Managing your child's online privacy

While you buy new supplies and clothes for your children before they return to school this year, it's also important to think about their online safety. With technology being used in the classroom more and more, BBB has tips for families to help navigate online safety for children.

Many sites are designed to collect and sell unauthorized user details and behaviors to advertisers seeking targeted marketing. Know what your child is doing online and keep track of the social media sites and accounts to which they have access.

Contests and giveaways often collect a hefty amount of personal information on their entry forms. Ensure your child doesn’t have access to banking or credit card information and supervise the filling out of any forms.

Kids often get junk mail, and since they don't have much online experience, they are more susceptible to clicking links and answering questions they probably shouldn't.

Certain apps might collect and share personal information about your child or target your child with ads. Even free apps may include paid features, and children may not understand some apps or game features cost money since they were labeled free to download.

A child may not realize free file sharing sites often come with the risk of downloading a virus, allowing identity thieves to access the gaming device, personal computer or cellphone being used.

How to manage online privacy

—Know about the Children’s Advertising Review Unit. CARU's self-regulatory program provides detailed guidance to children’s advertisers on how to deal sensitively and honestly with children’s issues. These guidelines go beyond the issues of truthfulness and accuracy to consider the uniquely impressionable and vulnerable child audience.

—Know about COPPA. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act protects the personal information of children under 13 on websites and online services including apps. COPPA requires those sites and services to notify parents and get their approval before they collect, use or disclose a child’s personal information. However, if your 9-year-old tells Instagram they are 13 (the age requirement to use the app), this law won’t protect them.

—Know about FOSI. The Family Online Safety Institute brings an international perspective to online potential risks, harms and rewards. The Good Digital Parenting web portal is an excellent resource for families looking for education on online safety measures in the internet age.

—Read privacy policies together and understand privacy settings. Parents can have their children read the privacy policies and terms of use of any apps they want. Remind them of the importance of knowing what they are signing up for and insist they are read. Then learn and understand the privacy settings on each app and game.

—Don’t share your location. Nearly every app automatically tracks a user’s location. Review the apps on all your devices to see which ones are tracking your location, and if it's not needed, look in the settings to see how to disable this feature.

—Use parental controls if necessary. Although the best way to keep a child’s online privacy safe is to teach them to manage it themselves, it doesn’t hurt to have their backs by using parental controls. Research the option that works best and follow through with the child to explain why you're monitoring their activities.

—Share with care and remember personal information is like money. What is posted online can last a lifetime. Parents can teach children any information they share online can easily be copied and is almost impossible to take back. Talk to them about who might see a post and how it might be perceived and show them how anything they do online can positively or negatively impact other people.

—Teach your kids the language of online privacy. Discover, together, the meaning of the most common terms found in privacy policies and terms of agreement: personal information, cookies, third party, license, user content, location information, log file information and monetization. Do a Google search if you don’t know what they mean.