Parent Guide to Hoop

Hoop is a social app designed to help young people meet new friends in a safe, positive and controlled environment. We know that many Hoop users are teenagers, and we understand that parents want to see how the app works and what steps we take to protect young people.

This guide explains Hoop in simple terms: what your child can do, what they cannot do, and how we keep their experience safe.

Hoop is a free social app where users can discover new people from around the world and send friend requests to profiles they like. The goal is simple: help teenagers and young adults connect with people who share similar hobbies, interests and experiences.

Hoop is not a dating app, and every part of the platform is built to keep interactions age-appropriate and safe.

What is the minimum age to use Hoop?

The minimum age to use Hoop is 13.

When a user creates an account, they must enter their date of birth. This cannot be changed later. We use this information to separate adults (18+) from teenagers (13–17), and we remove any account that appears to belong to someone under 13.

If a user is reported as underage, our team reviews the account and removes it if necessary.

How does Hoop work for teenagers?

Teenagers can browse profiles of other users close to their age and send friend requests. When someone receives a friend request, they can choose to accept or decline it. Accepting a request creates a connection on Hoop.

Teenagers cannot receive messages, cannot chat and cannot interact with adults on Hoop.

To give teenagers control and protect their privacy:

• their profile is private by default
• they decide whether to show their social media links
• they only appear to users within their permitted age range

If they choose to share their social links (Snapchat or TikTok), conversations may continue on those apps, where you may already have parental controls or monitoring in place.

Is there chat on Hoop?

Yes — but not for teenagers.

• Teenagers aged 13 to 17 do not have access to chat and cannot send or receive messages.
• Chat is available only to adults aged 18 or older.
• Adults and teenagers never appear to each other anywhere on Hoop.

This is one of Hoop's strongest protections:

There is no real-time communication between minors and strangers inside the app.

We use several layers of protection designed specifically for young users.

1. Age separation

Adults (18+) and minors (13–17) are completely separated.

They do not see each other's profiles, cannot add each other as friends and cannot interact.

This separation is built into Hoop and cannot be changed by users.

2. Progressive age visibility

To protect younger teens, we limit which ages can see each other. Younger users only appear to people close to their own age.

For example:

• Age 13 sees ages 13–14
• Age 14 sees ages 13–15
• Age 15 sees ages 14–16
• Age 16 sees ages 15–17
• Age 17 sees ages 16–17

This keeps interactions close in age and reduces risk.

3. Private profiles by default

Every teenager's profile starts as private.

They must actively choose to make it visible — and even then, only to other teens within their permitted age range.

They can switch back to private at any time in settings.

4. No real-time location

Hoop does not access or track a user's location.

The only location information used is the country, which the user selects manually.

Cities, neighbourhoods and precise locations are never collected or shown.

This ensures no one can find or contact your child based on where they live.

5. Photo and content safety

Teenagers can upload up to three photos.

We use:

• automated detection tools
• human moderators
• community reporting

...to filter out inappropriate or unsafe content.

Hoop does not allow:

• nudity or sexual content
• content that sexualises minors
• violent or graphic imagery
• weapons, drugs or illegal items
• hateful or discriminatory content
• misleading or harmful media

Any content that breaks the rules is removed, and severe cases result in permanent account removal.

6. Reporting and blocking

Your child can:

• report inappropriate behaviour
• report unsafe content
• report suspicious or underage accounts
• block any user they do not want to interact with

Blocked users cannot reconnect or view each other again.

7. Protection against exploitation

We have a strict, zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation and grooming.

Any attempt by an adult to reach a minor results in an immediate ban and escalation to law enforcement where required.

8. No advertising for teenagers

Teenagers do not see advertisements ("ads") on Hoop. We do not show advertising to users aged 13 to 17, and we do not use their information for ad targeting. This helps keep the experience calmer, safer and free from commercial pressure.

The most effective safety tool is open communication.

You can help by:

• Talking regularly about how your child uses social apps
• Asking who they are connecting with and why
• Encouraging them to trust their instincts and leave any interaction that feels wrong
• Reminding them they can speak to you or another trusted adult if something makes them uncomfortable
• Reviewing privacy settings together

Teenagers are more likely to come to their parents for help when they feel listened to rather than monitored.

We are here to support parents and guardians.

For urgent child-safety concerns

child-safety@hoop-app.net

For general support or questions

support@hoop.photo

Our team is always happy to assist and help you understand how Hoop keeps young people safe.

Hoop uses a combination of automated tools, human moderation and strict age controls to protect users. We update our protections as the platform grows and new risks appear. We take every report seriously.

If something feels unsafe, report it.

Together, we keep Hoop safe for everyone.