Parent Tips
August 4th, 2022
It isn’t your kid’s job to influence anyone but you. So think twice before making your kid the star of your social media feeds. This recent CNET piece points out the perils of turning your kid into an influencer. It sacrifices their privacy and it puts them at risk. “Sharents,” parents who regularly share information and images about their kids, need to be aware of those risks. As one expert cited in the piece put it, “When…... Continue reading >
July 28th, 2022
TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge” is the kind of trend you hope your kids steer well clear of. Dangerous and sometimes deadly, it’s the dark flipside to the comparatively innocent viral challenges—remember the ice buckets?—of years before.
Unlike those video memes, often started as
publicity-awareness campaigns, this one has nothing noble in its roots. It
does, however, offer an important reminder: Social media can be as risky as it
is engaging.
TikTok, in case, somehow,…... Continue reading >
July 20th, 2022
To understand the Dark Web, understand this: The Internet can be a weird place. So weird, that it’s got a bizarro version where none of the normal rules apply. You can think of it as a parallel universe or an alternate dimension, but it has a name: The Dark Web. Here’s what you should know about it.
The Dark Web is a shadow version of the Internet, where there are good actors and bad…... Continue reading >
June 19th, 2022
We aren’t the only ones trying to blow the whistle, raise the flag, and holler from the hilltops. NPR and the Washington Post are sounding the alarm, too: App-builders are finding ways to track your kids, even though they know they’re not supposed to. On a recent episode of NPR’s Fresh Air, Washington Post columnist Geoffrey Fowler explained just how tech companies exploit loopholes in privacy laws to gather data on kids.
... Continue reading >
June 22nd, 2022
Do you know about in-app purchases? If your kids are using a phone or tablet and have access to the apps on it, you definitely should. In-app purchases can escape your notice and cost you real money. The good news is, they’re easy to block.
Some apps, in particular gaming apps, allow users to buy things within the app. No need to log into a separate store—one you’ve vetted, say. The user just…... Continue reading >
June 1st, 2022
It is with sadness in our hearts that we felt compelled to address the topic of violence in schools. Hasn’t this gone on for too long? Can’t we end this violent cycle of tragedy? We must not continue to let our children be attacked in what should be the safest space outside of their own home. At Privacy Parent, we may not be able to influence our leaders and lawmakers (yet), but we can use our expertise…... Continue reading >
March 22nd, 2022
Children are spending a lot of time in front of a digital screen these days. On average: seven hours a day among kids age 8 to 18—and that’s before schools closed and we were all ordered home. Screen time recommendations vary among health advocates, but no one suggests staring at a screen for nearly a full workday is good for anyone, let alone 9-year-olds. For the CDC’s take, click here.
What do…... Continue reading >
March 2nd, 2022
We’re going to lose it with the EARN IT Act. Let us explain.
The Senate is currently considering the Eliminating Abuse
and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT), a bill presented
as essential to the protection of children from online sexual predators and
abuse. Needless to say, we can all agree that children deserve that kind of
protection.
The thing is, existing federal, state and local laws already provide that protection. Still, what’s…... Continue reading >
February 24th, 2022
A little relief from cross-app tracking? Maybe. It’s not all tech-doom and gloom here on Privacy Parent.
As noted by PC Magazine, Google has just announced it will no longer allow cross-app tracking on Android phones, which make up 71 percent of smartphones. In the ongoing effort to keep at least some of your personal digital information to yourself and out of advertisers’ hands, that’s good news. Google is hardly faultless, but this…... Continue reading >
November 11th, 2021
Never forget a face, sure, but what about hundreds of millions of faces? Meta, the newly rechristened parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, recently announced plans to deactivate its facial recognition software.
That’s good news for anyone with an interest in preserving their privacy, but Meta was hardly the only tech giant turning our faces into data points to be stored, bought and sold. The Great Digital Experiment continues to unfold.
... Continue reading >