Five Ways to Protect Your Kid’s Online Privacy

Let’s face it — even with all the developing digital privacy tools, the internet is still the wild west. And we wouldn’t let our kids play in the wild west, would we?

Okay, so maybe some of us would risk it (especially after all the COVID closeness). But for the most part, we take every precaution to protect our children from being targeted or victimized in any way.

And parents and caregivers need to be aware of the dangers that can come with allowing children to navigate the internet. Educating ourselves and the kids we care for is key to online safety.

Unfortunately, educating ourselves is difficult amidst the sea of online services and software claiming to be the only way to protect our children from the dangers of the internet — all of which charge a pretty penny for their protections.

So, we’ve developed a list of tips complete with resources that will give parents a solid starting point as they educate themselves and their kids about online safety.

1. Talk to your kids about online safety.

To insulate younger generations, we sometimes neglect to share the reality of digital dangers. While we shouldn’t terrify kids out of using the internet (technology rocks), we need to have an age-appropriate honest convo with them before we ever sit them behind a screen. Talk with them about warning signs, what info they can safely share, and what requires immediate adult intervention. Teach them how to spot bad situations and how to react when necessary. For some family friendly browsing tools, click here.

2. Know your parental controls and stay involved.

Nearly every device has the option to exert some parental controls to help keep kids safe. Some of these controls can limit access to more PG-13+ related websites, while others offer more customized controls — like notifications if certain words are used while text messaging. For more info on the many different types of controls and ways to use them, check out this great article from Common Sense Media!

3. Teach kids how to turn off their location.

There have been instances of predators getting the location of kids via interactions on sites where location is displayed openly. Just think about Facebook check-ins. While turning off location on a phone can be as simple as swiping down and accessing the settings menu, there are some instances where it can be a bit trickier. We found this handy guide from Digital Trends that offers a comprehensive rundown of how to stop location tracking on both Android and iOS devices.

4. Learn about the info shared across social media.

It’s no secret that social media is like the superhighway of the internet. It’s a place where people go to connect, share info with others (on purpose), and meet new people. However, it’s also an access point for predators looking to connect with young kids. Despite the age limit on most social media sites, it’s not exactly hard to use a fake birthday to bypass these requirements.

Caregivers can use parental control to prevent access to many social media sites in addition to educating themselves and kids about the different tactics used by nefarious individuals. Don’t let kids navigate social media for the first time alone! Stay involved and pay attention to any strange behaviors or red flags.

5. Educate yourself about info that can be shared online.

First and foremost, you need to spend some time researching the different ways that predators (and sometimes non-predators) are collecting data being shared online. Check out each website before allowing kids to visit and look for the types of registrations or interactions the sites require. Are they legit? What types of reviews do they have? And what measures are these kid-friendly sites taking to prevent data leaks?

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