Wizz, an app that offers to connect young people of similar ages, has spurred its own niche of internet content. But child safety watchdogs warn that has led to sextortion.

Sextortion is an increasingly common online crime in which people are enticed into sending sexually explicit photos. Once the photos are sent, the receiver of the images threatens to share them online or with family or friends unless the victim sends money.

“That’s just people knowing to report to the cyber tipline, so the incident rate could be much much higher,” Shehan said.

According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), a national charity focused on child safety, Wizz was the seventh-most mentioned platform in sextortion reports to its tip line between June 2022 and last month.