Superintendent Glyn Lewis, from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation at the AFP, said children as young as six are being caught eliciting sexual material that was filmed of themselves by themselves.

"It is surprising because most of these apps require you to be 12 or over before you can actually sign up to them ... and it really concerns that parents aren't aware of what they're children are doing online," he told Bartlett.

The AFP worked with WA Police in the biggest operation targeting child exploitation in Australian history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.