The 3018 application, to help young victims of cyberbullying, was born in Caen

The symbol has earned the developers of Orange innovation in Caen (Calvados) to work hard to be ready on February 8, the date of Safer Internet day (“The safer Internet” literally). It was on this day that the 3018 mobile application, from the e-Enfance association, was released on the Android and IOS platforms. A tool for young victims of online harassment, born in the space of a few weeks.

“On November 18, Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of an application”, indicates Stéphane Polouchkine, one of the developers from Caen mobilized on the project. Orange was commissioned by e-Enfance – a recognized public utility association – to design it. The management’s request reached Caen, whose teams took over the project, which was finally launched at the beginning of December.

“The deadline was very short, explains Yunus Arslan, also a developer. Normally, it takes several months to develop an application. There, it had to be released on February 8 ”. In six weeks, the Caen team, made up of six developers and a designer, and supplemented by the work of other employees from other Orange sites, achieved the feat of developing its tool against cyberbullying.

Yunus Arslan makes the presentation: “There are three features. Call the victim support number 3018, chat with a 3018 counselor by message, and open their secure safe. This last point is a real novelty for 3018. The harassed young person can deposit proof of the cyberbullying of which he is the victim in the digital safe. Photos, screenshots, videos or even links, which are therefore saved and can be transmitted to 3018. “If the young person reports the content to 3018, they are removed quickly, sometimes in less than an hour. Because the 3018 is in contact with the hosts”, specifies Stéphane Polouchkine.

Reports also by telephone and on the Internet

The application, easy to use, must bring the teenager closer to support. “The 3018 already existed, by telephone and on the Internet, continues Stéphane, the developer. But an app is more natural for a young person. However, cyberbullying affects 20% of adolescents aged 8 to 18 according to official figures. Providing an ear to the victims, and a modern and adapted tool to defend against this scourge was therefore very important. Since the release of the application, the 3018, in all its forms, has received some 1,500 reports. Evidence of the recurrence of the phenomenon.

This “useful and very motivating project” strongly stimulated the developers and the designer from Caen. The team built “two versions of the application per week”, submitted to the e-Enfance association for feedback. Tests were also carried out with young users who had just had a telephone. All this within very tight deadlines. “The service seized the opportunity to create this tool, emphasizes Stéphane Polouchkine. We were able to build a team with people trained on Android and IOS in the same place. Upon arrival, there is a little pride. We were able to work quickly on something expected. »

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