In this research project, we partnered with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to conduct a comprehensive behavioural audit of popular social media and video-sharing platforms (VSPs). This audit, carried out between December 2024 and January 2025, systematically mapped online design practices and assessed their impact on user behaviour and outcomes. It focused on four core areas of interest: 1) sign-up process, 2) features and functionalities affecting time spent online, 3) negative sentiment tools, and 4) reporting.
To achieve this, we created four user accounts to simulate different user experiences and test platform functionalities across various user types:
- 13–15 year old account
- 16–17 year old account
- Adult account
- User without an account
This approach enabled us to explore differences in platform design, browsing experiences, safety features, and engagement strategies and provided valuable insights into how these design features could potentially influence user behaviour.
For more details about the methodology, see Technical Report – Behavioural Audit of Online Services
For more details about the findings, see Key Findings Report – Behavioural Audit of Online Services