Introduction

Keeping our children safe at all times is not only a desire but a need for parents. With the expanding presence of social media, keeping our children safe and their privacy intact on online platforms is an essential part of taking care of their overall well-being. 

While sharing happy moments on social media can be fun, it’s essential to differentiate between shareable and non-shareable content early on. If you’re a parent looking for ways to safeguard your child’s privacy on social media, here’s a quick guide for you to make informed decisions.

Common concerns around children’s privacy on social media

While online privacy of children is a big concern in the era of social media, these few concerns remain on the top of the list for parents wanting to keep their children away from harmful impacts of social media:

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is extremely common in today’s digital age. People hiding behind a faceless screen may try to poke fun at your kid or instigate them into sharing their personal information. Teaching your child to block and report such social media ids instead of engaging with them can help them protect their privacy and mental peace.

Inappropriate content

There are many social media handles on the internet that showcase inappropriate content and try to steal personal information from children who may be unaware of such content and may accidentally click on them out of curiosity. Blocking of such content on all home devices is a good way to protect your child from viewing inappropriate content and protecting their privacy.

Hacking

Hackers and other cyber criminals often assume fake identities or try to lure kids into sharing their private information through phishing and ransomware on social media. They may steal your child’s account information and passwords to gain access to their personal information and then use them for blackmailing.

Identity theft

Identity theft is a big concern in social media as more fake accounts pop up and try to use your child’s pictures and information to create fake accounts with their name. To avoid cases of identity theft, you must use two factor authentication to keep all your accounts secure, and only add or friend people on social media who you know personally. Keeping your account private is an integral part of avoiding identity theft on social media. 

Stranger Danger

Strangers on the internet can be dangerous for your children. Chat rooms or games on social media can make it easy for predators to connect with children in the disguise of being their online friend and gain their personal information or even groom them. Being vigilant of your child’s online activities is important to avoid such situations.

5 ways to safeguard your child’s privacy on social media

The concerns around social media can sound alarming, but it’s easy to mitigate them by following certain smart steps. Here are five ways you can safeguard your child’s privacy on social media:

Lead by example

The best way to teach your children about social media is to show them how to use it responsibly. You could browse social media together, learn which kind of social media is appropriate for your children and help them discover its uses, use an all-encompassing security and privacy pack to keep your data and social media accounts safe, and encourage your kids to manage their screen time by setting rules around social media and following them yourself too.

Communicate expectations early on

Teaching your children what is acceptable and what is unacceptable to share on social media from a young age is one of the most important ways to help them practice cyber hygiene and safe social media habits as they grow up.

For instance, you could give them a list of all that’s perfectly fine to be shared on social media such as their happy vacation photos, quotes, and even their achievements. 

However, any kind of personal information such as phone numbers and social security numbers, financial and health related information, any offensive comments, or pictures of other people without their consent must be kept private and never be shared with strangers for access. 

Use a parental control tool

A parental control software is a powerful tool to manage your child’s online activities on social media, especially if you have young children or teenagers at home. A parental control offers you, as a parent, more access to your child’s activity, helps you keep track of their online privacy, and navigate aspects of managing your child’s screen time, blocking of inappropriate content, and their digital well-being.

Invest in a VPN 

A virtual private network or VPN is a service that masks your IP address from the preying eyes of cyber criminals and keeps your children’s privacy protected as they surf the web or scroll on social media. None of their personal information can be seen by third parties as it gains end-to-end encryption, making it a useful tool for safeguarding your child’s privacy on social media.

Find a strong password manager

A trustworthy password management system is one of the smartest ways to protect your child’s privacy on social media. Not only does it offer protection against password breach of all kinds, but also informs the user in case of any failed login attempts, changes and saves password information for easier login, and adds an extra layer of security and safety to your child’s private information in their social media accounts.

Final thoughts

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, especially our children growing up in the digital age. However it also poses a threat to their online privacy and can often be misused by cybercriminals for personal gains. By adopting smart technology and techniques as parents, we can safeguard our children’s privacy and safety on social media. 

Of course, there are a hundred different ways to go about it and you may need to change your approach based on the age of your child, and their relationship with social media. This guide offers a basic understanding of how you can safeguard your child’s privacy and stay vigilant.