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A free guide from ProCiber for parents and caregivers: how to keep children and teens safe online, using tools you probably already have at home.
The essentials, in five rules
No tool replaces conversation and supervision. These five rules cover most of the risk.
- Screens in shared spacesComputers, tablets and consoles in the living room, not the bedroom, especially at night.
- You know their accountsWhich apps and games they use, their usernames, and who their contacts are.
- Parental controls switched onSet up the free tools built into the phone, the console and the home router.
- No secrets with strangersNo adult online should ask for photos, gifts, personal details, or to «keep this between us».
- They can tell you without punishmentIf something makes them uncomfortable, they should know they can tell you without losing their phone or their game.
Open-world and multiplayer games
Platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, or Minecraft on public servers are social spaces where children and adult strangers can play and chat together. Used without supervision, they are one of the most common channels for grooming (an adult building a child’s trust in order to abuse them) and catfishing (fake profiles pretending to be another child).
How it usually happens
- An in-game «friend» who claims to be the same age, helps them win, and becomes close over time.
- In-game gifts, such as virtual currency (Robux, V-Bucks) or items, to build trust or a sense of owing something.
- Moving the conversation to a more private app such as Discord, WhatsApp, Snapchat or Instagram.
- Asking for secrecy, photos or personal information, then pressuring or threatening.
What to set up
- Their real age on the account. Platforms apply protections based on the declared age.
- Roblox: since 2026 it requires age checks to use chat, groups users by age band and, by default, does not let under-16s chat with adults. Review and adjust everything in Roblox’s parental controls.
- Voice and text chat limited to known friends, or switched off for younger children.
- Purchases blocked or requiring an adult’s approval.
- Private servers with real-life friends instead of public servers.
House rules for gaming
- They play where you can see and hear, especially with headsets and voice chat.
- Game friends = real-life friends, or people you know.
- Never move to another app with someone they only know from the game.
- No gifts from strangers, and no sharing photos, school or address.
- Check the friends list and chat history from time to time, together.
Controls help, but they are not enough. People who want to harm children lie about their age and know how to get around filters. Close supervision and a child who feels safe telling you are the most effective protection.
Other risks to know about
Open each topic to see what it is, how to prevent it, and what to do.
Sextortion: threats involving intimate imagesThe fastest-growing risk for teens, including boys
Someone obtains, or claims to have, an intimate image of a teen, often while pretending to be someone else, and threatens to share it unless they get money or more images. It usually happens very fast and causes intense distress.
- Don’t pay and don’t send anything more. Paying almost never stops the threats.
- Stop responding. Before blocking, write down the username and the profile link.
- Don’t delete the account or the conversation, and report it straight away (see the contacts below).
- Get the image taken down: Take It Down, a free service from the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, helps remove intimate images of under-18s from major platforms, from anywhere in the world, without the image ever leaving the phone.
- Remind them it’s not their fault and that they are not in trouble for telling you.
Social media and messagingInstagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord and Snapchat
Most social networks require users to be 13 or older, and almost all of them offer free supervision tools for parents:
- Instagram: teen accounts are private and limit messages from strangers. Turn on supervision in the Meta Family Center.
- TikTok: use «Family Pairing» to link your account and manage messages, screen time and content.
- WhatsApp: in Privacy settings, allow only their contacts to add them to groups and see their photo, status and last seen.
- Discord: widely used alongside games. Use the «Family Center» and turn off direct messages from strangers.
- Snapchat: use the Family Center, and turn on Ghost Mode in Snap Map so their location isn’t shared.
Artificial intelligence and deepfakes«Friend» chatbots and fake images made with AI
- Companion chatbots: some AI apps simulate friendship or romance and can encourage dependence or inappropriate conversations. Ask which AI apps they use and what for.
- Fake images: there are apps that create fake nude images from ordinary photos. Using them against a classmate is a serious form of abuse and is a crime in many places.
- If it happens: treat it like sextortion. Don’t share the image, record the profile details, and report it.
- Talk with them: what AI says isn’t always true, and a real person is always better support than a chatbot.
Keeping their accounts securePasswords, two-step verification and gaming scams
- Two-step verification on your child’s accounts, with an adult’s phone or email as the backup.
- You control the recovery email, so you can get the account back if it’s stolen.
- A different password for every account, kept in a family password manager.
- «Free Robux or V-Bucks» is always a scam. It’s designed to steal the account or your card details.
- Never share a verification code, even if a «friend» or «tech support» asks for it.
What you post about your childrenPhotos, locations and routines on adults’ social media
- Avoid photos showing school uniforms, the school’s name, your license plate or the front of your house.
- Post afterwards, not in real time, so you don’t reveal where they are.
- No bath, pool or pajama photos, however innocent they seem.
- Keep your accounts private and check who follows them.
- Ask them before posting, especially from around age 10. It also teaches them to look after their own image.
If your child is the one bullyingHow to respond without minimizing or humiliating
- Take it seriously, even if it’s presented as «just a joke».
- Talk it through to understand what happened and how the other person feels.
- Ask them to delete the content and make amends, with an apology where possible.
- Work with the school, which will have its own policy for bullying between students.
- Get professional support if the behavior continues.
Guide by age
Independence grows with age, but always with support. Use these stages as a guide, not a fixed rule.
Always together
- Short sessions with an adult beside them
- Apps and videos chosen by you
- YouTube Kids in preschool mode
- No accounts of their own, no chat
First steps
- Shared device, or one with parental controls
- Games without open chat with strangers
- Purchases blocked
- Clear rules on when and where
More independence, with limits
- First phone with Family Link or Screen Time
- Chat only with friends they know
- Talk about strangers and secrets
- Social media: most require age 13+
Guide, don’t spy
- Private accounts, location sharing off
- Talk about intimate images and extortion
- Usage agreements reviewed together
- They know they can ask for help without punishment
Their first phone: a checklistTen steps before you hand it over
- A child account linked to yours with Google Family Link or Apple Family Sharing.
- A passcode that you also know.
- Purchases and downloads need your approval.
- Content filters set for their age.
- Downtime: the phone switches off or locks at night.
- It charges outside the bedroom.
- Location shared with family only.
- Two-step verification, with your email as the recovery backup.
- Review contacts and installed apps together once a month.
- A family agreement setting out the rules, discussed and agreed by everyone.
Free tools
All of these are free and come from the makers of the devices and platforms themselves. We don’t recommend paid apps and we don’t take commissions.
Google Family LinkFree
Approve apps, set schedules and time limits, filter content and see the device’s location.
Go to official site →Apple Screen TimeFree
Limit apps and content, block purchases, set downtime and control who can contact them.
Go to official site →Microsoft Family SafetyFree
Web filters, screen-time limits on the computer and console, and purchase approval.
Go to official site →YouTube KidsFree
A version of YouTube with age-filtered content. For preteens, use a supervised account instead.
Go to official site →Roblox Parental ControlsFree
Link your account to your child’s to manage chat, spending, playtime and the kinds of experiences they can join.
Go to official site →Nintendo Parental ControlsFree
A phone app that limits playtime, restricts games by age rating and blocks communication.
Go to official site →PlayStation Family ManagementFree
Controls chat, messaging, spending and playtime on child accounts.
Go to official site →Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 for FamiliesFree
One change on your router blocks adult and malicious sites for every device in the house.
Go to official site →OpenDNS FamilyShieldFree
An alternative to the above: filters adult content at network level, with nothing to install on devices.
Go to official site →Talk, and stay alert
How to talk about it
- Take an interest in what they play and watch. Play with them now and then.
- Agree on rules together and explain the reason for each one.
- Talk about secrets: an adult asking a child to keep a secret is a danger sign.
- Make it clear there will be no punishment if they tell you about something that happened, even if they broke a rule.
- Talk about intimate images with teens: they are never sent, and if someone threatens to share them, ask for help immediately.
Warning signs
- New secrecy around the phone, console or certain apps.
- An online «friend» they talk about a lot, but you’ve never met.
- Gifts, money or virtual currency you can’t account for.
- Mood changes, anxiety or fear after using a device.
- New messaging apps or accounts you didn’t know about.
- Avoiding school or withdrawing from friends, a possible sign of cyberbullying.
If something happens: what to do and where to report
The most important thing is to stay calm, and for your child to feel they did the right thing by telling you.
Support, don’t blame
Thank them for telling you. The responsibility always lies with the adult who abuses, never with the child.
Keep the evidence
Write down or screenshot usernames, profile links, dates and the text of the messages. Don’t delete the account or the conversations, and don’t confront the offender.
Report it
Report and block the person on the platform, and report it to the authorities.
Important: never save, screenshot or forward intimate images of a minor, not even as evidence. Doing so can itself be a crime. Tell the police or the reporting service that the images exist, and they will handle them.
In the United States
You can also report crimes against children to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Anywhere in the world
Elsewhere: in the UK, report to CEOP; in Canada, Cybertip.ca; in Australia, eSafety. In Chile, see our Spanish guide.
What the law saysSo you know what happened is a crime, and that you have rights
- Grooming is a crime. In the United States, using the internet to entice a minor into sexual activity is a federal offense, and most countries, including the UK, Canada and Australia, have similar laws.
- Sexual images of under-18s are illegal almost everywhere, including images created or shared by other minors and fake images made with AI.
- Platforms must remove intimate images. The US TAKE IT DOWN Act makes publishing non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes, a federal crime, and since May 2026 requires covered platforms to remove reported images within 48 hours.
- Children’s data has special protection. In the US, COPPA requires online services aimed at children under 13 to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting their personal information. Many other countries have similar rules.
- Schools must act. Every US state has anti-bullying laws or policies, and most cover cyberbullying. Always let the school know.
- After an incident, look for counseling support for your child. A child helpline can point you to local services.
ProKiDs is a free, informational initiative from ProCiber. It is not legal or psychological advice. Information about platforms and services can change; always check each tool’s official site. Contact numbers are listed for convenience; confirm the right service for your country. Last updated: October 2026. Have a suggestion for this guide? Email us at contact@prociber.cl.