-up is simply the launch of Yubo's new age verification system – and this time it’s an easy and simple process, without any need for an ID card, documentation or other form of proof. 

Why is Yubo introducing this new feature?

Online age verification allows platforms to confirm age and identity of users over the internet. Yubo’s main purpose for introducing this new verification feature is to help continue to keep everyone on Yubo safe. By confirming our users’ ages, we can ensure that everyone is the age they say when they are interacting with each other on the app. This will help prevent people who intend to lie about who they are or create false profiles. It also allows users on Yubo to be confident they are interacting with others in their similar age group, just as they would in real life. 

What is Yubo's new age verification system? 

Yubo’s age verification system was developed in collaboration with Yoti, who has been our trusted partner since 2019 in helping to verify the identities of suspicious user accounts on Yubo. Yoti and Yubo are now adding this new safety feature to the mix to provide another step in age verification for all our users. It will serve as an initial filter when entering the app helping to ensure users are the age they claim to be.

How does Yubo's age verification system work?

This new age verification process is intentionally very easy and simple. In fact, all it requires is a real-time photo that you, as a user, will take within the app. Yoti’s age estimation technology will then analyze your photo and estimate your age. It also uses a special liveness algorithm that takes a short video to detect that it is a real photo and not a screenshot or image pulled from Google. Once your age is delivered and it matches the age on your profile, you are verified and can access the app. However, if your age doesn’t match, you will need to go through an additional verification process. 

Yubo How To Verify Your Age

Why was I asked to verify my age and not another user I know? 

The age verification feature has been launched in beta stage for users ages 13 and 14, but will begin rolling out to the rest of users with the goal of age verifying everyone on Yubo by the end of 2022. 

Protecting your data is particularly important to us when creating any feature on the app, and our new age verification system is no exception. Thanks to this new system, no identification documents or personal information will be required and instead you will only need to take a real-time photo of yourself within the Yubo app, which will then be processed by Yoti's age estimation technology. At Yubo, our ultimate goal is to make age verification accessible while guaranteeing the protection of our users' data. We are proud to be the first major social media platform who will have age verified all of its users! 

You can check out our step-by-step guide below or watch this video to learn more about how this new verification feature works. 

 When you receive the initial pop-up, you will first be directed to verify your age and agree to the terms of the verification. 

Once you accept, your camera will activate, and you will be prompted to place your face within an oval that appears on the screen. 

Once your photo is taken, Yoti’s age estimation technology will analyze the photo. You will be notified that your age is verified, that your age doesn’t match or that you are not using a legitimate picture. 

If your age is verified, you will be brought to the Yubo homepage. If your verification fails, you will not be able to access the app and will need to provide additional ID documentation to verify your age.

And that’s all it takes! It’s as easy as that. If you have questions, you can always reach out to Yubo Support or check out our online Safety Hub to learn more about what we do to keep Yubo a safe place for everyone.

Yubo, the social live-streaming app for Gen Z implements an industry-leading age verification feature in partnership with Yoti. Yubo will become the first major social media app to institute a wide age verification process across its platform. Yubo’s goal is to age-verify 100% of all users on the platform by the end of 2022.

Yubo’s new age verification feature helps keep you safe

Yubo’s New Age Verification Feature Helps Keep You Safe

At Yubo, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and all of the Ukrainian people in the wake of the current military invasion. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering as a result of the ongoing violence and who have been displaced from their homes. As a European company, we feel deeply affected by this war on our home continent. We are committed to supporting our employees whose families have been impacted by this devastating crisis, and have pledged to donate to essential on-the-ground relief efforts by organizations such as UNICEF, World Food Program, Direct Relief, International Rescue Committee among others to help deliver urgent supplies and services. We are donating to make a difference and will continue to follow the news closely to determine other ways in which we can show our support.  

On February 24, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, ordered an invasion of its neighboring country Ukraine in protest of Ukraine’s moves towards joining the European Union and NATO (an international military alliance). Within the first day of the attack, hundreds of thousands of Ukranains fled their homes and tried to seek refuge across borders in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania. That number has now reached nearly over 1 million, and the EU believes that figure could quickly climb to 7 million. The Ukrainian people are living through terrifying times as bombs and air missiles rain down on them and they seek cover in bomb shelters left over from the Cold War. With millions displaced from their homes and left in freezing temperatures without food, water, shelter, medical supplies and other essential services, Ukraine is facing one of Europe’s worst humanitarian crises in decades. To learn more about the conflict and what’s happening, you can read about it here. 

Stay informed: Follow journalists, media sources and aid organizations who are on the ground to stay up to date on the current situation and how to help – and be cautious of misinformation by unreliable news sources.

Donate: With millions of Ukrainian people in need of relief, organizations across the world are rallying together to ensure essential resources reach them safely. You can easily support by making a donation to these organizations, or to general funds and personal fundraisers linked here.  

Speak up: Help spread awareness of what is happening in Ukraine and share useful resources with your network of friends and family. 

Go local: See if there are any local food or clothing drives in your area that are transporting supplies to Ukraine for humanitarian aid. 

Contact your government officials: Reach out to your local or national government representatives and urge them to provide safety and protection for Ukrainian refugees. 

At Yubo, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and all of the Ukrainian people in the wake of the current military invasion. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering as a result of the ongoing violence and who have been displaced from their homes. As a European company, we feel deeply affected by this war on our home continent. We are committed to supporting our employees whose families have been impacted by this devastating crisis

In Support of Ukraine

Safer Internet Day is an international celebration to promote safety and well-being online. It is celebrated by millions of people each February. Each year, Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. While it especially promotes online safety for young people, everyone benefits from a safer online world. From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, Safer Internet Day inspires an international conversation about using technology responsibly, critically, and creatively. 

In 2021, the theme for Safer Internet Day was “Together for a Better Internet”. It emphasized that whether you are a young person, a parent, a teacher, a policymaker, or whether you represent an organisation or industry, everyone has a role to play in creating and maintaining a better online world. Thousands of local, national, and international organisations participated to promote the positive use of digital technology for children and young people. 

Safer internet day is run by Insafe, a European network of Safer Internet Centres. Centres implement awareness and educational campaigns, run helplines, and work closely with youth to create a better internet. However, Safer Internet Day is also celebrated outside Europe. In 2009, the concept of Safer Internet Day Committees was introduced, and now, more than 100 global Committees work closely with the Safer Internet Day Coordination Team. Many external organizations also support Safer Internet Day with awareness-raising events and activities. Everyone is encouraged to participate in Safer Internet Day, whether they are an organization, a parent, or a young person!

Safer Internet day was created as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project in 2004 to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. Safer Internet Day is even more important since the coronavirus crisis forced most of our daily activities to move online. On Safer Internet Day 2021, a brand new research report, “An Internet Young People Can Trust” surveyed over 2,000 young people aged 8-17, and revealed that 77% of 8-17s felt being online had been a more important part of their life in 2020 than before. As young people spend more and more time browsing the internet, we want them to be protected.          

What is the theme of Safer Internet Day 2022? 

The theme of Safer Internet Day 2022 is “All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online”. Each year, Safer Internet Day explores a new issue or theme which is impacting the lives of young people online. For 2022, the Day celebrates young people’s role in creating a safer internet and the ways they use the interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Online communities and relationships are very important to young people and have only become more important over the last few years. From gaming and chat to streaming and video, young people are shaping interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Safer Internet Day 2022 celebrates young people's role in creating a safer internet, whether that is while gaming and creating content or interacting with their friends and peers.

Safer Internet Day 2022 will take place on 8th February 2022!

Celebrate on Yubo, of course! Whether you are taking part in our live streams, or talking to some new friends, make staying safe online a part of the conversation. Here are some other ideas of how to celebrate safer internet day: 

Start a Live on Yubo to raise awareness about online safety! Share your screen and show videos, share tips, and engage with viewers by encouraging them to share how they stay safe online. 

DM a friend to let them know about the activities taking place on Yubo or in your life to celebrate Online Safety Day. Encourage them to become more engaged in the importance of online safety. 

Watch an online safety video. There are so many videos on important safety issues like respectful communication, cyberbullying, online advertising, false information, image sharing, and self-esteem. Watch one to become more informed about online safety and share it with your friends and family so that they can be too!

Develop an online Code of Conduct. Think about how you want to be treated and treat others online. Write down some rules and best practices for yourself. Brainstorms actions you can take to make the online world a better place!

How many countries celebrate safer internet day?

Approximately 200 countries and territories celebrate Safer Internet Day. From its launch in 2004 in the EU, it has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated worldwide. Its size makes Safer Internet Day a landmark event in the online safety calendar. 

The internet is not inherently unsafe, but there are some emerging safety issues in these spaces as well as issues young people have been navigating for some time; particularly the lack of respect individuals display towards each other, groups ‘ganging up’ against other groups, and the sense that it is easy to ‘get away’ with negative behaviour such as meanness, bullying and swearing. They speak about hate directed at particular groups, particularly LGBT+ users, and misogyny on gaming platforms. They tell us the apparent lack of consequences for negative behaviour has an impact on their safety and well-being. 

The internet is also unsafe because research consistently shows that many children do not tell an adult if something goes wrong online. Safer Internet Day inspires parents to have conversations with their children about online safety. There is currently a lack of policy enforcing that everything that is illegal offline is equally prohibited on the internet. That’s why talking to your child is one of the most effective ways of ensuring they feel safe on the internet and will come to an adult if they encounter an issue. 

What does Yubo do to make the internet safer? 

Not just on Safer Internet Day, but every day, Yubo fosters supportive relationships and respectful communities. We equip our users with the tools they need to keep themselves and others on Yubo safe. We have a zero-tolerance policy for hate, bullying, and harassment. Our platform is a place for connection, community and collaboration because we empower our users to treat each other respectfully and arm them with resources if they encounter hate or bullying directed at them or someone else. 

Safer Internet Day is an international celebration to promote safety and wellbeing online. Yubo takes this opportunity to reiterate its daily commitment to making its platform a safe environment for its entire community. Yubo is a place for connection, community and collaboration because we empower our users to treat each other respectfully and arm them with resources if they encounter hate or bullying directed at them or someone else.

Everything you need to know about Safer Internet Day

Everything You Need to Know About Safer Internet Day

At Yubo, we’ve been focusing on building a place for Gen Z to make meaningful connections and have fulfilling conversations. That’s why we’ve been busy building features that help new users easily make groups of friends with common interests. More specifically, we want to encourage new users to express their hobbies and interests in their profiles and also explain that joining a live for the first time isn’t as high-stakes or intimidating as it may seem. 

Adding Tags at Sign-up = A More Personalized User Experience 

Users add tags to their profiles to show their new friends the latest topics that they’re keen to chat about. To make sure new users start off with plenty to discuss, we’ve included the tags feature in the account creation flow. In order for them to find the right tags to add to their profile, new categories have been launched– making it easier than ever to find everything from your favorite show or your favorite hobby. Already, this feature has been adopted by 65 percent of new users! 

We want our users to make friends with common interests, so it will now be possible to add friends by tags too! This new feature is super easy to access. Now, user’s top tags will appear directly in their “friends” tab so that all they need to do is click on them to find their future friends. 

This feature will also be available directly from users’ profiles. If a user comes across a profile with a  tag that interests them, they can click on it to find other users who share that interest. This feature is going to help users make valuable new connections and meaningful friendships. Not to mention that sharing the same interests is the perfect ice-breaking to start a new friendship! 

We Know Going Live can be Scary: So Let’s do a Test Run First 

Yubo is for all personality types,  from type A extroverts to the painfully shy. And no matter where someone falls on that spectrum, joining a live for the first time can seem intimidating. That’s why we added a new onboarding step that will differentiate between a watcher and a  streamer, and show users that they can join a livestream with their microphones and camera turned off. We hope that this improvement will show every user that they can socialize on Live without barriers, no matter what their comfort level is.

In Yubo's newest product update, we've added two new features: Adding friends by tag, and a Live test run when you create your account. We hope these new features will encourage new users to express their hobbies and interests in their profiles and also explain that joining a live for the first time isn’t as high-stakes or intimidating as it may seem. Adding friends by tag will enable users to make friends with common interests, and to show their new friends the latest topics they are looking to connect about.

Yubo Launches New Features: Add Friends by Tag

Worried about school or uni? Friends or family getting you down? Anxious about your health or finances? It’s been a tough 18 months for everyone so this year’s World Mental Health  Day (#WMHD), which takes place on Sunday 10 October, is more important than ever. 

In the US, for example, a study by not-for-profit organisation FAIR Health found that anxiety and depression among 13 to 22-year olds increased significantly in the spring of 2020. And in the UK, record numbers of children and young people (almost 200,000) sought access to NHS mental health services between April and June 2021, according to a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Furthermore, this year’s #WMHD theme of ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’ reminds us all that race,  ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, income and other factors can have an impact on our mental health and the kind of care we receive. As this article  by the World Federation for Mental Health puts it, “Many people with a  mental illness do not receive the treatment that they are entitled to  and deserve and together with their families and carers continue to  experience stigma and discrimination.” 

UNICEF recently set out three opportunities for improving young people’s mental health – one of which is to ‘continue engaging young people, their caregivers and their communities in judgement-free conversations about mental health’.  We support this wholeheartedly and, with more than 50 million users, we remain committed to encouraging open and honest dialogue about mental wellbeing on the Yubo platform. 

“At a time when young people should have had the freedom to explore who they are, doing whatever it is that they enjoy and gaining skills for the future, their lives were put on hold for many uncertain months. As everyone around them also seemed super-stressed, it was even harder to be open about how they were feeling. For some, this led to increased feelings of anxiety, stress and low mood,” explains Dr Richard Graham, Consultant Psychiatrist,  Clinical Director of Good Thinking and member of the Yubo safety board. “World Mental Health Day is an excellent opportunity to remind the Yubo community that it’s OK to express how you’re feeling and also feel it is your right to ask for support. Even taking part in Lives can be very helpful for sharing your  thoughts and realising you’re not alone.” 

To raise awareness of #WMHD and support members of the Yubo community on their journey to good mental wellbeing, we’re holding a series of events this month. These include  talks with:

AJ Clementine – an Aussie influencer and model who shares her transition on social media and promotes good mental health and body positivity 

Partnership for Young London – a UK association that aims to connect everyone who cares about young people in London

Emily Rios – a US influencer who advocates for good mental health and body positivity 

Dora Kamau and Akeem Pierre – US influencers who will discuss mental health in the black American community 

We’ll also be running a meditation session with a coach, a bedtime and relaxation story session with Shane Donohue and expanding our Ranting Lives. During these sessions, we invite young people to open up about any problems or concerns they have, vent their emotions and find others who will listen and provide much-needed support.

In addition, we’re teaming up with leading mental health charities and other organisations to run in-app  #WMHD awareness campaigns in our main territories. By working with Stem4 (Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada), Partnership for Young London (UK), Friends (Sweden) and Reach Out (Australia) we’ll give our users access to mental health support and resources. These campaigns will be visible in our Swipes function throughout October.

As the world gets back to some kind of stability after the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s vital that young people receive the support they deserve – so that they can thrive now and plan for the future. This might be through schools, healthcare services, charity helplines or wellbeing apps, such as Stem4. Social media companies like Yubo also play a crucial role by helping young people to connect with and support their peers. As a recent blog on the Parenting for a Digital Future website notes, the internet provides important communication and socialising opportunities for young people. It goes on to say, “In situations when children are struggling  with mental difficulties, online communities can offer unique support as they provide a strong connection, non-judgmental understanding, and a feeling of belonging.”

“The Yubo team has built a social media platform without influencers, followers or likes and works hard to promote kindness, positivity and resilience,” comments Annie Mullins  OBE, Safety Advisor to Yubo. “With young people turning to their digital spaces more and more, it’s vital that Yubo promotes national awareness days such as #WMHD but, more importantly, that self-care and supporting others is encouraged all year round. Thank you to everyone who is giving a  talk and supporting our in-app wellbeing campaigns – we really  appreciate it.”

Friends not followers, Mental health during COVID-19 and Safer Internet Day.

Yubo is celebrating this World Mental Health Day with special guests, events, and of course, Lives about the importance of mental health

Yubo x World Mental Health Day

The Gen Z social network app expands its sustainable freemium business model protecting user data

Yubo, the leading platform for young people to socialise online, today announces the launch of YuBucks, a virtual online currency. This new paid feature is part of the development of the social network's unique business model that monetises through sustainable social commerce rather than selling its users' data.

In mid-July, Yubo will also be launching another new paid-for feature: Pixels. Yubo has collaborated with the Pixel artist Banfan to create collectible digital art representing qualities, moods, and personalities. Yubo users will be able to purchase these in-app and can start their own collection, send it to their friends and send it to people they admire on the app, for example, their favorite streamers.

Yubo - Introducing Pixels

Founded in 2015, Yubo’s mission is to enable Gen Z to make genuine friendships online and is completely influencer free and like-free. By moving away from the traditional social network business model, Yubo’s users are able to more easily connect with each other without the pressure of likes. 

Sacha Lazimi, Co-founder and CEO of Yubo, said “The launch of YuBucks and upcoming launch of Pixels, is another step forward in strengthening our unique business model that montezises through social commerce as well as enhances the in-app experience for our users. 

Our freemium business models allow us to keep our users' data safe and protected, which is a top priority for us and our users. We are carving a new path in social media - at Yubo, we believe you shouldn't have to sell your personal data in order to enjoy and experience a platform.”

The addition of YuBucks creates a more seamless experience for users as they can purchase any paid-for feature in-app without having to repeat the payment process. As a result, users waste less time on microtransactions and can fully enjoy their experience on Yubo.

Yubucks will also facilitate the prize or reward system at events organised in the application. Users will be able to win prizes in YuBucks and be free to choose which paid feature they prefer and wish to obtain.

Yubo, the leading platform for young people to socialise online, announces the launch of YuBucks, a virtual online currency. Yubo also launched another new paid-for feature: Pixels, collectible digital art representing qualities, moods, and personalities.

Yubo's Take

Here for all of it.