Dating Apps Used by Child Predators to Target Vulnerable Young
Published on April 11, 2025
- The recently published Searchlight 2025 Report reveals an increase in the number of child predators on dating apps.
- Male abusers admitted to leveraging these apps to contact single parents and get to their children this way.
- Mostly, they target displaced children in conflict zones and trade images using sophisticated payment methods to evade detection.
A disturbing trend of child predators using dating apps to access vulnerable children was exposed. The Searchlight 2025 Report highlights the alarming methods and tools that abusers employ to exploit technology and communities, posing significant threats to public safety.
The report coming from Edinburgh University’s Childlight Global Child Safety Institute reveals that more than 22% of male abusers surveyed admitted to using dating apps daily to connect with single parents in order to gain access to their children, compared to just 8.1% of men in the general population.Â
The abusers often build relationships with single parents under false pretenses, grooming them to establish trust. Â
The study advocates for increased safety measures on dating apps, including mandatory ID verification, automated grooming language detection, and stronger reporting mechanisms for suspicious behaviors.
Beyond seeking personal gratification, child abusers operate organized networks to profit from the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These networks employ disturbing business models, dividing responsibilities such as recruiting children, creating abuse materials, and managing finances.
Among all crisis types analyzed, countries experiencing a period of recognized conflict, like Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, Venezuela, Iraq, and others, had the highest number of IP addresses linked to CSAM possession.
The global displacement of children due to humanitarian crises has provided additional opportunities for predators, according to the report. Displaced children, particularly in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syrian refugee zones, have become prime targets for traffickers and abusers, with searches for exploitation content involving these groups on the rise.
Abusers have also adapted to evade detection, using cryptocurrencies for untraceable transactions and producing custom CSAM content based on consumer demand, with material fetching up to $1,200 per file. Livestreamed abuse sessions have become another avenue for profit.
The report also identifies an increasing trend of children being coerced or willingly participating in the creation of CSAM. Some children are recruited to gather explicit material of their peers, while others are pressured into creating content themselves through sextortion schemes.
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned of a surge in online networks, such as "The Com," where teenage boys groom peers to gather compromising material. Often, these networks focus not only on profit but on causing harm for gratification, with instances of victims being manipulated into suicide.
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