The big ideaSettings choose who sees your posts. Check them with a grown-up, and again every few months.
How it works
A setting is a switch that controls how an app works. Some settings choose who sees your posts, and others choose who can message you.
Think of rings around you, like ripples in a pond: only me, then family, then friends, then everyone. People who see a post can save it or share it on, so a big ring is hard to take back.
A default is what a setting is set to before you change it, and it is not always the most private choice. So check before you post, not after.
Friends only is a small ring, but only as safe as its list. Look again every few months, with a grown-up.
The rings, small to big.Safer, or wider.
Example 1: Jonas's video
Jonas posted Admiral's hoop trick, and the counter said ten, forty, a hundred, then a hundred and fifty views.
But he had only twelve friends in the app.
The video was public, so anyone with the app could see it. Dad turned the dial down to friends.
What Dad and Jonas did.
Example 2: The friends list
Dad pointed at two names that Jonas did not know.
Friends online should be people you know for real, like the kids in your class.
Jonas took both names off, and nobody was in trouble.
Example 3: Ines's drawing
Ines wanted to share a drawing with her grandmother.
She turned the dial to family.
Her grandmother loved it, and nobody else saw it.
Words to know
setting
A switch that controls how an app works.
default
What a setting is set to before you change it.
public
Anyone with the app can see it.
friends list
The people you let see your posts. It is only as safe as who is on it.
Watch out
Do not post first and check after. Check the settings before you post.
Do not say yes to every friend request. Friends are people you know for real.
Do not flip every switch to see. Ask a grown-up to look with you, and use the app's help page.
Already posted before checking? Tell a grown-up. They can fix a setting fast, and you are never in trouble.
Try it
Which is the smallest ring: friends, family or only me?
Jonas had 12 friends but 150 views. What did that tell him?
What is a default?
Who belongs on a friends list?
How often do you look at your settings again?
Answers: 1. Only me · 2. The post was wider than his friends · 3. What a setting starts as, before you change it · 4. People I know for real · 5. Every few months, with a grown-up
Try at homeSit with a grown-up and look at one app's settings together. Check who can see your posts, and who can message you.
For grown-upsSit with your child and look at one app's settings together: who can see posts, who can message, and whether location is on. Add a reminder to look again in a few months.
Open these notes on screenScan the code, or go to tutorpip.com.