A parent’s guide to digital safety
Your child's digital life, explained.
Practical steps for apps, devices and privacy, from a parent who works in cybersecurity.
Setting up a new device?
App safety guides
Choose an app to check its risks and the settings you can change.
Roblox
A platform of user-created games. Start with a linked parent account, then review games, communication and spending for your child’s age.
YouTube
A video platform with personalised recommendations, autoplay and comments that can expose children to unsuitable content.
Snapchat
A photo and messaging app built around disappearing messages, quick sharing, and live location features.
A social platform driven by visual identity, algorithmic recommendations, public feedback, and direct messages.
TikTok
A short-video app whose personalised recommendations can keep children watching for long periods.
Discord
A service for group communities, direct messages and voice calls. Link Family Center and review who can contact your teen alongside the servers they use.
Fortnite
A multiplayer game with player communication and purchases. Check both the Epic account and the console or store used to pay.
Minecraft
A creative sandbox game that is low risk in single-player but very different once public servers and downloads enter the picture.
ChatGPT
An AI chatbot that can help with learning. Children need to check its answers and understand the limits of its advice.
Character.AI
An AI character and entertainment service. Character.AI says it has removed open-ended character chat for under-18s; review the account’s age and the experience actually available to your child.
A messaging and calling app used for family and group conversations. Check whether the account is standard or parent-managed, then review contacts, group invitations and reporting.
Twitch
A live-streaming platform focused on gaming. Check live chat, gambling content, spending and the attachment a child may develop to streamers.
Steam
A PC gaming store and community. Review access to adult games, community discussions, trades and purchases.
Gemini
Google’s AI assistant for questions, writing and learning. Check the account type and country before relying on Family Link controls.
Meta AI
Meta’s AI assistant can appear inside apps your teen already uses. Check which app and account they use; parental visibility and alerts are not identical everywhere.
Telegram
A messaging service with groups, broadcast channels and third-party bots. Telegram’s EU terms require users to be 18+; this guide helps parents understand and respond to existing use.
Built-in parental controls
Set up the device’s parental controls, then check the settings in each app.
Device setup guides
Start here when your child gets a new phone, tablet or computer.
Home WiFi and router controls
Set filters for devices on your home WiFi, and understand where those filters stop working.
Built-in Router Controls
Use parental controls already built into your TP-Link, ASUS, or Netgear router. Check which controls your model includes.
DNS Filtering
Set two DNS addresses on the router to filter adult sites for connected devices. The free setup takes about 5 minutes.
ISP Controls
Check whether your internet provider offers free parental controls. They can be a straightforward place to start.
Make the settings part of a conversation
Talk about the rules as you set them. Your child should know what to do when something goes wrong.
Ask about their apps
Ask what they use and why they like it. Listen before explaining the risks, and make clear that they can come to you for help.
Explore together
Try the apps yourself, check the minimum age and look through the privacy and parental settings together.
Agree on screen-free times
Choose moments such as meals and the hour before bed. Use Screen Time, Digital Wellbeing or Family Link to support that routine.
Respond calmly to mistakes
If your child posts something impulsively or encounters trolling, help them decide what to do next. Shame makes it harder to ask for help.
Inspired by the parent guide from Asociația EU te iubesc.
Built by a parent who works in cybersecurity
I'm Razvan Costache, Director of Innovation at Bitdefender, with 14+ years in consumer cybersecurity. When my child got their first device, I wanted clear answers in one place. I built this guide because I needed it myself.
The guides draw on my experience in cybersecurity and published safety guidance. Where sources are listed, you can see when they were checked and which regional limits apply.