- Written by
- Remaleh Cyber Safety Team
- Reviewed by
- Remaleh Cyber Safety Team Practical Cyber Safety guidance and response
- Last reviewed
Social media can share more than your family realises: daily routines, locations, school details, friendships, old contact information, and the accounts everyone uses every day.
A safer setup starts with privacy settings. It does not end there. Your family also needs shared habits around tagging, public posts, profile details, friend requests, and messages from people you do not know.
Kids and teens may pick up an app faster than the adults around them. That does not mean they spot pressure, impersonation, unsafe contact, or privacy risks. The goal is to make checking feel normal, not punishing.
Sexual extortion is a real risk for teens. eSafety warns that teenage boys are often targeted by people pretending to be young women who are romantically or sexually interested in them. The pressure can ramp up fast. One simple family rule, 'show me before you reply', can break the chain.
Source: eSafety Commissioner
A family privacy check works best when everyone knows what is being protected and why it matters.
- Remaleh Cyber Safety guidance
Where to start your family privacy check
- Review who can see posts, stories, contact details, tagged photos, and friend lists.
- Remove public details that show your school, daily routine, travel plans, or regular locations.
- Check old posts and profile bios for phone numbers, email addresses, or private details.
- Talk about suspicious profiles, pressure to move chats, requests for photos, and fake giveaways.
- Make sure each family member knows how to block, report, and ask for help.
If a profile is already causing trouble, do not argue with the person behind it. Keep screenshots. Stop sharing new details. Review the account settings before you decide what to do next.
In Australia, age-restricted social media platforms must take reasonable steps from 10 December 2025 to stop people under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. That is a useful safety net. It does not replace the basics: open chats, clear rules, and a parent who actually knows how each app works.
Source: eSafety Commissioner
The goal is not to cut every online connection. It is to lower unnecessary exposure and help your family recognise when a message, profile, or request deserves a pause.
Split the privacy check into five areas
- Profiles: public bios, phone numbers, emails, school details, workplaces, friend lists, and old usernames.
- Posts and tags: locations, routines, uniforms, travel plans, birthdays, home details, and tagged photos.
- Messages: unknown contacts, pressure to move apps, secrecy, requests for photos, threats, and fake giveaways.
- Location: live location sharing, photo location data, check-ins, maps, and device tracking settings.
- Recovery: email, phone, backup codes, trusted contacts, and signed-in devices.
Source: eSafety Commissioner , Australian Cyber Security Centre
If unsafe contact already happened
Do not argue with the profile. Keep screenshots, usernames, dates, links, and messages. Stop sharing new details. Block and report where appropriate. If threats, sexual extortion, money, or physical safety are involved, use the appropriate platform, police, eSafety, bank, or emergency pathway as well as Cyber Safety support.
Source: eSafety Commissioner
