Protecting Children's Privacy Online
Launch library · evergreen read
Children often use apps and games specifically designed to encourage sharing, from usernames and ages through to school names and general locations, well before they have developed the judgement to understand how that scattered information can later be pieced together by a genuinely determined stranger online.
Reviewing privacy settings together as a family, turning off location sharing on apps that genuinely do not need it, and using an age-appropriate profile rather than a full name and clear photo all help limit what remains visible beyond a child's intended, immediate audience of family and known friends.
Talking openly about why certain details, like a visible school uniform in a photo or a home street clearly shown in the background, can reveal considerably more than intended keeps the ongoing conversation practical and calm rather than frightening or alarmist for a young child listening closely.
Revisiting these settings as children grow older and start using new platforms keeps protection genuinely matched to how they are actually using the internet day to day, rather than relying solely on decisions made back when an account was first created, often several years earlier in a different app.