Category: Online Safety for Kids

Social media and online platforms are used by people all over the world with a wide range of different ages. As technology becomes more and more integrated into our lives, children and young people are using the internet and social media for all kinds of things, often from an early age.

Monitoring your child’s internet use is very important, but you shouldn’t necessarily stop them from setting up online accounts for social media platforms or websites for things like gaming. Instead, the best thing you can do is set up profiles with your child so that you feel confident that they’re staying safe.

In this article, we explain some of the risks that online profiles pose, and then share the best advice for avoiding these by setting up a safe profile for your child. We also cover how to talk to your child about online safety, which is an important conversation to have before you let them start using the internet.

The Risks of Online Profiles

There are plenty of positives to using the internet and it can be a fantastic place for children and young people to learn, play games, connect with friends and find communities or groups they feel a part of. However, there are a range of risks that come from setting up an online profile, and it’s important to understand these and share them with your child before you create anything online.

Some of the main risks of having online profiles include:

• Cyberbullying
• Privacy invasion
• Identity theft
• Exposure to offence or upsetting content
• Grooming
• Phishing

These risks have consequences that range from causing your child distress to putting them in serious danger from predatory adults. You should make sure that you explain these risks to them before you set up the profile, ensuring that they know the warning signs to look out for and understand why internet safety is so important. Online short safeguarding courses can be a useful resource in educating yourself on online safeguarding risks.

Top Tips for Setting Up a Safe Online Profile

Let your child know that one of the best ways to stay safe online is by setting up a safe online profile. Depending on their age, you can either ask them to follow the below advice or set up the profile with them and go through the following steps.

Choose a Secure Password

One of the most important things to teach about online safety for kids is the importance of choosing a secure password. This reduces the chance that their online account might be hacked and is a good introduction to personal security for online accounts.

Different websites or apps might have different criteria for what constitutes a ‘secure’ password, which may impact your choices. In general, it’s recommended that you get your child to use a mixture of letters, numbers, symbols and cases in their password to make it as unique as possible.

To help your child remember their password, encourage them to pick a memorable word, such as their favourite animal or a character from a book or television show. If you think they need help remembering it around, get them to write it down somewhere, disguised as something else.

Pick a Safe Username

Usernames are used on a range of online platforms to identify different profiles and often include the user’s real name. To protect your child’s identity and keep them safe, you should encourage them to choose a username that doesn’t include their name or any other personal information that could be used to identify or find them in real life.

Your child can still choose a username that feels personal by picking words that link to their favourite hobbies, colour, or animals or use a nickname. It’s also important to let them know never to share their real name with someone over the internet, unless they are sure that they’ve met them in real life already.

Limit Personal Information

On social media websites like Instagram and Facebook, setting up a profile and sharing content involves sharing more personal information in the form of photos and posts. With photos in particular, you should advise your child to avoid any images of themself that link them to a particular location or group, such as in their school uniform, in a sports club uniform, or outside of your house. These images could be used by predators to find your child in real life.

You should also supervise your child whilst they’re writing a bio for their online profile, if it’s required. Again, advise them to avoid any personal details, such as their full name, age, their school and where they live.

Use a Family Email Address

If your child is still in primary school, a good idea is to set up a family email address and get them to use this to sign up for online accounts. You can set up the preferences on this account so that emails get sent every time there’s a notification, which allows you to keep an eye on their activity without having full access to their profile.

This can also be very useful if your child creates a profile on a gaming app or website where additional purchases can be made. Using a family email, and setting up email alerts to approve a purchase, will stop your child from buying anything you don’t approve of.

Check Additional Features

Some online platforms, apps and even devices have special features that are designed to give parents some control or insight into what their child is using them for. This is particularly useful for younger children that are less aware of the risks of using the internet, such as personal data privacy and the kind of content they might come across.

When setting up a profile with your child, you might be able to select options or restrict their account in a way that means they can’t connect with strangers’ accounts, can’t spend any money, or can’t receive messages. Some apps might have a kid-friendly version or give you the option to restrict any mature content that might be shown to your child whilst they’re using it.

Set Up Your Own Profile

When your children want to start using social media, a good way to give them independence whilst keeping an eye on their activity is to set up your own profile on the same site and connect with them so that you can see what they’re posting. You won’t be able to control what they post and interact with on these platforms, but you will be able to see it and can advise them on what they’re sharing.

Install Parental Controls

Finally, it’s worth investigating the different parental controls that you can install on apps, devices and even the broadband router for your house. These controls allow you to limit what your child will be able to do on their devices or on certain websites, which is very useful when they’re younger and you want to ensure they have a positive experience whilst online.

How to Talk to Your Child About Online Safety

When you’re helping a child to set up an online profile, it’s important to talk to them about online safety and the risks that using apps and websites might have. The most important thing to remember is to be honest but avoid sharing anything that might scare your child, as you want them to be able to enjoy all the benefits of being online.

Outline the potential risks of having an online profile that we shared at the start of this article. Explain that these things are unlikely to happen, but that they are something that your child should be aware of.

Next, explain what some of the warning signs of bad behaviour on the internet are. This will help your child to spot suspicious messages, potentially upsetting content or bullying behaviour when it starts, which hopefully means they’ll be able to remove themselves from potentially harmful situations or ask for help immediately.

The most important thing to share when you’re giving your child tips for staying safe online is that they should always talk to a trusted adult if they see or receive something that makes them feel sad, uncomfortable or unsure. Let them know that they can talk to you, another family member or someone at school about anything they experience online, and that they won’t get into trouble for sharing.

Summary

Technology is developing at ever-increasing rates, and more and more children are using it at younger and younger ages. Digital literacy and the ability to connect with others online are very important when children are growing up, so the best thing you can do is equip your child with the information they need to use the internet safely, with an online profile that doesn’t put them at risk.

Doxxing is a dangerous practice on the rise that can affect and harm many children. Parents need to be aware of this new digital danger to help keep their children safe. Doxxing is not an uncommon term, but certinaly not top of mind for most parents. Here’s all you need to know about doxxing and the steps to take to reduce the risk.

 What is Doxxing?

The act of doxxing is revealing someone’s information online. This information can be used to identify someone, such as their real name, address, bank details, employer, and more.

Crucially, doxxing is done to an individual without them knowing about it and is often done with the intent to harm or humiliate. Doxxing has become more and more common online as technology has advanced, leading to more children being put in difficult situations.

Some of the methods people use to Dox others include:

• Tracking usernames
• Running a WHOIS search
• Phishing
• Social media stalking
• IP address tracking

Why is Doxxing Dangerous?

Doxxing can be very dangerous for your children to experience. With their information becoming public, it can lead to things such as harassment, both online and in public, as well as stalking and potentially even fraud if banking information is revealed.

As doing so has the potential to reveal home addresses, it increases the risk of predatory behaviour, which many can’t bare thinking about. As well as this, having public information exposed to followers and other internet users, especially if your children want to keep it hidden, can also lead to them being bullied online. Doxxing can also be dangerous for minorities, as they may be targeted with abuse and harassment online.

However, one of the biggest dangers surrounding doxxing is the practice of Swatting. This is where doxxed information is used by strangers to call in police or swat teams to a victim’s address, citing a fake shooting or hostage situation. This has happened to many streamers on Twitch, and swatters usually do this for their own amusement.

Linda Shaffer, Chief People Operations Officer at Checkr, says, “Being a victim of Swatting can be traumatic and potentially life-changing. Individuals have the responsibility to protect their information, but businesses like ours also need to be committed to keeping customer information safe and secure.”

As you can imagine, having a swat team arrive at your property can be a very tense and dangerous situation if you don’t know how to deal with the situation, and multiple people have been injured and even killed after being Swatted.

5 Things Parents Can Do to Protect Kids

Parents worried about doxxing need to take action. Here are a few things you can do to protect your children:

1. Educate Your Children

Education is the best preventative measure to keep your children safe from doxing. By helping them understand the dangers and methods in which they can be doxxed, they can do more online to protect themselves.

One main thing you should teach them is to understand what information they should and shouldn’t share. Make your children aware that they should never disclose information about their address, identity, and bank details if they have any, as these can all be used to cause harm.

2. Check their profiles

Parents should maintain access to their children’s profiles and accounts to monitor what type of content they’re accessing. By periodically reviewing their accounts on socials and gaming software, you’ll better understand how vulnerable they’re making themselves. If you want to limit the type of content your children can access to help them be safe from doxxing, you can also block adult content.

Another thing parents can do is run a search for their kids online. By simply searching their names on a search engine, you’ll be able to see what kind of information comes up, allowing you to see how exposed they are. This knowledge can then help you make their accounts and digital selves more secure.

3. Promote the usage of different passwords and usernames

If your children use the same passwords for all their accounts and have similar usernames across their social media and more, they are a lot easier for a doxxer to track, making them much more vulnerable.

You can keep your children more secure by forcing them to utilize different passwords and usernames. It may be a bit harder for them to remember, but this added security helps ensure they can maintain privacy. As their details are different, it means that if one account is hacked, the others should still be safe.

Use good password standards as well by creating passwords that aren’t easy to guess and contain special keys, numbers, and capitalization.

4. Mask their IP address

One of the most common ways people are doxxed online is through their IP address. These details can reveal the location of your children, compromising them, and sometimes this information can be used to reveal further details.

The best way to protect them from this is to mask your IP address. This is best done with a virtual private network (VPN). The technology of how a VPN works is complicated, but the general idea is that it connects you with a different server, meaning that your device appears to be in a different location.

Volodymyr Shchegel, VP of Engineering at Clario, says, “VPNs are one of the best security programs you can get, alongside antivirus and firewalls. It protects your IP address, making it harder for hackers and doxxers to find you. These days, VPNs are an essential bit of kit.”

5. Remove Information from Data Brokers

You’ll be frightened at how much data about your children and even yourself is available online. When your children sign up for services and accounts, their details can be stored in data brokers, who can then sell that info to businesses who use t for better advert targeting.

Thankfully, you can request that this information is removed; it’s just a bit of a hassle. Some businesses can do this service for you, but if you have the patience, you can start removing the information stored on these brokers yourself.

Conclusion

Doxxing is something that parents need to be aware of. As technology advances, more and more dangers emerge online, and doxxing is added to the list of other risks that parents need to help limit.

There are many things that children can do to prevent doxing from happening to them. Following the advice mentioned above should help. As the issue gets more mainstream attention, expect changes to be made so that doxxing is severely punished, hopefully discouraging the practice. For now, ensure your children are mindful online and are aware of this danger when surfing online.

An increasing number of teens are not just viewing videos on YouTube but are starting their own YouTube channels. If you’re one of the many teens who are thinking about getting a new channel up and running, then it’s important to carefully consider how you’ll go about doing so – as well as ways to keep safe online.

By creating a well-thought-out plan and being mindful of the dangers of the platform, you can have fun getting your own YouTube channel set up and pulling in views.

Think About the Plan

Start by making a plan. This is a chance to get really clear on what you want your channel to offer, who the intended audience is, the type of content that will be posted, and how regularly new content will be uploaded. Now is also a good time to think about whether you’ll be open to advertising offers if the channel becomes popular.

When making a content plan, always keep at the front of your mind the basics of good digital citizenship. This includes respecting the privacy of others (and your own), avoiding posting anything that could hurt the feelings of others or cause drama, never posting your location, and remembering that anything online can be cut, pasted, altered, and used in a way you never originally intended.

Get the Tools You Need in Place

You probably won’t need much to get your new YouTube channel up and running, but video editing software is a must. This type of software can help you create high-quality, polished content with lots of interactive or other elements – meaning it’ll stand out from the crowd. Look for an option that offers widely customizable filters and visual effects, templates, and animation and audio tools.

Ultimately, video editing software will help you create engaging content that has the wow factor – which should result in lots more views and likes.

Have a Beta Launch

While it’s tempting to get your new YouTube channel live as soon as possible, undertaking a beta launch is a great idea and will ensure that any bugs or issues are ironed out before your channel is unveiled on a wider stage.

To do this, initially set very strict privacy settings in order to have a limited audience of friends and family members. Ask these trusted people for constructive criticism and advice and to let you know both what is and what isn’t working well.

Dealing with Feedback

Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that not all the feedback your YouTube channel receives will be positive, and dealing with this can be tough. It’s important to distinguish between helpful feedback that can be viewed and used as a learning experience and trolling or unpleasant comments that have simply been posted out of mean-spiritedness.

If the feedback offers advice that could help improve your channel, it’s worth carefully considering, even if it’s hard to hear. Think about making the changes suggested, or even try them out for a limited period of time, and assess the results. And remember: you can always block users who are unnecessarily rude or post generally unpleasant comments.

Consider Giving Your YouTube Channel the ‘For Kids’ Designation

You may want to apply the ‘For Kids’ designation to your new YouTube channel so that it’ll only be seen by a younger audience rather than the general YouTube viewership. A benefit of this designation is that comments are automatically disabled on accounts identified as being for children.

Staying Safe on YouTube

It’s vital that you take the steps needed to stay safe on the platform. Here are some tips to ensure that running your own YouTube channel is as safe an experience as possible:

• Only film appropriate – this means nothing violent, sexually suggestive, or dangerous.
• Use the platform’s privacy features to limit who can see the content you post. Check out YouTube’s Privacy and Safety Center for more information on how to do this.
• Be mindful of getting into dangerous or uncomfortable situations – never send or accept personal messages from strangers, and speak to your parents or another trusted adult if anything happens that makes you feel upset or uncomfortable.
• Remember the Grandma Rule before uploading content. Is the video something you’d be happy for your family members to see or even a future employer? If not, it’s time to reconsider that particular content.

Get Set to Start Your New YouTube Channel

Teens make up an important and vibrant part of the YouTube community, and setting up a new channel can be an exciting way to get creative and showcase your interests or passion. Use the guide above to help you get started and also to navigate the platform safely to enjoy the content-creation experience to the full.

It is estimated that a child goes online for the first time every half second around the world.  And the number of hours children spend online is increasing dramatically.   In addition to searching the web, one of the primary ways children interact online is through apps.  The focus on secure search is now decades old, but attention to app safety is fairly new and sometimes overlooked.

Because kids mostly use smartphones and tablets these days, apps are “king”!  There are browser apps, educational apps, apps for social media and games – you can even watch television on a phone or tablet.  Never has there been a better for children to learn, imagine, and develop social skills.  Whatever the device, the tools and resources are available to ignite creativity and broaden horizons throughout the world.

Introduction to Safe App Content

Whenever young people log into social media or instant messaging platforms, they can be subjected to cyberbullying and other forms of peer violence. A child who browses the internet may come across hate speech and violent content, such as messages that incite self-harm or suicide.

Additionally, the collection of data for marketing purposes by technology companies can also pose a threat to children. Not to mention, the excessive screen time that child-targeted apps often cause can compromise the development of a child.

One “catch all” method to protecting kids online is by using parental control features like Spectrum Internet offers as part of an internet package.  However, parents still need to be diligent to ensure kids are using safe apps because once an app is installed, it’s not as easy to monitor its usage.

We have compiled these tips for you to teach kids how to safely download and install apps.

Set Clear Rules and Boundaries for App Downloads

With clarity kids make better decisions.  They feel safe and secure when they know what their boundaries are.  When it comes to seeking out the fun apps, parents need to know types of apps they are looking for.  Learn about your child’s interests and discuss options to guide them towards the various apps that are appropriate for their age.  Explain why certain apps may not be suitable and set rules for usage, including time limits and the number of apps they are allowed to download.

Encourage them to delete apps they are no longer using so that it’s easier them to manage.  Let your kids know that questions are always welcome when your child is unsure about an app.  By setting these rules and boundaries, you create a foundation for responsible app usage.

Educate About App Permissions and Privacy Settings.

One vital aspect of app safety is teaching children about app permissions and privacy settings. Explain to them why it’s important to understand and manage the permissions an app may request, such as accessing their contacts, location, or camera. Show them how to review and modify app permissions in the settings of their device.

Additionally, emphasize the significance of protecting their personal information online by instructing them to avoid sharing sensitive details in apps without your permission. By providing this knowledge, you empower your children to make informed decisions regarding their privacy. Apps used to chat with others can be especially dangerous as opposed to closed apps used for games. Predators can easily pose as children to gain information from you child.

Show How to Download Apps from Trusted Sources

Downloading apps from trusted sources is necessary to avoid potentially harmful or malicious software. Teach your kids to only download apps from reputable app stores like Google Play Store or Apple App Store.  These trusted platforms have stringent security measures in place. Explain the risks associated with downloading apps from third-party websites or unofficial sources that are not verified as being safe. Communication is key here as well.

If they have any doubts, instruct them to come to you so you can do any research needed to ensure an app download is safe.  By instilling this habit, you reduce the chances of your children inadvertently installing unsafe applications on their devices.

Teach Them How to Read App Reviews and Ratings.

App reviews and ratings can provide valuable insights into an app’s quality, safety, and appropriateness. Show your children how to read and evaluate app reviews and ratings before downloading an app.  A good way to show them this is to ask them about an app they would first like to download. Then, go through the steps you would go through to make sure everything looks legit.  Instruct them how to look for relevant information in reviews, such as comments about bugs, inappropriate content, or excessive advertising that will hamper their ability to play.

Emphasize the importance of considering multiple reviews and ratings to get a balanced perspective. By developing this critical skill, your kids can make informed decisions and avoid potential disappointments or risks associated with poorly rated apps.

Wrapping Up

There are many benefits to using the internet, including the ability to learn, shop, play games, and chat with friends.   Apps are frequently used by kids to do all of these things and more.  With convenient access to apps online comes greater risks.  With greater risks, kids need to know that they need to be responsible for their actions.

• At the very least, parents should know what apps their kids are using and guide them to only download apps that you approve. This may not always be easy for them to do; therefore, basic education can help guide them to make smart choices.
• For the ultimate in peace of mind, explore parental control programs that and monitor what apps your kids are downloading and time spent on them.
• Finally, at the risk of repeating this main point, if they have any doubts let them know they can freely to ask you about a particular app, without any judgement from you.

We’ve discussed some of the ways you can protect your children from harm online when downloading and installing apps, including potentially harmful content and other online threats. We hope you found these tips helpful to ensure the utmost in safety for your family.

References:
United Nations:  Child and Youth Safety Online