Parents warned of ‘bullying website’ linked to hanging

SCHOOLS across the country are urgently warning parents about a ‘dangerous’ social media app which has been linked to bullying and suicide.

Sayat.me allows trolls to send online abuse anonymously to children and teenagers, with many receiving insults about their appearance and even death threats.

The app has been connected with the suspected suicide of George Hessay, 15, who is said to have been taunted online before his death.

Set up by an Estonian-based web company, it allows users to give ‘sincere and honest feedback’ about others anonymously.

This month, a letter sent to parents by Wrotham School in Sevenoaks, Kent, warned: ‘Young people may be using these sites without your knowledge and they might be receiving incredibly offensive comments that could lead to them becoming seriously distressed and upset.’

Sayat.me has allegedly been linked to a number of suicides, and a petition urging Theresa May to shut it down now has 1,800 signatures.

A post on the petition from a member of George Hessay’s family blamed the app for his death on May 10. George, from Rawcliffe, East Yorkshire, is thought to have hanged himself.

The Estonian-based software company behind Sayat.me is listed as Mooncascade LLC. It was co-founded by IT consultant Asko Seeba.

In a statement, chief executive Hanna Talving said: ‘We deplore bullying and want it to have no place on our site. We have suspended use of the website to show how seriously we take these matters.’

÷For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www. samaritans.org