Protecting your child’s privacy online starts with sharing less, locking down accounts, limiting app access, and teaching them when information should stay private.
Children’s Privacy Starts Before Anything Goes Wrong
Children can build a significant digital footprint long before they understand what one is.
Photos shared by parents, school platforms, gaming accounts, messaging apps, smartwatches, connected toys, sports clubs, competitions, streaming services, AI tools, and social media can all collect or expose information about a child.
That information is not limited to names and addresses. It can include photographs, school details, location history, device identifiers, browsing behavior, interests, contacts, biometric information, and patterns of activity.
The biggest privacy risk is often not one piece of information. It is what happens when separate details are combined.
A birthday post, school uniform, sports-club photo, public family profile, and location-tagged image might each appear harmless. Together, they can reveal a child’s full identity, age, school, family relationships, routine, and regular locations.
Protecting your child’s personal information online therefore comes down to five habits: minimize what is shared, secure accounts and devices, limit unnecessary data collection, review what is already public, and teach children to make their own privacy decisions.
Start With These Six Privacy Changes
If you want to improve your child’s online privacy quickly, start here:
- Make their accounts private wherever the service allows it.
- Turn off unnecessary location sharing and review which apps can access precise location.
- Share less identifying information publicly, especially birthdays, schools, routines, travel plans, and documents.
- Give apps only the permissions and information they genuinely need.
- Use unique passwords or passkeys and enable two-factor authentication.
- Delete unused accounts, not just unused apps.
These changes will not eliminate every privacy risk, but they reduce the amount of information available to strangers, scammers, advertisers, data brokers, and other organizations.
What Personal Information Should You Protect?
A useful rule is to treat information as sensitive when it can identify, locate, contact, authenticate, profile, or impersonate your child.
That can include:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Personal email address
- Phone number
- School or childcare center
- School uniform, badge, or identifying logo
- Sports teams and clubs
- Regular schedules and routines
- Real-time or historical location
- Photos, videos, and voice recordings
- Usernames and gaming identities
- Passwords and authentication details
- Government identification numbers
- Health and medical information
- Biometric information
- Device and advertising identifiers
- Browsing, viewing, gaming, and purchasing activity
Personal information can also include persistent identifiers that allow a service to recognize a user or device over time. U.S. children’s privacy rules, for example, recognize information such as persistent identifiers, photographs, audio files, and precise geolocation as forms of personal information in covered circumstances.
Think About Combinations, Not Just Individual Details
A child’s first name alone may reveal very little.
Combine it with a last name, exact birthday, school, suburb, sports team, parent’s public profile, and photographs, and a stranger may be able to build a much more detailed picture.
This is why simply teaching children not to reveal their home address is no longer enough. Privacy protection needs to consider the information that can be assembled from multiple accounts, photographs, organizations, devices, and family members.
Control What You Share About Your Child
Parents and other relatives often create the earliest parts of a child’s digital footprint.
Birthday posts can reveal dates of birth. First-day-of-school photos can expose school names, grades, uniforms, ages, teachers, and locations. Sports photos may reveal clubs and predictable weekend routines.
Vacation posts can reveal a family’s current location — or indicate that the family home is empty.
Before publicly sharing something about your child, check whether it reveals:
- Their full name
- Exact birthday
- Home address or street
- School or childcare center
- School uniform or badge
- Regular activities or schedule
- Sports club or team
- Medical information
- Travel plans
- Real-time location
- Certificates, tickets, forms, or identification numbers
Consider whether the post actually needs to be public. Direct family messaging, a restricted shared album, or another controlled sharing method can reduce public exposure, although any digital service may still process information and recipients may still save or redistribute what they receive.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner advises parents to think carefully about children’s privacy when sharing images and to help children develop control over their own online identity.
Ask Your Child Before Posting About Them
As children become old enough to understand, involve them in decisions about their photographs, achievements, stories, and personal experiences.
Explain:
- What you want to share
- Where it will appear
- Who may be able to see it
- Whether it could be copied or shared again
This does more than protect privacy. It teaches children that another person’s information should not be published automatically just because you have access to it.
The same lesson applies when children want to post photographs or private information about friends.
Check Photos for Location Clues and AI Risks
A photograph can reveal information that nobody intended to publish.
Before sharing an image, look at the background for:
- House numbers
- Street signs
- School entrances
- Uniforms and logos
- Vehicle license plates
- Name badges
- Sports venues
- Event tickets
- Mail or paperwork
- Computer screens
- Medical documents
Digital photographs can also contain metadata, including information about when or where an image was created. Do not assume every platform or sharing method will remove sensitive metadata automatically.
Location clues now matter for another reason: easily accessible AI tools can alter real photographs and create convincing fabricated images or videos. In July 2026, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner specifically warned that school photographs can be altered or sexualized using AI and that recognizable school identifiers can make fabricated material appear more convincing.
That does not mean parents should never share a photograph. It means identifying details deserve more attention than they once did.
Make Children’s Accounts Private by Default
Do not assume an app’s default settings are the settings you would choose for your child.
When setting up an account, review its privacy and security controls before the child starts using it.
Where available:
- Make the profile private.
- Restrict messages from unknown users.
- Limit friend or follower requests.
- Turn off public location sharing.
- Restrict who can see posts and photos.
- Hide friends or contacts lists.
- Disable discovery by phone number or email when unnecessary.
- Turn off unnecessary contact syncing.
- Reduce advertising personalization.
- Limit behavioral tracking and profiling.
- Disable unnecessary recommendations based on contacts or location.
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office expects services covered by its Children’s Code to provide strong privacy defaults, including protections around profiling and geolocation. Its guidance says geolocation should generally be off by default unless there is a compelling reason otherwise.
A large international privacy review also shows why parents should not simply trust defaults. The 2025 Global Privacy Enforcement Network sweep, reported in 2026, examined 876 websites and apps. Among the services assessed, only 56% had collected personal information set to private by default, while 46% required geolocation for full functionality.
Use Your Child’s Real Age When It Activates Safety Protections
Do not give a false adult age simply to bypass a platform’s minimum-age rules.
Some services use age information to determine which privacy settings, content restrictions, messaging controls, advertising rules, and parental features apply.
Providing an inaccurate age can prevent those protections from activating.
Minimum ages and legal requirements differ between countries and services, so check the rules for the platform your child is using.
Give Apps and Websites Less Information
One of the most effective privacy principles is also one of the simplest:
If a service does not need the information, do not provide it.
If an account requires an email address but makes a phone number, full birthday, gender, home address, and interests optional, consider leaving the optional fields blank.
More information creates more data that can potentially be stored, profiled, shared, exposed in a breach, or linked with information from elsewhere.
The same principle applies to personalization. A child does not necessarily need to complete every profile field simply because an app offers one.
Review App Permissions Regularly
Phones and tablets can give applications access to information that never appears on a public profile.
Check which apps can access:
- Precise location
- Contacts
- Camera
- Microphone
- Photos and videos
- Bluetooth
- Local network
- Calendar
- Health information
Ask whether each permission is necessary for the feature your child actually uses.
Where the operating system provides the option, consider settings such as While Using the App, Selected Photos, or approximate rather than precise location.
Also review permissions again after major app updates.
Deleting an app from a device does not necessarily delete the account or the information the company already holds. If the service is no longer needed, check whether the account itself can be deleted.
Turn Off Location Sharing Unless There Is a Good Reason for It
Location information deserves special attention because patterns can be more revealing than individual location points.
Repeated location data may expose:
- Home
- School
- Daily travel routes
- Sports training
- Favorite locations
- Friends’ homes
- Regular schedules
Review location settings in social media, messaging apps, games, photo apps, smartwatches, fitness services, school platforms, family-tracking apps, and connected toys.
If location is needed for a specific feature, consider whether it needs to be precise and whether it needs to remain active all the time.
Continuous tracking should be a deliberate choice, not something left on because it was enabled during setup.
Secure Your Child’s Accounts
Privacy and account security are closely connected.
A private account provides little protection if someone can simply log into it.
Use Unique Passwords, Passkeys, and Two-Factor Authentication
Important accounts should not share passwords.
If one service is breached and the same password is used elsewhere, attackers may try those credentials on other accounts.
Use a password manager where practical, or use passkeys where supported.
For passwords that must be created manually, avoid predictable information that may already be visible online, such as:
- Birthdays
- Pet names
- School names
- Sports teams
- Family surnames
- Favorite characters combined with a birth year
The U.K. National Cyber Security Centre recommends strong, separate passwords and two-step verification. Two-step verification can protect an account even when its password has been compromised.
Children should also learn that passwords and login codes are not something to share with friends, classmates, gaming contacts, or anyone claiming to be platform support.
Consider a Separate Email Address for Online Accounts
A dedicated email address can help separate a child’s gaming, app, and online-service accounts from the family’s primary email accounts.
Avoid unnecessarily placing a child’s full name and birth year in the address.
This will not make the child anonymous, but it can reduce obvious links between their identity and multiple online accounts.
Treat Smart Toys and Connected Devices Like Computers
Children’s information does not stay on phones and laptops.
Smartwatches, baby monitors, cameras, voice assistants, gaming consoles, connected toys, tablets, and other internet-enabled devices may process account information, audio, video, location, or usage data.
Before connecting a new device:
- Change default passwords.
- Install available software and firmware updates.
- Enable automatic updates where appropriate.
- Disable unused cameras or microphones.
- Review cloud-storage features.
- Check what information the manufacturer collects.
- Review who can access recordings.
- Remove accounts and personal data before selling, donating, or discarding the device.
The device may look like a toy, but if it connects to the internet and handles personal information, treat it like any other connected computer.
Review What Schools, Clubs, and Activities Collect
Children’s personal information is also held by organizations outside the home.
Schools, childcare providers, tutoring services, medical providers, photographers, camps, sporting organizations, and extracurricular programs may use third-party platforms to manage records, communication, photographs, attendance, or payments.
You do not need to object to every request for information. You should understand why sensitive information is being collected.
Useful questions include:
- Is this information required?
- Why is it needed?
- Who can access it?
- Is another company receiving it?
- How long will it be kept?
- Will photographs be published publicly?
- Can parents decline promotional photography?
- Can an unused account be deleted?
- What happens if the provider suffers a data breach?
Pay particular attention to government identifiers, health information, identity documents, financial details, biometric information, and broad permission to publish a child’s photograph indefinitely.
Teach Children What Should Stay Private
Parental settings are useful, but they will not protect children forever.
The longer-term goal is to teach children how to decide whether information should be shared.
Usually Private
Examples include:
- Home address
- Passwords and authentication codes
- Exact location
- Phone number
- School timetable
- Identification documents
- Family financial details
- Sensitive medical information
- Private photographs
Sometimes Necessary
Some information may need to be supplied in the right context.
A school may legitimately need a child’s legal name. A trusted organization may need emergency contact information. An address may be required when a parent orders something for delivery.
The important question is not simply, “Is this personal?”
It is:
“Who is asking, why do they need it, and what will happen to it?”
Often Fine to Discuss in General
Children can usually talk about hobbies, books, games, sports, music, and general interests without revealing sensitive details.
Even then, context matters. Several harmless details can become identifying when combined.
Explain Why Quizzes and Friendly Messages Can Collect Information
Information gathering does not always look suspicious.
A child may know not to send someone their address but happily answer questions about:
- Their first pet
- Birthday
- Mother’s maiden name
- First school
- Hometown
- Favorite teacher
- First concert
- Family members
Some of these details resemble information historically used for account-recovery or identity-verification questions.
Teach children a simple habit:
Why does this person, game, quiz, app, or website need to know this?
If there is no good reason, they do not need to answer.
Children should also understand that knowing information about them does not make another person trustworthy. Someone who already knows their school, friends, hobby, or username may simply have found those details online.
Teach Children to Be Careful With AI Chatbots
Generative AI creates a newer privacy challenge because a chatbot can feel like a private conversation.
Children may type in:
- Full names
- School assignments containing identifying information
- Health concerns
- Family problems
- Private messages
- Photographs
- School documents
- Information about friends
Different AI services handle submitted data differently.
A simple family rule is useful: do not put information into an AI service that you would be uncomfortable giving to an unfamiliar online company.
Children should avoid uploading sensitive personal information, private photographs, health records, passwords, identification documents, or confidential information about other people unless a trusted adult has assessed the service and there is a legitimate reason to provide it.
Search for Your Child’s Existing Digital Footprint
Privacy protection is easier when you know what is already visible.
Periodically search for information such as:
- Your child’s full name
- Common usernames
- Public social profiles
- School and name
- Sports club and name
- Publicly posted photographs
If you find unnecessary exposure, consider removing old posts, tightening account settings, deleting abandoned accounts, or asking the website or account holder to remove the information.
Reverse-image searching may sometimes help locate copies of publicly shared photographs, but remember that using an image-search service can involve uploading the photograph to another provider. Use that option selectively and review the service’s privacy practices first.
Check People-Search Sites and Data Brokers
Public information can also be combined by people-search services and other data brokers.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission explains that people-search sites may compile information from public records, public social profiles, and other data brokers. A report about an adult can also expose information about family members. Many of these services provide opt-out procedures, although removing information from one site does not remove the underlying public records or guarantee that the information will not appear elsewhere.
Where these services operate in your country, consider checking whether unnecessary family information is publicly searchable and whether removal or opt-out options are available.
Watch for Child Identity Theft
Children’s identities can be attractive for fraud because misuse may remain unnoticed until the child is older.
Warning signs can include:
- Bills or debt notices for accounts you never opened
- Government correspondence about unfamiliar activity
- Tax or employment records that make no sense
- Unexpected account notifications
- Credit problems appearing when the child becomes old enough to apply for financial products
In the United States, the FTC says parents of children under 16 can request a free credit freeze to make it harder for someone to open new credit accounts in the child’s name. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds can request freezes themselves. The FTC also recommends checking whether a child unexpectedly has a credit report when identity theft is suspected.
Other countries use different credit-reporting and identity-protection systems, so parents should contact the appropriate national fraud, privacy, government-identity, or credit-reporting authorities when misuse is suspected.
Know What Children’s Privacy Laws Do — and Do Not — Protect
Children receive additional privacy protection in many countries, but the rules are not identical.
United States: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and COPPA Rule apply to certain websites and online services directed to children under 13, and to certain other services with actual knowledge that they collect personal information from children under 13. Changes finalized by the FTC in 2025 strengthened protections involving disclosures to third parties, targeted advertising, retention, security, biometrics, and government identifiers.
United Kingdom: The Children’s Code applies data-protection standards to online services likely to be accessed by children. It emphasizes the child’s best interests, high privacy defaults, data minimization, controls on profiling, and protections around geolocation.
Australia: Children’s personal information is covered within Australia’s broader privacy framework. A dedicated Children’s Online Privacy Code is also being developed and, as of August 2026, is due to be finalized and registered by December 10, 2026.
Canada: Canadian privacy law provides protections for personal information, while the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is developing additional guidance through a Children’s Privacy Code following consultation with young people and other stakeholders.
European Union: The GDPR gives children specific protections over personal data. When consent is the legal basis for certain online processing, the age at which a child can provide that consent without parental authorization varies between 13 and 16 across EU member states.
Privacy law matters, but it is not a substitute for good family privacy habits.
A law can restrict what an organization is allowed to collect or do. It cannot prevent a family member from publicly posting an identifying photograph, stop a child from voluntarily disclosing a password, or guarantee that information will never be stolen in a breach.
What to Do If Your Child’s Information Is Already Exposed
Finding personal information online does not mean you are powerless.
Start with the information that creates the greatest risk.
- Remove the original content where possible.
- Change any exposed or reused passwords.
- Enable two-factor authentication or passkeys.
- Tighten privacy and messaging settings.
- Remove unnecessary location and profile information.
- Delete abandoned accounts.
- Report impersonation or unauthorized accounts to the platform.
- Contact the organization directly if it exposed private records.
- Watch for phishing, unexpected password resets, scams, or account activity.
- Use appropriate identity-theft protections when government, financial, or identity information has been compromised.
If identity theft has occurred, follow the recovery procedures for your country. In the U.S., the FTC provides specific steps for closing fraudulent accounts, correcting credit files, freezing a child’s credit, and reporting identity theft.
Removing the original material is still worthwhile, but it cannot guarantee that every copy has disappeared. That is why limiting unnecessary exposure before a problem occurs remains so important.
A Practical Family Privacy Checklist
Use this checklist when your child starts using a new device, game, app, website, social platform, or connected service:
- Check the service’s minimum age.
- Review what personal information it collects.
- Provide only information that is genuinely required.
- Use the child’s correct age where it activates age-appropriate protections.
- Make the account private where possible.
- Restrict messages and contact from strangers.
- Disable unnecessary location sharing.
- Review camera, microphone, contacts, photo, and location permissions.
- Use a unique password or passkey.
- Enable two-factor authentication where available.
- Review advertising, tracking, and profiling controls.
- Check whether the profile can appear in public searches.
- Discuss what information should never be shared.
- Review privacy settings after major service updates.
- Delete accounts the child no longer uses.
- Periodically check what information about the child is publicly visible.
Make Privacy a Family Habit
Protecting your child’s personal information online does not require keeping them away from technology.
It requires reducing unnecessary exposure and helping them understand that personal information has value.
Start with the biggest changes: share less publicly, lock down accounts, disable unnecessary location tracking, reduce app permissions, use strong authentication, and delete services that are no longer needed.
Then make privacy part of ordinary family conversations.
Children will eventually control their own devices, accounts, photographs, friendships, and digital identities. Permanent parental supervision is neither realistic nor the goal.
The stronger protection is teaching them to recognize when someone wants their information, understand why it matters, and confidently decide when it should stay private.