Privacy Tips for Parents

Privacy Tips for Parents

Parents manage not only their own privacy but also their children's — and the information shared about the whole family. From protecting kids online to being thoughtful about what you share about them, parents have a unique role in safeguarding family privacy. This guide offers practical privacy tips for parents, covering both protecting your children and managing family privacy, in plain terms.

Protect Your Children Online

Safeguarding kids online combines tools and communication:

• Prioritize open communication: the foundation of children's online safety is open, ongoing communication — a trusted adult they can come to if anything online worries them, without fear. This matters more than restrictions alone.
• Use parental controls and privacy settings appropriately: use parental controls for content, screen time, and activity, and set children's accounts and devices to private, age-appropriately.
• Teach online safety: teach children to protect their personal information, be cautious with strangers, think before sharing, and tell a trusted adult about anything uncomfortable. (See guidance on protecting kids online and teaching kids about online safety.)
• Supervise age-appropriately: provide more supervision for younger children, easing as they mature.

Be Thoughtful About Sharing About Your Children

What you share about your kids affects their privacy:

• Consider "sharenting": be mindful of how much you share about your children online (sometimes called "sharenting"). What you post about them contributes to their digital footprint, which they did not choose and which can persist.
• Protect their identifying information: be cautious about sharing identifying information about your children (full names, schools, locations, routines) publicly.
• Be careful with photos: be thoughtful about posting photos of your children publicly, and be aware of location metadata in photos that could reveal where you live or where they go.
• Respect their future privacy: consider that your children may prefer, as they grow, that certain information and photos not have been shared. Sharing thoughtfully respects their future privacy.
• Adjust your sharing audience: consider sharing about your children with a limited, private audience (close family and friends) rather than publicly.

Protect Your Family's Information

Safeguard the whole family's privacy:

• Secure family accounts and devices: use strong passwords and 2FA on family accounts, keep devices updated and secured, and protect accounts that hold family information.
• Be mindful of family information online: be cautious about how much identifying family information (home address, routines, children's details) is publicly available, since it can be misused.
• Protect your home address and routines: be careful about publicly revealing your home address and family routines, which can pose privacy and safety considerations.
• Manage family devices and accounts thoughtfully: set up family devices with appropriate protections, and manage shared accounts and access.

Be Aware of Family-Targeted Risks

Some risks specifically affect families:

• Children's identity protection: children's identities can be targeted for identity theft (their clean records are attractive to thieves). Protect their identifying information, and be cautious about where it is shared.
• Scams targeting families and parents: be aware of scams (including the family-emergency scam targeting grandparents, and scams exploiting parents). Verify unusual requests.
• Be mindful of what schools and apps collect: be aware of what information children's schools, apps, and services collect, and review privacy where you can.

Model Good Privacy Habits

Your habits teach your children:

• Model good behavior: children learn from you, so modeling good privacy and security habits (strong passwords, thoughtful sharing, caution online) teaches them.
• Make privacy a family value: discussing and practicing privacy as a family helps everyone, and prepares children to manage their own privacy as they grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important thing parents can do for their children's online safety?

Open, ongoing communication is the most important — a trusted adult that children can come to if anything online makes them uncomfortable or worried, without fear of punishment, is the single most protective factor, more so than restrictions alone. Support this with parental controls and privacy settings used age-appropriately, teaching children to protect their personal information, be cautious with strangers, think before sharing, and tell a trusted adult about anything uncomfortable, and supervising in an age-appropriate way. The combination of open communication, appropriate tools, and teaching protects children while helping them learn to navigate the online world.

Should I post photos and information about my children online?

Be thoughtful about it (sometimes called "sharenting"). What you post about your children contributes to their digital footprint, which they did not choose and which can persist — and they may prefer, as they grow, that certain information and photos not have been shared. Be cautious about sharing identifying information (full names, schools, locations, routines), be careful with photos (and aware of location metadata that could reveal where you live), and consider sharing with a limited, private audience of close family and friends rather than publicly. Sharing thoughtfully respects your children's privacy and their future.

How do I protect my children from identity theft?

Children's identities can be targeted for identity theft because their clean records are attractive to thieves, so protect their identifying information carefully. Be cautious about where children's identifying information (full names, ID numbers, dates of birth) is shared, do not share it publicly, and be mindful of what schools, apps, and services collect (reviewing privacy where you can). Securing family accounts and being thoughtful about what family information is publicly available also helps. Protecting your children's identifying information and limiting where it is exposed reduces the risk of their identities being misused for identity theft.

Conclusion

Parents manage not only their own privacy but also their children's and the information shared about the whole family, giving them a unique role in safeguarding family privacy. Protect your children online by prioritizing open communication (the foundation — a trusted adult they can come to without fear), using parental controls and privacy settings age-appropriately, teaching online safety, and supervising appropriately. Be thoughtful about sharing about your children ("sharenting") — being mindful that what you post contributes to their digital footprint, protecting their identifying information, being careful with photos and location metadata, respecting their future privacy, and considering a limited audience. Protect your family's information by securing family accounts and devices, being mindful of publicly available family information, and protecting your home address and routines. Be aware of family-targeted risks like children's identity theft (protecting their identifying information) and scams targeting families. Finally, model good privacy habits, since children learn from you, and make privacy a family value. By following these tips, parents can protect their children and their family's privacy while helping their children develop the habits to manage their own privacy as they grow.