Facebook is a social media site which lets you connect with others and share things like comments, photos and videos through your own profile page. You can add friends, write on people’s pages and posts, join groups and play games. You can also live broadcast a video to your Facebook contacts.
Official age rating
Explore Facebook's privacy settings with your child. Use the ‘Friends only’ option, so only people they know can see what they're posting.
Sitting down with your child and exploring their favourite app or game is a great way for you to learn more about what they like to do online.
You can ask them why they like to use an app or play certain games, as well as who they’re talking to and what sorts of things they’re sharing.
You can also read our Net Aware reviews for tips on how to keep kids safe on popular apps, sites and games.
Help your child think about what they share online and who sees it. Compare it to what they would be happy to share offline.
Use examples that are easy for them to understand: “You shouldn't give your number to somebody you don't know on the street. Is somebody online you don't know any different?”
Listen to their answers. And be positive and encouraging.
Remind them that they shouldn’t share private things, such as:
It’s important to check the privacy settings on your child’s Facebook account to make sure what they’re posting and sharing is kept private or only with friends.
We recommend they only sharing things with friends and always keeping their location private.
You can visit Facebook for specific information on privacy settings and tools, including a Privacy Check Up which walks you through all the different ways you can make an account more private.
If an account is set to ‘friends only’ it means only your Facebook friends can see what you post.
Your child’s friends will most likely be made up of friends, family and people they know from other offline activities. But sometimes kids might accept friend requests from friends of friends or other people they don’t know.
Set some rules with your child about who can be friends with them on Facebook and show them how to decline follow requests from people they don’t know. You could also show them how to remove friends if they’ve already accepted a friend request.
Your child might see or receive upsetting or negative things from other users on Facebook and Messenger. If this happens, they might want to report or block them.
Facebook has specific guidance on reporting, as well as how to unfriend or block someone.
On Messenger you can find information on how to report conversations and how to block someone.
And remember to let your child know that they can always talk to you about worrying things they see online.
Facebook has a dedicated portal for parents with tips and advice on using the social network.
Take the time to explore this area and think about which safety features are right for your child. And make sure you revisit this information regularly to see if anything has changed.
Explain that you understand the internet is a great place to play, create, learn and connect. But remind them they can talk to you if anything upsets or worries them.
Reassure them that you won’t overreact – you’re just looking out for them.
It’s important to remind your child that they can talk you, another adult they trust, like a teacher, or Childline about anything they see online.
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