Before You Begin: Your Safeguarding Responsibilities
If you're running a WithMe community for under-18 members — whether as an educator, youth organisation, Community Interest Company (CIC), or club — safeguarding is your responsibility. Before launching, make sure you have:
A written safeguarding policy that members and parents/guardians can access
A designated safeguarding lead within your organisation
Parental or guardian consent processes in place (typically required for members under 13 under UK GDPR)
An age-verification process managed on your side — WithMe does not currently offer a built-in age-gate or age-verification mechanism, so you'll need to confirm members' ages through your own sign-up or enrolment workflow
💡 Pro Tip: Pin your safeguarding policy as the first post in your community so it's always visible to members and parents.
Configuring Your Community for Younger Members
WithMe's community tools give you several ways to create a safer environment. Follow these steps to tighten your settings:
Navigate to My Hub in the left-hand sidebar to view your active product list.
To restrict access to a specific paid membership tier, you must add this community directly within the settings of that specific product.
For invite-only access, locate your Community product, click the three-dot menu on the far right side of the listing, and select Unpublish to hide it from your public storefront.
Once unpublished, click the same three-dot menu again and select Copy landing page link to share the registration page privately with your verified members.
Add clear community rules to your description. WithMe does not currently offer a pre-publication moderation queue, so setting explicit behavior expectations upfront helps members and parents understand what is acceptable.
Moderation, Reporting & Oversight
Active moderation is essential when minors are involved. Here's how to stay on top of your community:
Check your community feed regularly and remove any content that breaches your safeguarding policy.
Navigate to the Customers tab in your left sidebar and use the product filter dropdown to select your community. This allows you to review exactly who has joined and easily manage or revoke access for anyone who should not be there.
WithMe does not currently have a built-in report or flag feature for members. Set up a clear reporting route by pinning a post with your safeguarding lead's contact details, or link to an external reporting form so members and parents know exactly where to raise concerns.
For serious safeguarding concerns, contact the WithMe support team directly — do not rely solely on in-platform tools for urgent child protection matters.
GDPR & Data Protection for Minors
When your community includes members under 18, data protection requires extra care:
Under-13s: UK GDPR typically requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data. Gather this before inviting young members.
13 to 17 year olds: Consider whether parental consent is appropriate for your context; many organizations require it as best practice.
Data minimization: Only collect necessary information, avoiding mandatory photos or extra personal details.
⚠️ This guidance is not legal advice. Consult a qualified data-protection professional for your specific situation.
Need More Help? If you need assistance configuring your community access or reporting a safety concern, review our standard Community Settings Guide or contact WithMe Support directly via the chat icon on your dashboard.