When you have a family, it becomes more important for you to protect the online privacy of your family members aside from protecting your own privacy. If you are a parent with kids that are still under your care and supervision, you need to be more vigilant in controlling their online activity because it can potentially put them at risk. There are various types of online threats that are lurking on the internet targeting vulnerable people. So, be aware that your family’s online privacy needs to be your first priority in keeping them safe online.
Since many parents will allow their children to get access to various online-connected gadgets, it is only natural that the children will try to interact and communicate with other people using these gadgets. They will also want to take a peek at various social media platforms and be a part of the online community. The bad thing about this is that children often don’t realize that what they are doing online might not be safe for them. This is why you have a bigger responsibility as a parent to keep them safe in whatever online activity that they become a part to. Here are 5 ways to make sure that your family’s online privacy is safe:
1. Always Encrypt Your Home Wi-Fi Network
Because your kids will likely use the internet at home, you have to ensure that your home Wi-Fi network is always encrypted. You need to put a strong password for your Wi-Fi network and change the password periodically to prevent any intruders from hacking your network. Always remind your children that they should only use the home Wi-Fi network in order to make it possible for you to monitor their online activity. Install a monitoring system for your network to see which devices are connected to the internet and for how long.
2. Monitor Your Family’s Device Usage Constantly
If you are distributing various types of gadgets among your family members, it is better for you to monitor the family’s device usage constantly. By installing a device monitoring tool on each gadget, you can monitor what your kids are doing with their devices. When they are downloading a dangerous app or potentially risky software, you can remove them from their devices remotely or simply turn off the internet connection for a period. Communicate with your family members whenever they are trying to use a bad app or software on their device.
3. Limit The Way Your Kids Interact With The Online World
You need to be a responsible parent and not allow your kids to interact freely with the online world until they reach the permitted age. For instance, you shouldn’t let your kids to use Facebook and other social media platforms until they are at least 13 years of age, and even then, you have to monitor their online activity constantly until they become adults. The online world can be a dangerous place for your family members because they can meet with various types of people whether good or bad. Always let your children know why they shouldn’t use the social media yet, and why they should limit their interactions online.
4. Educate Your Children About The Importance Of Online Privacy
Most children don’t understand about online privacy and they don’t even care about it. This can be understood because their minds are still developing and they still need to learn a lot of things in life. However, you need to keep educating your children about online privacy since the early age because it is important for them when they become adults later. Internet has become a part of everyday life, thus, if you are not informing your kids about protecting their identity online, they might be carelessly using the internet and sharing their personal information freely.
5. Prevent Your Kids From Using Non-encrypted Public Wi-Fi Networks
Aside from the home Wi-Fi network, your kids might also try to connect to the internet using other means. For instance, they might need to connect to the internet at school, at the library, or at the internet café. They will also try to connect to the internet when they hang out with their friends on public places such as parks, train stations, bus stops, and so on. What you need to do is to remind the kids to avoid any non-encrypted Wi-Fi network connection on public places. Instead of using these non-encrypted networks, you need to ask your kids to use the default carrier’s mobile network instead. That would be a lot safer than using the public networks that are available in various places.
Those are the ways to make sure that your family’s online privacy is safe. The online safety of your family members is your responsibility as a parent. However, it is also important for you to keep reminding your children and educating them about various online threats and the importance of keeping their online privacy protected all the time.