What to do when a child shares personal information with someone online.
Short answer
Find out exactly what was shared and with whom. Stop further contact or disclosure, secure any affected accounts, and preserve evidence if the situation involves threats or exploitation.
Start by finding out what was shared without shaming the child for making the mistake.
Personal information can include a full name, address, school, phone number, photographs, passwords, location, or identity documents.
Change passwords and review privacy settings if account information was exposed.
If an adult is contacting the child in a sexual, threatening, coercive, or exploitative way, preserve evidence and seek appropriate child-safety support.
Check it now
Review what's public, what apps can access, and how your accounts are secured.
Open the checkSomething already happened?
If your personal information has been exposed, work out exactly what information was shared, secure affected accounts, watch for suspicious activity and avoid giving the same information to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you entered your password on a suspicious website, treat that password as compromised. Go directly to the real service, change it, turn on MFA, and check recent account activity.
Keep exploring