7 tips to help your kids stay safer online

While you can’t keep your kids away from technology, you can support their safety with a few simple steps.

You might be dreaming of a world where you can keep your kids completely away from phones, the internet, and any bad online influences.

And while a magic castle in the middle of nowhere with no mobile coverage or internet does sound like the ideal way to keep your kids safer online (especially if there was a vineyard involved), for most of us, it’s unrealistic.

Because even if we could afford the castle, we know they’re smart enough to somehow smuggle in a phone with Fortnight or an Instagram account to preen in front of.

That’s why we thought we’d share a few simple tips, so you can help your teens heed off some of the undesirable outcomes of being an upcoming social media star or online gaming champion.

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7 ways to stay safer online

1.  Show them how to set their profile to private on their social media accounts. Most of the major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, carry this feature. You can also switch off their location settings.

2.  For stronger password security, encourage them not to use the same password on all of their apps and games. It means that if one of their accounts is hacked, the rest won't be compromised.

3.  An oldie but a goodie. Make sure their passwords have nothing to do with their name, birthday or address.

4.  Change your passwords regularly. A simple way to take care of this is to use passwords that are hard to remember, like randomised numbers and letters. Then when you forget it, reset it.

5.       Use at least 10 characters, including numbers, symbols and capitals. The longer the password, the better.

6.       Don’t store your passwords on your phone or computer, or anywhere they can be hacked.

7.       Use multi-factor authentication if possible. Multi-factor (or two-step authentication) is when you need to log in with a password and then use a code sent via SMS or email. It’s a good habit to pick up. 

How to start the conversation

Starting the conversation with your teen can be daunting, but here’s a few talking points to help you break the ice:

• “Sometimes people try to contact you pretending to be your friend when they’re not. Let’s take a look at your profile settings and see if they’re private”.
• “Did you know some apps and games have age limits and ratings, in the same way movies and TV have ratings? Let’s check them together.”

Safer together

There’s no magic cotton wool that can completely shield young people from the perils of growing up. But, with enough careful attention, you can keep them growing in the right direction, at least until their TikTok career really takes off.

Explore our Family Hub for more great advice and information. Or, if you’re looking for a way to keep connected and bring your family together, explore our Family Plans for generous data and amazing value.