AN anti-sexting app from Childline is using humour to help teenagers in Hampshire deal with unwanted requests for sexual images of themselves.

The Zipit app has been updated as new figures from Childline reveal the NSPCC service held 2,634 counselling sessions across the UK about sexting and self-generated explicit images in 2016-17. Sexting was also the most viewed topic on the Childline website last year with 221,840 page views.

The free app offers young people a gallery of images and animations called GIFs they can send in response to requests for sexual pictures and to deal with difficult sexting situations.

Counsellors heard how some teenagers felt pressured by peers into sending nude selfies. Some young people were worried that images they had sent would be shared with others or uploaded on to the internet.

One 14-year-old girl said: “I sent some naked pictures of myself to a boy that I was talking to online. I really regret it now because he took screenshots and says that he’ll show them to all my friends. I don’t know how to report him, I really don’t want my family to find out.”

Wendy Robinson, Childline manager for the London base, which takes calls from across the country, including Hampshire, said: “Many young people tell Childline that they feel pressured into sending sexual images of themselves and don’t always have the confidence to say no. Once a teenager sends an image of themselves they have no control over where it is shared or who sees it, and sometimes images can end up online.

“This can leave a child feeling humiliated and even lead to them being bullied or blackmailed. By using humour, Zipit helps young people take control of online chatting that becomes awkward or pressurised and support them if something goes wrong.”

Zipit, originally launched in 2013 in partnership with creative network Livity, has now adapted to technology popular with teenagers and introduced GIFs co-created with 11 to 17 year olds to help empower young people to defuse difficult and potentially damaging conversations.

The app also includes advice on safe online chatting and what young people should do if they feel threatened or if an image becomes public. If a young person is worried about an image they have shared, they can visit childline.org.uk/remove and follow the steps to have the image taken down from the internet.

Zipit is free and available to download for Android and Apple smartphones.

Childline is available on Freephone 0800 1111 24/7 or at childline.org.uk for counselling chat, e-mails or message boards.