For Parents
Internet Safety for Parents
You do not need to understand every app your child uses. You need to know which settings matter, what to keep an eye on, and how to stay someone your child will come to. This page is where to start if you are starting from nothing.
Start Here
Five things, in order. Each one takes a few minutes and closes a door that is currently open.
Sit down together and open every app
Not to search it — to have your child show you. You learn what they use, and they learn this is normal rather than a raid.
Set up the phone's built-in controls
Both iPhone and Android have parental controls built in — app limits, content ratings, purchase approval, and downtime hours. No extra software needed.
Make every account private
Go app by app. Private accounts, friend requests approved by hand, and comments limited to people your child actually knows.
Turn off location, then check the photos
Switch off location sharing in each app and in the phone's camera settings, so pictures do not carry the place they were taken.
Agree the rules out loud
What is allowed, where devices live at night, and what happens if something goes wrong. Say plainly that they will not lose the phone for telling you.
What Matters More Than the App
Apps change every year. These do not.
Who Can Message Them
Every risk starts with contact. If strangers cannot send a message, most of the risk never begins.
Whether It Leaves a Record
Disappearing messages and private servers appeal to adults who do not want evidence of what they said to a child.
Whether They Will Tell You
The single strongest protection is a child who believes they can tell you something bad without losing everything.
Who Else Has Access
Shared tablets, older siblings' logins, and friends' houses are all routes around whatever you set up at home.
Common Mistakes
Relying on controls alone and never talking about it
Taking the phone away as the punishment for telling you
Setting it up once and never checking again
Assuming a younger child is too young to be contacted
Covering the phone but not the console or tablet
Reacting with anger, which guarantees they will not come back
As They Get Older
Control works with young children and stops working with teenagers. A fifteen-year-old will get around anything you install, and the attempt costs you the trust you need far more.
Move from controlling access to building judgment: talk about what they are seeing, ask what they would do, and let them tell you when something is off without it turning into a fight.
Important Disclaimer
This page is for informational purposes only. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.