Family Online Safety
Keep every device, every child, and every parent safe online.
Plain-language guides to the scams, predators, sextortion, and cyberbullying families run into most, written so you can act in the first five minutes, not just read about it later.
Right now
Something happening at this exact moment? Start here.
Seven quick first moves for the situations parents contact us about most. Each links through to the full guide.
A scam or fraud is in progress
Stop the call or chat. Don't send money, gift cards, or crypto, however urgent it sounds. Call the person or company back on a number you already know.
Full scam guide →A stranger is contacting my child
Don't confront the account yourself. Screenshot the conversation, leave it in place, and report it through the platform and the links in our guide.
Full grooming guide →Someone is threatening to share an image
Don't pay and don't send anything else. Save the evidence, block the account, then tell a trusted adult.
Full sextortion guide →Bullying is happening right now
Screenshot before anything gets deleted, use the platform's block and report tools, and stay calm when your kid tells you. That matters more than acting fast.
Full bullying guide →A device or account may be hacked
Change that account's password from a different device, turn on two-factor authentication, and check for unfamiliar devices on your router.
Full network guide →A fake or AI-altered image exists
Don't engage with whoever posted it. Save evidence, then use the reporting tools in our AI risks guide to get it removed.
Full AI risks guide →A group is blackmailing or pressuring my child
Don't confront the group yourself, and don't delete anything. Report it to the FBI and NCMEC, and treat any sign of self-harm as a crisis.
Full violent networks guide →In immediate physical danger? Call your country's emergency number. Find it, along with cybercrime units and crisis lines for where you live, on our emergency & reporting contact list.
Know the risks
The threats families run into online
Bad actors target parents and kids through the same devices, often the same afternoon. Each guide below covers how the threat actually plays out and exactly what to do about it.
Phishing & scams
Nine scams families run into most, with the red flags mocked up so you can spot them fast.
Predators & grooming
The 6-stage pattern groomers follow, and where to interrupt it early.
AI & deepfake risks
Nudify apps, companion chatbots, and cloned voices explained plainly.
Sextortion
What it is and the exact five steps to take if it happens to your family.
Cyberbullying
Where it happens, the forms it takes, and how to respond in the first hour.
Violent online networks
What groups like 764 do, the warning signs the FBI wants parents to know, and what to do.
Home network
Lock down the router and devices most families leave wide open.
Screen time
Age-by-age guidance and a family media plan that actually gets used.
Privacy & data
Where your family's data leaks, including the leak that comes from us.
Tools
Track, filter, and lock down devices, free or paid
A curated directory of tools from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others, plus paid alternatives compared side by side: screen time limits, family location sharing, content filtering, and message safety alerts.
See the tools directoryWhat's covered
- Screen time and app-purchase approval
- Family location sharing
- Free network-level content filtering
- Built-in message and image safety alerts
Kids Corner
Safety lessons your kids will actually finish
Five simple rules, six short missions, and a certificate they can print at the end. Built for kids, not their parents: no ads, no data collection, nothing scary.
Visit Kids CornerBuilt with children in mind
- Reading level aimed at ages 7 to 12
- No accounts, no chat, and nothing sent to us
- No advertising shown anywhere on the page
Written for teens, not watered down
- Real scenarios: sextortion, deepfake nudes, romance scams
- No accounts, no tracking, and no ads on the page
- Ways to get help that don't require a parent to file first
Teen Zone
Straight talk for teens, not a lecture
Six real-world scenarios covering sextortion, fake nudes, and sketchy online relationships, written the way it actually happens, not the "stranger danger" version.
Visit Teen ZoneStart today
The 10-minute family safety checklist
Ten steps, most of them under a minute each. Work through it together this week and your progress saves automatically on this device.