In an age where empathy and understanding are more valuable than ever, apps like Wizz – which connect users with potential new friends – can be incredibly welcome. Pairing people with others who share their interests, the app can unite mutual fans of the same music, find fellow foodies to exchange recipes with or recruit new players for someone’s favourite online game.
Indeed, the app’s tagline promises to “expand your world”. Is that expansion totally safe, however? As this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide finds out, Wizz’s age verification system isn’t infallible – so, with the possibility of young people being matched with much older users, trusted adults might want to familiarise themselves with how this trending app actually works.
As of spring 2023, Wizz sits in the App Store’s top 20 social networking downloads and has amassed an impressive 10 million users globally. The majority of its user-base hail from Generation Z (that’s anyone currently between the ages of about 8 and their early 20s), with the app’s aim being to enable young people to forge rewarding online connections with others.
Despite its verification processes and security checks, Wizz can still be prone to risk, however. Bypassing the age limit of 13 isn’t particularly difficult, and – regrettably – wherever young people gather to chat online, potential predators and the possibility of explicit material are seldom far behind. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide has the lowdown on Wizz.
