The charity wants tech companies to install real-time technology on children’s devices to block the creation and sharing of nude images, arguing that voluntary measures are not enough.
The call comes as, across the 42 forces that provided data for both years, the number of offences increased by 9%.
Data obtained by the NSPCC shows that more than 828 offences were recorded in Scotland alone during 2024/25, representing an 11% increase on the previous year.
Of the 10,811 cases where police recorded the platform used, 43% involved Snapchat.
Meta-owned platforms accounted for nearly a quarter of all offences, including 8% on Instagram, 7% on WhatsApp, 5% on Facebook and 4% on Messenger.
However, these figures only tell part of the story, as end-to-end encryption means the scale of abuse children are experiencing online is hidden – preventing detection and leading to under-reporting on these platforms.
Without adequate safety features designed to keep children safe online across all platforms, many young people can be exposed to the risk of grooming, extortion, online child sexual abuse and having intimate images shared.
One 17-year-old boy who contacted Childline spoke about the impact an image crime had on his life.
He said: “I shared a nude online and it was leaked, so everyone at school saw it.
“I was in a really bad way, so I moved schools.
“The nude pictures still come up as random people message me and blackmail me with them.
“I’m worried about my new friends seeing them and how the leaked nudes will impact my career in the future.”
The UK Government committed in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy to collaborate with tech companies to prevent children in the UK from taking or sharing nude images.
The NSPCC believes that tech companies must take action now and embed effective protections for children, arguing that using existing technologies on children’s phones that block illegal images in real time would help stop these crimes.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive at the NSPCC, said: “Children across the UK are being completely failed by tech companies that should be protecting them online.
“We cannot keep letting them off the hook when they can do more to prevent this from happening in the first place.
“Behind every one of these offences is a child who has been groomed, abused and manipulated.
“They are left to carry the trauma, whilst tech companies continue to profit handsomely.
“Technology already exists that could be deployed today to stop children from taking, sharing or receiving nude images.
“So, the real question is: what’s stopping them?
“If they continue to drag their feet, Government must show their might by stepping in and compelling them to act.”
Young people looking for support can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk.
Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.
Report Remove, a collaboration between Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), is available in the UK to anyone under 18 to confidentially report and remove sexual images or videos of themselves from the internet.
