What to do after cyberbullying

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Author: YELFiN Ltd · Published: 4 October 2026 · Editorial reviewer: YELFiN Ltd (review pending)

If someone is being bullied online, start with their safety and reassurance. They do not deserve the abuse and do not have to handle it alone.

• Listen without blame. Ask what support they want.
• Avoid replying to abusive messages or joining the argument.
• Where safe, keep screenshots of non-intimate messages and a dated record of incidents.
• Report the account or content through the platform, then use its blocking tools.
• If pupils are involved, tell the school and share appropriate information privately.
• Take breaks from notifications and get support from a trusted adult.

Do not save or forward sexual images of children. For threats, exploitation or intimate-image abuse, seek specialist help rather than circulating material.

UK children and young people can contact Childline on 0800 1111. Call 999 for immediate danger; use police non-emergency routes for threats or suspected crime. CEOP is for child sexual abuse and grooming, not ordinary bullying or hacked accounts.

Keep report references and platform responses so you can explain what has already been tried. A school or support service can help plan the next step.

A child may mention repeated hostile messages, exclusion from chats or fear of returning to a game or school. Ask about changes you have noticed without assuming their cause. Threats, unwanted sexual contact or concern about immediate safety require more than a privacy-setting review.

1. Agree who will help: a parent, trusted teacher or another adult the young person chooses.
2. Decide what information each person needs. Keep the discussion focused on support rather than circulating the whole conversation.
3. Write down the report date and reference, the response received and the next follow-up date.
4. Check back after the report. Ask what has improved, what remains difficult and whether the support plan needs to change.

Do not organise public retaliation or ask friends to flood the account with messages. Avoid making a child recount the incident repeatedly to different adults when a private factual record will help explain it. Do not assume that blocking one account resolves the impact of the experience.

The Platform Library can help you prepare questions about the app or game involved. In YELFiN, the “I’m Worried About My Child” learning journey provides a sequence of educational prompts for thinking through a concern.

Childline: bullying and cyberbullying
CEOP: what its reporting service covers

How to save evidence of online abuse safely
Monthly social media safety checklist

Explore YELFiN’s platform guides, checklists and learning tools. No YELFiN account required. General educational information; not professional or emergency advice.

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