Police have launched an investigation after an 11-year-old was groomed to post explicit photographs of herself on Spotify.
It comes as an M.E.N investigation revealed the child, from Stockport, was able to upload multiple sexually explicit pictures on the music streaming platform before her account was deleted.
Detectives from GMP's Stockport Division have now confirmed they are investigating the shocking incident. Children's charities warned they had not seen this type of grooming before.
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The girl's mother told the Manchester Evening News she learned the extent of what her daughter had been exposed to after her Spotify account was deleted last week.
Rachel, which is not her real name, said she discovered her daughter had been encouraged to make her own playlists, where other Spotify users could edit the title to message each other.
Her daughter was sent an email from one user who she'd met on Spotify who claimed to be a 12-year-old boy, who asked her to send a video of her pleasuring herself. Another user named "I have nudes" tagged her in a playlist with a message asking her to "show a good view" of her genital area.
Rachel, who has asked for her family's identity to be concealed, kept a tight control over what online platforms her daughters, aged eight and eleven, have access to.
Neither of them have been allowed to create Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok profiles. The only app Rachel, a teacher, allowed her 11-year-old to use without control was Spotify - so she could listen to podcasts before bed.
"I am a teacher so I'm probably a bit stricter than other parents but I just wanted to make sure they are safe," she said. "They both have iPads but I can control their screen time and what apps they use through my phone.
"The only app my eldest daughter was able to use after 8pm was Spotify because she's always fallen asleep to spoken word. She likes to listen to podcasts before she goes to sleep which she plays out loud on the Alexa so I can hear exactly what she's listening to.
"She has access to Spotify adults because of the podcasts she listens to but I didn't think that would be an issue because it's just a streaming platform."
After learning what her daughter had posted, Rachel immediately phoned the 111 service and was told to hang up and dial 999 to speak to someone urgently.
Detective Inspector Michael Jimenez, of GMP’s Stockport division, said: "An investigation is underway following reports of a child that has been incited to post indecent images on a music streaming site."
A Spotify spokesperson said: "Spotify takes the safety of minors on our platform extremely seriously, and we do not allow content that promotes, solicits, or facilitates child sexual abuse or exploitation.
"We have processes and technology in place that allow us to detect and remove any such exploitative material. In this case, we found the imagery in question, terminated the user, and removed the content."
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