Lock Down the Devices: A 30-Minute Family Checklist
You don't need to be technical. You need 30 minutes and this list. Do it with your child, not to them — explain that it's about keeping strangers out, not snooping.
Most predators reach kids through the contact and DM features of ordinary apps. The single biggest win is simple: cut off contact from strangers and make accounts private.
1. The phone or tablet (10 minutes)
- Turn on the built-in family controls. iPhone/iPad: Settings → Screen Time → set up as a family device and turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions. Android: use Google Family Link.
- Block app installs without approval, so new "secret" apps can't appear.
- Limit who can contact them and turn off location sharing with anyone outside the family.
- Disable disappearing-message apps you haven't agreed to together.
- Set device-free times (overnight especially — most sextortion contact happens late at night).
2. Social & messaging apps (10 minutes)
- Set every account to private. Public profiles are how predators target and how "nudify" tools harvest photos.
- Turn off message requests / DMs from non-friends.
- Review followers and friends together — remove anyone your child hasn't met in real life.
- Turn off location tags on posts and stories.
- Lock down "who can find me" by phone number or email.
3. Game consoles & gaming apps (10 minutes)
- Gaming chat is a top grooming channel. Restrict voice and text chat to friends only.
- Use the console's family settings (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Steam) to limit messaging and friend requests from strangers.
- Disable purchases/gift-card redemption without a parent — gifts are a common grooming hook.
- Talk about "in-game friends": a person you only know through a game is a stranger.
4. The part settings can't do
Controls are a fence, not a guardian. The thing that actually protects a child is knowing they can come to you. Pair every setting above with one promise: "If anything online ever scares you or goes wrong, you can tell me and you will not be in trouble." Revisit the settings every few months as apps and kids both change.
Keep these handy
- NCMEC CyberTipline: CyberTipline.org · 1-800-843-5678
- Take It Down (remove a minor's explicit images): TakeItDown.NCMEC.org
- Emergency: 911 · FBI: tips.fbi.gov
Guidance reflects current platform parental-control features and NCMEC/FBI online-safety recommendations. App menus change often — search "[app name] parental controls" for the latest steps. Educational content; not legal advice.