Wizz Adds Additional In-App Safety Features

By Business Wire On Feb 14, 2024

New Technology and Product Updates Further Strengthen Existing Safety Ecosystem

Wizz, the social discovery app built as a safe space for young people to build community and connect with new friends around the world, added additional safety features in a new version of the product designed to provide enhanced security for users on its platform.

“We built Wizz from the ground up to be safe and every day we seek to make it safer”

Wizz has consistently ranked among the Apple App Store’s top 10-15 social apps. Since its launch in 2019, Wizz has facilitated more than 20 billion conversations across its 20 million users. The company maintains a higher standard of duty and care for its users, given that it is creating online communities for a teenage audience.

The latest version of the Wizz app delivers product and safety enhancements designed to continually improve the app’s existing Comprehensive Safety Ecosystem. These updates include:

Mandatory User Verification. Non-verified users are now prohibited on Wizz. As part of Wizz onboarding, users have always had to undergo mandatory biometric age verification using a live scan of their face. Wizz had this new feature on the company’s product roadmap and recently accelerated the rollout of this technology across the platform to require that users’ profile pictures match the scan taken during onboarding to confirm their age. This step ensures that 100% of users on the app are verified.
Double Layer of Ad Security. Advertising on Wizz is led by industry-leading partners with clear standards and restrictions surrounding inappropriate advertising content. Wizz recently implemented an additional layer of ad screening in addition to existing protections using service provider Geoedge, which serves as a secondary moderator for 100% of Wizz’s ad inventory.
In-App Education. Wizz introduced additional education content covering topics like best practices for staying safe on Wizz.
In-App Warnings. Users now receive pop-up warnings and other real-time insights covering a broader range of potential risks. For example, if someone asks for a user’s contact information, such as other social media handles, they will receive a pop-up notification advising them to always be careful when sharing such details.
Sharing Safety Net. In the event that a user accidentally shares contact information, only those with whom the user has already accepted a prior connection request will be able to see such information. Non-accepted users will not be able to see what was shared.

Apple’s App Store recently completed a comprehensive review of the latest version of the Wizz app and conducted a trial of these new features. Earlier this month, Apple temporarily suspended new downloads of the app to conduct a thorough review of Wizz’s safeguards and technology. That review is now complete, and Wizz is again available for download on the Apple App Store.

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“We built Wizz from the ground up to be safe and every day we seek to make it safer,” said Wizz’s CEO Aymeric Roffé. “This review of our security safeguards allowed Apple to appreciate the robustness of our advanced security system. We’re proud to continue to offer young people a place to express themselves and build new friendships. Our community has always been built on respect, understanding, and the shared desire to create a space where everyone feels safe and valued.”

Wizz launched in 2019 after developing its Comprehensive Safety Ecosystem, which uses state of the art technology to keep users safe and ensure positive behaviors and experiences on the app. This Ecosystem includes:

Age Verification: Wizz was the pioneer in mandatory age verification upon registration on social networking apps. The company partners with Yoti whose industry-leading AI-trained biometric technology validates age c*****. This tool also allows Wizz to segment users by age, plus or minus one year only, throughout their time on our platform. Yoti holds the most stringent ISO 27001 certification and continues to be audited every year. It is also certified to SOC 2 Type 2 for its internationally recognized technical and organizational security controls by a top four auditing company. Yoti also holds the Age Verification Certificate of Compliance, issued by the BBFC and is certified to specification PAS:1296 regarding age checking.
Written content moderation: Besedo is the industry’s best of breed tool that automatically examines text and actively filters and flags suspicious behavior. This tool is continuously trained on a daily basis specifically to enforce Wizz’s policies and its algorithms are constantly improving to protect users from emerging harmful content. This model is updated daily.
Visual content moderation: Wizz employs SightEngine’s best of breed technology to protect users from inappropriate photos and videos. SightEngine is able to identify offensive content with an extremely high level of accuracy, with response times of approximately 230 milliseconds.

Wizz strictly adheres to best practices for addressing negative behavior in an urgent manner.

User reported situations: For rare situations that fall outside our clear boundaries, Wizz has a dedicated 20-person resolution team that reviews flagged user content in real-time to decide whether an offense should result in the suspension or banning of a user.

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