Do you know what your child is sharing online?

According to the Responsible Digital Parenting survey, 43 percent of South African children have social media accounts – and their parents are unsure which information is public in their child’s social media account. The most popular networks are:

• WhatsApp (88%)
• Facebook (65%)
• Instagram (55%)
• Snap Chat (23%)

Many parents sign up to social media platforms, and befriend their children – and even chat with their children. However, some dangerous tendencies can be observed: 43% of parents are not sure which information is public in their child’s social media account. It is extremely important to teach children the right approach to store their personal information and to make sure they understand which information is private.

Parents do not know that children can post very personal information including their:

• Hobbies (60%),
• Age (57%),
• Names of relatives (48%),
• Home or mobile phone number (34%)
• Photos of identity documents (10%).

“Parents have to be aware of the information their children grant access to while online. This data could possibly harm their child and themselves, and help cybercriminals to implement identity theft. It is extremely important to teach children the right approach to store their personal information and to make sure they understand which information is private,” states Andrey Sidenko, Head of Child Safety at Kaspersky Network.

To safeguard your child and their personal information online, Kaspersky strongly recommends following these steps:

1. Communicate with your child and establish a necessary bond: assure them you are always ready to answer their questions, teach them the basics of Internet ethics and the difference between private and public information.
2. Befriend your child on social media and possibly check the information they share from time to time, however, try not to intrude into the child’s private life.
3. Install a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Safe Kids to look after your child’s digital life successfully and in a more productive way.