No more chats with strangers, protect your loved ones

In recent years, messaging apps have become an essential part of daily communication for children, teens and adults. They are fast, convenient and keep us in touch with family and friends.

However, the spread of these channels has also brought a growing problem: strangers getting in touch with minors, leading to harassment, inappropriate conversations and abuse.

When strangers show up in a chat

Most platforms let any user with a phone number start a chat, send a request or add someone to a group.

For adults this may be little more than a nuisance they can handle, but for a minor it means an open door to unwanted contacts, interaction with unidentified people and, in some cases, manipulation or grooming (online harassment and abuse).

• Some of the most common issues include:
• Unexpected messages from strangers starting conversations with minors.
• Being added to groups without consent, with unknown adults in them.
• Attempts at harassment or emotional pressure, sometimes disguised as games or fake contests.
• Interactions that go unnoticed by parents because they happen in private, fast-moving environments.

These risks grow when minors use mobile devices without supervision and when platforms lack clear safety controls.

Why parental controls and privacy tools matter

For many families, the first line of defence is talking about responsible phone use. But alongside that, we need tools that actually protect.

That's where features like ēllu's "Unknown users" come in, which automatically block interaction with numbers that are not saved in the minor's contacts.

What this ēllu feature does

The Unknown users option, under Settings & Privacy → Account privacy → Contact privacy settings → Unknown users, means:

• Only contacts saved in your address book can start conversations with you.
• You cannot be added to groups that include people who are not in your address book.
• Parents can turn this on for the child from parental controls by entering their parental control code on the child's device; from then on, even if the child tries to change it in their account, the parental setting stays in place.

Protecting what matters: our priority at ēllu

At ēllu we believe technology should serve people, especially those who need protection most. That's why we've built features like Unknown users, which come enabled by default and strengthen our users' privacy and security.

Our focus is clear: the safety and privacy of the people who matter most to you.

With this tool we want parents and guardians to feel more at ease knowing their children are communicating in a protected space, where safety and privacy are part of the care we offer.