Last Updated on 17th February 2022

After being alerted to the term ‘hentai machine’ being discussed amongst young children, our Online Safety Experts have researched and produced a digital threat assessment to help school staff and safeguarding professionals understand this complex topic.

This briefing document is available to download below.

It outlines the areas of concern, associated safeguarding risks and provides practical tips on how to respond effectively, if the children and young people in your care are discussing Hentai.

What is Hentai?

Why are these apps so popular?

Hentai is adult pornography that uses a Japanese style of animation. It is essentially cartoon-ised images of a sexually explicit nature. However, our research shows that hentai can go far beyond this. Some material can be classified as child sexual abuse imagery, bestiality, and other forms of extreme sexual violence.

Context is key: hentai may appear ‘cartoonish’ and therefore child-friend and easy to dismiss but the content is sexual in nature and can normalise violent, harmful, and illegal content.

Please note, this document contains sensitive information and graphic imagery that should not be shared with anyone below the age of 18 years old.

Please note, this document contains sensitive information and graphic imagery that should not be shared with anyone below the age of 18 years old.

During our research we never seek out inappropriate images, and where inappropriate or harmful content is discovered, it is always reported in line with our established reporting pathways.

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