3 Ways to Ensure That Your Kids Aren’t Talking to Strangers Online

Mobile phones have fast transformed itself from being a mere communication device to a must-owned gadget. From kids to teens, men, and women, everyone today has a mobile device. Now as much as this seems fascinating, it is important to keep tabs on your kid’s activities when browsing through the device. In case you aren’t sure how to do that, this article will educate users on ways to keep your kids safe.

Can I Read My Child’s Online Messages for Free?

One of the dreaded activities your child can engage in is talking to strangers. Even though strangers can be friendly, your kid may not have the sense to differentiate between who’s good and bad. Keeping an eye on them while they are talking to strangers online assures that they are safe and not engaging in any unacceptable activities. That’s why many parents wonder whether there are any free text monitoring apps available out there. We reached out to industry professionals to answer this question.

The experts at Cell Tracking Apps say that monitoring your child’s text messages is almost impossible unless you use paid software. However, there are other free precautionary measures you can take to ensure that they’re safe online. We will cover this in-depth in the section below.

What You Can Do to Ensure That Your Kids Are Safe?

Worried about your kid’s safety or thinking how can I monitor my child’s text messages on Verizon or other cellphones? It is often noted that kids are safer on the streets than online. Online predators are always looking for ways to breach privacy and bully kids or talk them into irrelevant activities. To help you with measures that ensure your kid’s safety, here are a few things you can consider:

Use Parental Control Apps to Read Their Messages

Parental control apps are mobile applications designed to help parents keep tabs on their kid’s online activities. From what they type to when these apps render all information to the immediate parent (one who has installed the application). There are many parental control apps available over the web. Each has its share of features. However, the common features as offered by most of these apps include:

Seamlessly monitors calls and text messages.
Track data usage and even block calls
Keylogger feature which records all keystrokes.
Tracking the location of the device.
Providing text message transcript.
Providing access to all social media accounts.

This includes gaining access to chat apps such as WhatsApp, Viber, or Telegram, seeing phone media, and a lot of other features that allow you top check-up on them at all times. Some of them even allow you to flag certain words and receive notifications once your kid types them out.

Check Their Phone Listings for Suspicious Activities

Another way to ensure that your kid isn’t involved in irrelevant online activities is to check the device listing. This will help you check the device and look for the calls made or the messages that were sent. In case you detect anything suspicious, you can then talk to your child about it. While this may not be the best answer for how to avoid online predators, yet this will help you understand your child and communicate better.

Block Specific Websites

In case you are finding unreasonable search history in the mobile device, it is best to simply block such websites. It could be a simple webpage or a website that allows talking to strangers or any other sexual site. Exposing your child to such sites will only make it easier for the predators. Hence, block them to avoid such a thing.

How to Enable Parental Block on Chrome?

Open the browser and then, in the upper right corner, select your profile picture.
Click on the dropdown menu, and select Add.
Next, type the name of the person and add an image for the same
Click on Add Person.
Make sure to click on Sync to synchronize all of the settings for the account.

How to Enable Parental Block on Mozilla?

To enable parental block on Mozilla, follow the steps given below:

Visit the Mozilla site, and then click on the “Add-Ons” button.
Now, click on the “Firefox Add-ons” option.
In the Mozilla Search Box, enter Parental Control and click on search.
Review the options and click on Add to Firefox.
Click on Install Now to start the installation process.
Now, click on the Add-on feature and then click on Tools. Select the Add-on option, and now click on Enable Parental Control.

What Are the Risks of Kids Being Exposed to the Internet?

True that the internet helps find information and know more about what’s happening around in the world. However, if not used in the right way, it could lead to cyberbullying, online scams, sexual assault, etc.

What to Do If You Notice Suspicious Online Activities?

If you notice anything suspicious about your kid’s online activities, start with talking to them. Tell your kids that they can share all and vest their interest in you. Also, contact the authorities about the content posted online and block specific sites to prevent further exposure.

Conclusion

We hope this answers your questions on how can you protect yourself from a cyber predator. Get started with tracking your kid’s activities and secure their online journey.