ShareYourGroupShareYourGroupOnline Privacy

Keeping children safe online: a parent's guide

Controls on the device help, but the strongest protection is a child who will come and tell you when something feels wrong.

Start with talk, not tools

No filter is perfect, and children meet the internet on friends' phones as well. What protects them everywhere is knowing three things:

  1. You can tell me anything, and you will not lose your phone for telling. Children hide problems because they fear punishment more than the problem.
  2. People online are not always who they say they are.
  3. Nothing online is ever fully private or fully deleted.

Say these often, in ordinary moments, not as a lecture after a scare.

Device controls

Android: Google Family Link. Create a Google account for the child under your supervision (Settings › Google › Parental controls, or the Family Link app). You can approve or block app installs, set daily screen time and a bedtime lock, see how long each app is used, filter Chrome, Search and YouTube, and see the device's location.

iPhone and iPad: Screen Time. On the child's device or through Family Sharing: Settings › Screen Time. Set Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits (who the child can call and message), and Content & Privacy Restrictions to block explicit content, restrict purchases and lock privacy settings. Communication Safety warns a child before viewing or sending pictures containing nudity. Protect the settings with a Screen Time passcode the child does not know.

Purchases. Require your approval or a password for every purchase and in-app purchase, on the Play Store (Settings › Authentication) and under Ask to Buy on Apple devices. Do not leave your card saved on a child's device or game account.

App settings worth changing

Family rules that work

AgeSensible rules
Under 8Shared device, in a common room, with an adult near. Only apps you chose. No chat with strangers
8 to 12Own profile with parental controls. Screen time agreed in advance. You know the passwords. No social media accounts. Devices leave the bedroom at night
13 to 15Private accounts only. You follow or are friends with them. Location sharing off. Talk through what they see; spot checks agreed openly, not secret spying
16 and overMove from control to trust: discuss privacy settings, scams, pressure and reputation as you would with an adult

Rules for everyone, parents included: no phones at meals, chargers outside bedrooms, ask before posting a photo of someone else.

Teach these specifically

Warning signs

A child who suddenly hides the screen, becomes withdrawn or upset after being online, has new gifts or money, uses the device in secret at night, or has accounts you did not know about. Ask gently; do not begin by taking the phone.

If something has gone wrong

  1. Stay calm, thank the child for telling you, and do not blame.
  2. Save the evidence: screenshots, usernames, links. Do not delete the chat and do not confront the other person.
  3. Block and report the account on the platform.
  4. Report the crime on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, cybercrime.gov.in, which has a section for cyber crime related to women and children, or at a police station. If money was taken, dial 1930. Sexual content involving a child is a grave offence; report it and do not forward it to anyone, even as proof.
  5. Tell the school if other pupils are involved.
  6. Look after the child: reassurance first, and a counsellor's help if the distress lasts.
At what age should a child get a smartphone?

There is no single right age. Many families wait until the early teens and start with a basic phone or a supervised device. Readiness to follow agreed rules matters more than age.

Should I read my child's messages?

For young children, open supervision is reasonable and should be known to the child. For teenagers, secret monitoring damages the trust that makes them come to you; agree on what you will check and why.