Overview
- Police forces recorded 7,263 offences of sexual communication with a child in the year to March 2025, nearly double the tally in 2017/18.
- Where a platform was identified in 2,111 cases, about 40% occurred on Snapchat and 9% each on WhatsApp and on Facebook and Instagram.
- Victims were predominantly girls where gender was known and the youngest recorded victim was a four-year-old boy, with charities warning the true scale is higher.
- The NSPCC urges phone-level scanning for known abuse images, metadata-based flags for suspicious adult–child contact, and design barriers limiting adult access to children.
- National policing says it cannot stem the rise without industry action, and Ofcom reiterates safety-by-design duties with the prospect of enforcement for non‑compliance.