© Kooth 2020
kooth is
Safe
Welcome to Kooth
We’re an award winning counselling and support service for young people just like you!
There are lots of things to get involved with, such as online discussions, the Kooth magazine, live forums on all sorts of topics, plus much more!
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Young People have Access to Kooth
Lots of different young people come to Kooth...
...all for different reasons.
You can come to Kooth to talk to other young people about your favourite hobbies or you can come to talk to a professional about more serious things that are going on.
Kooth keeps growing
480% New User Growth
in Four Years
What can you do on kooth.com?
Counsellor Chat
& Messaging Services
Our friendly team of counsellors are here to talk you through anything that’s on your mind! We’re open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, 12-10pm weekdays and 6-10pm weekends. All you have to do is click the speech bubbles and join the chat queue or message the team.
Quick Tip: The earlier you join the queue the less busy it is so the waiting times are shorter!
Kooth Media
Our Kooth online Magazine and Discussion Boards have a huge mixture of content for you to explore!
Our Magazine is a mixture of a few pieces written by our Kooth Media Team and then lots written by Kooth users. There are lots of different types of articles from information based pieces to creative writing and poems.
The Discussion Boards are a crazy mix of stories, opinions and advice. It’s also a place where you can go to talk about anything from your favourite Harry Potter characters to whether pineapple should go on Pizza!
Why don’t you come along to one of our Live Forums? They’re a safe and social space for Kooth users to come and chill out. Hosted by one of our fabulous Media Team members, you can come to have a relaxed chat, share tips and advice, and support each other.
We have live forums every Monday, Wednesday and Friday 7.30-9.00pm. You will know when there is a live forum taking place because the little light turns from orange to green.
"Thank you.... you've shone a light in the darkness right now"
~ Kooth User
The History of Kooth
We’re a branch of the company, XenZone, and we offer a free online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop.
We were founded all the way back in 2001 by Elaine Bousfield and have grown to offer support for more than 100 areas across the UK.
Online Safety Hub
Your Guide to Staying Safe on Social Media and Beyond
Your Kooth Community on Social Media
It’s really important to know that our socials are not moderated and we cannot respond to any messages or requests for urgent counselling. If you are in need of urgent support please head straight to the crisis link here. We also can’t share things you send us/tag us in.
Here at Kooth, we want to make sure you can engage with us outside of the platform on social media. We’ll be aiming to provide you with some inspiration, helpful tips and reminders, and ultimately a moment to pause for some wellbeing when scrolling through your feed.
Remember: Social Media is a Public Platform
Please remember social media is a public platform. You are anonymous on Kooth; we don't know your real name or where you live. To protect this anonymity, remember not to share your Kooth username or any other information, such as your address or school or college, which might let others know more about you. Make sure you think before you post, comment or like anything. Remember that what you do online can be seen by others.
If you see one of our adverts or posts on Instagram or Facebook please remember:
- Likes and comments are public
- Your profile may be seen by others unless you make it private.
Information for parents and carers
The safety of children and young people is paramount to us. To ensure your child is safe when engaging with our Instagram posts, we adhere to strict rules and regulations.
Please read the safety measures we have taken by clicking the 'Parents Guide' button below.
Everything You Need to Know About Staying Safe on Social Media
General Security
If you do not use a password to log onto your device, you risk your personal information stored on your social profiles, emails etc being compromised. Make sure you have pin, password or fingerprint protection on your device. Advice on how to set up a password or PIN can be found from the manufacturer.
If you decide to use a password to protect your device, It is important to choose a password for your email that is unlikely to be guessed by another person. Preferably use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. Do not write the password down where it could be found by someone else.
Social Media Safety Centres
Social media platforms store your information and keep you safe differently. It’s important to visit each platform’s safety centre, to ensure that you’re keeping your personal information private and kept safe. Click on the links below to find out more from some of the platforms you’re using:
Safety on Twitter
Instagram Privacy and Safety Centre
TikTok Safety Centre
Facebook Safety Centre
Snapchat Safety Centre
Youtube Policies and Safety
Kooth is free, safe and anonymous online support for children and young people. It offers online counselling, community support and self-help articles. Young people can access live chat counselling until 10pm, 365 days a year.
What is
?
Welcome to our Online Safety Hub. Please use the information within this webpage to access resources for staying safe on social media platforms (including our own channels).
Staying anonymous online
It's possible to remove personal information from your computer to stay anonymous. This can be done quickly and easily. One way is by clearing cookies (online files that provide a way for websites to recognise you and keep track of your preferences), although this may mean that previously-saved passwords are no longer saved.
Alternatively, you could delete, for example, the last hour of your internet history, or just specific kinds of data while leaving others (such as saved passwords) alone.
If you have a search toolbar installed, it will keep a record of the search words you have typed into the toolbar search box. In order to erase all the search words you have typed in, you will need to check the individual instructions for each type of toolbar.
If you do not know the type of browser you are using, head to https://www.whatsmybrowser.org/