Staying safe online
Five moments that catch kids out online — a stranger's message, a free prize, a password request, oversharing and cruelty in the chat — and the exact question to ask at each fork.
Something online is asking you
The internet is mostly brilliant, and then every so often something on the screen asks you for something. That is the moment to slow right down. Scammers and creeps are counting on you answering fast, before you have properly thought.
A stranger messages you
A friendly stranger says hello. They know your game, they laugh at your jokes, they say they are your age. Being nice is very easy to fake, and adults who want to trick children are extremely good at it.
Met them in real life?
So ask yourself one question: have I ever actually stood next to this person? A friend of a friend online is still a stranger, and a profile picture proves absolutely nothing, because anyone can use anyone else's photo.
Block and report them
If you have never met them, do not reply, never send a photo, and never agree to meet. Block them and report the account. You do not owe a stranger politeness, and you never have to explain yourself.
A pop up says you won
Congratulations, you are the one millionth visitor and you have won a phone. Confetti, a countdown timer, a big flashing button. Every part of that page is designed to make your finger move before your brain catches up.
Did you enter it?
Ask the boring question: did I ever actually enter this competition? If you did not enter, you did not win. Nobody gives a phone away to a random visitor, and that countdown clock resets the moment you reload the page.
Close the whole tab
So close the whole tab. Do not press cancel and do not press the little cross inside the pop up, because on a fake page every button can secretly be the same button. Shut the tab from the top instead.
Someone wants your password
Then there is the message that wants your password. It might look exactly like the game you play, or arrive from a friend's account saying they are locked out and just need yours for one minute.
Any good reason?
So ask whether there could ever be a good reason, and take your time over it. There is not one. Your password is the key to your house, and nobody who genuinely wants to help you has ever needed the key itself.
The answer is always no
The answer is always no. Real companies never ask for your password, and a friend who is truly locked out can ask an adult. The most common password on Earth is still one two three four five six, so pick something long and silly instead.
A quiz wants your details
Some things ask politely and still take far too much. A quiz wants your school, a game wants your street, a video shows the sign at the end of your road and your name written on your bag.
Could this find you?
The test is simple: could a stranger use this to find me tomorrow? Photos taken on a phone quietly store the exact spot where they were taken, and a school jumper plus one street sign is basically a map to your front door.
Give nothing that finds you
So keep the details fuzzy. Name the town, not the street. Post the holiday pictures once you are home rather than while the house sits empty, and switch off the setting that tags every photo with your location.
Someone is being cruel
Sometimes it is not a stranger at all. Someone in the group chat starts picking at you, and others pile on because joining in feels easier than stopping it. About one young person in five says this has happened to them.
Are they baiting you?
Bullies are fishing, and a furious reply is exactly the fish they wanted. Ask yourself honestly whether answering will make this smaller or bigger. Almost every single time, answering makes it bigger and gives them an audience.
Screenshot, block, report
So take a screenshot first, because messages get deleted the moment someone senses trouble. Then block, then report. Every large platform has a report button, and several reports about the same account move far faster than one.
Tell a grown up you trust
And whatever the fork, the last step never changes: tell a grown up you trust. You will not be in trouble and you will not lose your device, and no problem online has ever once got smaller by being kept secret.
Watch it explain itself
Every step above is narrated aloud. Play it, or open it in the editor and make it yours — no account needed.