Privacy

What do I need to know about privacy in relation to my child’s digital world?

When it comes to protecting your privacy on the internet, mobiles and other devices, you need to consider what information you reveal about yourself and who has access to it.

Watch this video to help you understand what’s posted about you online:

The same is true for your son or daughter as they might inadvertently give away too much personal information – for example:

  • Personal details and photos on their social networking profile might fall into the wrong hands, possibly resulting in things like cyberbullying or online grooming
  • Some spammers harvest email addresses from the internet so your child might receive spam or phishing emails if they register their real email address on public websites
  • They might think that they’re anonymous when they’re online or on their mobile and behave differently to the way they would in the real world (eg bullying other people or illegally downloading music) – in fact, they could be traced by their unique IP address or mobile number

Did you know?

According to Ofcom, more than half (54 per cent) of 11-16 year olds in the UK say young people need advice about how to keep their personal information online private

Many internet, mobile, social networking and games providers acknowledge that privacy is a concern for their users, especially children and teenagers. They offer built-in privacy features, such as the ability to choose who can see your social networking profile or to block emails from certain people.

What can I do about digital privacy?

  • Check the privacy policy of your child’s internet, mobile, social networking and games providers so that you understand what kind of information they collect and what they use it for – for example, if your son or daughter uses Facebook, we recommend you read this blog that explains why they should review and update their privacy controls
  • Encourage your child to only share their personal information with people or companies they know
  • Check that they understand how other people can tag photos of them on sites like Facebook
  • Suggest that they use a nickname (not their real name) on websites, chat rooms and other online forums
  • Help them to set up strong passwords (a combination of letters, numbers and symbols) and explain why they shouldn’t share them with anyone
  • Make sure they use a PIN lock on their mobile
  • Discuss the fact that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are
  • Explain how information they use to register for websites, competitions, downloads and other internet and mobile services could be used by the companies in question (eg to send marketing emails)
  • If you don’t want companies to track you or your child online through cookies, disable them in your browser – although, bear in mind that some social networking sites set cookies when someone registers their date of birth so that they know whether the user is old enough to access the website
  • Advise your child to get permission from friends and family before taking photos or videos of them and to check that they’re happy for the images to be published – not everyone wants to be famous
  • Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your child’s computer and make the most of built-in tools like pop-up blockers and spam filters
  • Read our articles about cyberbullying, identity theft, location services and online grooming

Where can I go for more information and support about digital privacy?

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How old are your kids?

What you need to know to get started

  • 5-7 years old

    Technology is part of your child's life before they start primary school. They're probably using the computer, the internet and interactive TV for fun - watching programmes on the CBeebies channel and website or taking part in the Club Penguin chat rooms...but they still need adult guidance and supervision.

    Read more

  • 8-11 years old

    If you have 8-11 year old children, your house is probably full of technology - PlayStation, Nintendo, iPod...the list goes on. In fact, research shows that 8-11 year olds in the UK have an average of four media devices in their bedroom.

    This is a crucial age for young people to embrace new technologies and develop their ICT skills both at home and at school...and it's a crucial time for you to take control when they start exploring the digital world as well as the real world.

    Read more

  • 12-14 years old

    They're at secondary school and growing up fast. It's a time of change and their digital world might seem as important as the real world to them. They might spend their evenings on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace ; watching videos on YouTube and uploading their own for others to watch; or doing research for their homework.

    You want to encourage their technology and social skills, of course, so it's useful to understand what they're doing with technology and to get involved with it.

    Read more

  • 15+ years old

    Once your children are teenagers, it might be tempting to think that they're tech-savvy and dealing with everything the virtual world can throw at them. You probably watch in awe as they switch from chatting with friends on Facebook to updating their Twitter profile; playing against someone on the other side of the world on their games console to downloading music on their mobile.

    It's all great fun but, as they get older, the things you need to help them to cope with in their digital world are ever more challenging. Far from leaving them to it, you really need to keep communicating with them.

    Read more

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