To protect younger users from risks, children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers nor establish communication with other Yahoo! Answers users. Instead, they are encouraged to explore age-appropriate content and activities on Yahoo! Kids.
If your child is 13 years of age or older and wants to participate in Yahoo! Answers, make sure he or she understands and knows how to use the Yahoo! Answers’ safety features described below:
Use a nickname. A nickname hides your child’s real Yahoo! user ID when he or she asks or answers a question. A nickname without any personally identifiable information is best. For example, instead of “tedjones1992dallas” choose a more generic nickname like “bluesky50”. You can select a nickname in Yahoo! Answers profile settings.
Limit contact with other users. If another user establishes contact with your child, it’s possible that your child could be exposed to unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive language. There are settings in the “Communications” section of the Yahoo! Answers profile settings page that will restrict email and instant messages from other Yahoo! users. If you do allow your child to communicate with others via Answers email, Yahoo! Answers will not reveal his or her email address. If you enable IM communications, the instant message ID will be seen publicly on the profile page. Remember to frequently remind your child about the dangers of giving out personal information to strangers online.
Limit Answers Network connections. As part of an online community, Answers users are able to “connect” to one another. Users are reminded that as they are networked within the Answers community, their contacts can view the questions they have asked or starred, and their answers. To restrict other people from connecting to your child’s activity on Answers, go to your child’s profile settings page. At “Sharing,” deselect the checkbox next to “Allow other Answers users to be my fan.”
Use an avatar. An avatar is a custom cartoon character used to represent your child’s online identity on Yahoo! Answers. Using an avatar is a safer alternative to posting a real, identifiable photo. Yahoo! Avatars lets your child create a personalized character with any of dozens of hairstyles, clothing combinations, accessories, and backgrounds. Your child can use this avatar in many places on Yahoo! instead of a real photo to avoid displaying what he or she actually looks like to strangers. You can choose to use an avatar on the Yahoo! Answers’ profile settings page.
Report abuse to Yahoo!. You or your child can report any offensive content or inappropriate contact with other users by clicking the “Report Abuse” link under every question and answer in Yahoo! Answers.