What it is
HOLLA matches strangers on live video and adds the kind of filters and virtual gifts that make the chat feel like a game. It is not a game. It is a camera pointed at a random person, and gifts give an adult a way to pay for attention.
Children do not need this category of app. If friends use it, the kind thing is to help your child be the one who can say no without losing the friendship.
What to look out for
- Virtual gifts or coins attached to the account.
- Filters being used because someone asked them to look a certain way.
- Usernames exchanged at the end of a chat.
- Secrecy about "just one more".
Ways to stay safe
These steps are for HOLLA. The house rules still apply on every app.
- Remove the app.
- Check whether money, gifts, or photos have already been exchanged.
- If an adult has been sexual or has paid them, use the help page.
- Keep a simple rule your child can repeat to friends: we do not do random video.
In the news
Published reports you can read yourself. A headline is the proof, not a set of instructions, and this page does not repeat graphic detail.
- Ofcom looks at limits on gifts and recording a child’s livestream The regulator’s proposals include stopping people sending virtual gifts to a child’s livestream.
- Omegle shut down after abuse claims This report is about Omegle. This app pairs a child with a stranger in the same way. It is a reason to keep it off the device, not a guide to using it.
A way to start the conversation
Ask who benefits when a stranger sends a gift. Walk through it slowly. The answer is rarely "nobody, it is just for fun".
Video
HOLLA parent briefing
A short video for this guide can be added by an editor. Until then, the written briefing above is the one to use.