KIDS’ APPS AND WEBSITES ARE FAILING TO PROTECT THEIR PRIVACY!

Kids’ apps and websites are failing to protect their privacy, according to a ‘privacy sweep’ conducted by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) in May last year.

The privacy sweep involved 29 data protection regulators including those from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. Their research found that out of the 1,494 websites and apps targeted at kids, 67 per cent collected personal information such as their date of birth, IP address, cookies and photos. 50 per cent of apps and websites shared their information with third parties.

The GPEN study found:

• 67 per cent collected children’s personal information
• 31 per cent had effective controls in place to limit the collection of personal information from children
• 50 per cent shared personal information with third parties
• 22 per cent provided an opportunity for children to give their phone number
• 23 per cent allowed users to upload photos or video
• 58 per cent offered children the opportunity to be redirected to a different website
• 24 per cent encouraged parental involvement
• 71 per cent did not offer an accessible means for deleting account information

The GPEN privacy sweep does not reveal which websites and apps it analysed.

David Papp president of MicroTek Corporation speaking to Global News said “These statistics on children’s personal information may provide parents and guardians with a moment of reflection to ask, “Why do organizations want to know this much about my child? What are the potential benefits or harms to my child? How can I have more control over my child’s personal information?”

Kids’ apps and websites are failing to protect their privacy, so it’s important that we do all that we can to keep our children safe online. One new online scam targeting Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn users is ‘farcing’. Most kids (and I dare say many adults too), don’t think about who they connect to on social media sites – the more friends the better! By accepting new friends and connections we don’t know, we give cyber criminals a whole host of information about ourselves, which they could use to steal our identity.

Before downloading an app or before signing up to an online service do you ever read the company policy to see what personal information it requests and in some cases what it will share with third parties? For most of us, I’m sure this isn’t the case – many companies’ Terms of Use are usually long-winded and jam-packed with confusing jargon, so we just give up and assume that the company behind the app or website is not only legitimate but that it won’t share our personal information with anyone else.

Educating ourselves to educate our children is crucial in order to keep kids safe online and to help them to protect their privacy.

Kids’ apps and websites are failing to protect their privacy – but there are ways to help them stay safe online:

• Check your kids’ privacy settings on Facebook and other social media sites
• Use Facebook Privacy Watcher to see what your kids are sharing and with whom
• Advise your kids to only accept friendships from people they know
• Teach them the importance of securing their online accounts with a strong and secure password, and not to share their passwords with anyone other than their parents. Check out my previous article on how to create a strong password
• Install firewalls, anti-virus software, and if you have young children, swap Google search bar for Google SafeSearch which filters out explicit content
• Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network), for your home, and if your children own a mobile device, you can install it on there too. A VPN hides your real internet location and passes all the data you send and receive via an encrypted tunnel, keeping your personal information safe and secure – away from attackers and prying eyes

Check out my previous article which gives parents and guardians more tips on how to keep your children safe online.

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