Bubble was created by parents, for parents, and trust and safety is of paramount importance to us and the thousands of parents and babysitters that make up our community.

Equally, transparency about what Bubble is (and what it is not), and the steps the platform takes to build trust and security is hugely important to us – which is why we want to outline them here.

The first thing to say is that we’re not a babysitting or nanny agency, but a marketplace, with the aim of giving all of us as parents the ability to view, review and make choices about the childcare options available to us.

We know that the needs of our kids, the specifics of the sit and even our own sensibilities as parents will determine which babysitter is right for us. Bubble aims to quickly, smartly and conveniently let parents see the options around them, but of course, ultimately the decision to use – or not use – a babysitter on the app is down to the Mums and Dads in control.

Bubble’s core principle is that parents want to book the babysitters that their friends and community know, use and trust. And our social validation tools in the app allow parents to tap into their own trusted networks quickly and easily via the following methods:

Parent Reviews: When viewing a babysitter’s profile on the app, a parent is able to read the reviews left on that babysitter by other parents on Bubble – and they can also choose to message those parents in-app if they’d like further information.

Mutual Friends: When viewing a babysitter’s profile on the app, a parent will be shown whether they have any mutual friends in common with that babysitter. e.g. mutual friends on Facebook or whether other parents at school have used the same sitter before.

On top of these social validation tools, below are the other security measures in place on Bubble:

ID Verification: Before going live, all sitters are required to send in their Passport/ID documents which are reviewed by Bubble.

Online Background Check: Before going live, every babysitter on the platform is also cleared through an online background check performed by our partner Comply Advantage. This check cross-references the babysitter’s name against various criminal watchlists and an adverse media check that scans millions of published articles, searching for negative behaviour and news about the person in question. To be clear – this background check is not the same thing as a DBS/CRB.

DBS Verification: Having a DBS certificate is not a prerequisite for babysitters on the app, however many sitters on Bubble do have one, and they’re able to send it in to the Bubble team for verification. A parent can clearly see when the sitter’s DBS has been verified by Bubble. Likewise, if a sitter has not had their DBS verified by Bubble, their profile will clearly state this and a parent will be free to ask them to bring it with them to the sit if they wish.

References: As of July 2019, sitters signing up to the platform must submit 2x references for the Bubble team to review before their profile can go live. We do employ measures to ensure references submitted are genuine, though we do not speak to all referees in person.

Insurance on every sit: We give every babysitter on Bubble £1m public liability insurance as standard, for all of the sits they do on the Bubble app. The insurance covers babysitters for any accidental injury or damage they cause to a third party whilst on a sit. Neither parents nor babysitters have to pay for this insurance, it’s an additional benefit to bring further peace of mind to the members of our community. You can read more about this here.

SMS Verification: As part of registration, every babysitter must verify their Mobile phone number via an SMS verification code.

Interviews: As well as all of the above, babysitters who have been interviewed by a member of the Bubble team will also have the “Interviewed” badge on their profile. Bubble conducts interviews with sitters in person and via Skype.

Our ambition is to provide parents with the information, options and tools they need to make informed choices – the right choices for them – quickly and easily.

We hope the above makes it very clear how we approach the subject of trust but, of course, if you’ve any further questions don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@joinbubble.com

For tips on staying safe on Bubble, please check out a guide we’ve written here.

Want to find a trusted babysitter? Download Bubble for FREE here.