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Children often have access to connected devices at a young age, which may raise concerns about their personal safety and privacy. Setting parental controls is a great first step, but there are a number of additional measures you can take to help protect your children's personal information, such as:
Do not share personal information!
Make sure your children know to never tell anyone they don't know their real name, passwords, financial data, birthdate, home address, phone numbers, school or your work place.
Tell your children to be thoughtful and cautious about the information and permissions they provide when registering on a game's website or mobile app. What will the information be used for, with whom will it be shared, and how necessary is it? If there are any questions or reservations, you can always consult the game's privacy policy to obtain those answers.
Keep an eye out for the ESRB Privacy Certified seal, which provides assurance that a game's website or app is collecting data that is compliant with privacy laws and best practices.
Always enter accurate birthdates for your children when requested.
Use the device settings and monitoring tools to:
Disable in-app purchases (or restrict them by requiring entry of your password)
Turn off location tracking (which may limit certain games' or apps' functionality)
Limit online access and/or data usage
Enforce homework or bedtime hours (not included on all devices)
Teach your children good "net etiquette!"
When playing an online game or posting on a social network be sure your children understand how to safely share photos, videos and comments that reflect appropriately on them and their friends.
Cyberbullying is a reality for many children. Having a supportive conversation with your children regarding what they can or should do if they ever experience bullying online can help prevent a bad situation from getting worse. You can find more on how to handle cyberbullying at the End to Cyberbullying Organization.
