Especially important for teens
AI companions & chatbots
A chatbot can sound caring and confident without understanding a person, keeping a secret, or reliably recognizing a crisis.
What to do
- 1.Keep AI use in shared, ordinary conversation—not as a secret relationship.
- 2.Never share intimate images, account credentials, medical details, or identifying information.
- 3.Treat advice about health, money, relationships, or safety as a starting point to verify with a person.
Conversation starterWhat would make an AI answer feel trustworthy to you—and how could we check whether it is right?
Common Sense Media AI guidance ↗Every generation
Deepfakes & voice-clone scams
A familiar voice or face is no longer proof of identity. Urgency and secrecy are stronger warning signs than technical quality.
What to do
- 1.Create a family verification phrase that is never posted online.
- 2.End an urgent call and call back using a number you already know.
- 3.Never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a verification code under pressure.
Conversation starterIf one of us calls with an emergency, what two steps will we always take before sending money?
FTC family-emergency scam guidance ↗Kids, teens, and young adults
Sextortion & intimate-image threats
A person may use flattery, impersonation, threats, or a captured image to demand money or more content. The victim is not to blame.
What to do
- 1.Stop contact and do not pay or send more material.
- 2.Preserve the username, profile URL, messages, threats, and payment information when safe.
- 3.Tell a trusted adult and report to NCMEC; call 911 when danger is immediate.
Conversation starterYou can come to me even if you broke a rule. Your safety matters more than the device or the mistake.
NCMEC sextortion help ↗Adults and teens managing accounts
Passkeys & account recovery
Passkeys resist common phishing attacks, but recovery details and trusted devices still determine whether you can regain access.
What to do
- 1.Use passkeys where supported and keep a password manager for accounts that still require passwords.
- 2.Turn on multifactor authentication and prefer an authenticator or security key over text messages for sensitive accounts.
- 3.Review recovery email, phone, trusted devices, backup codes, and legacy contacts twice a year.
Conversation starterIf this phone disappeared tonight, could we still reach email, banking, photos, and the phone carrier?
CISA account-security guidance ↗Families using social or family-location apps
Location sharing & unwanted tracking
Location can be helpful for coordination but can also reveal routines, schools, homes, and real-time movement.
What to do
- 1.Share precise location only with people who need it and review that list together.
- 2.Disable public map features and avoid location tags while still at an activity.
- 3.Take unknown-tracker alerts seriously and follow the phone’s safety instructions without confronting someone.
Conversation starterWho actually needs your precise location, and when should that access expire?
Apple unwanted-tracking guidance ↗Kids, teens, and the adults supporting them
Gaming, chat & in-game spending
The highest-risk part of a game is often its chat, friend system, marketplace, or spending loop—not the game itself.
What to do
- 1.Limit chat and friend requests to known people when the platform allows it.
- 2.Require approval for purchases and remove stored payment cards from child accounts.
- 3.Practice blocking and reporting before a problem happens; save evidence when threats occur.
Conversation starterShow me how someone becomes your friend, sends a message, asks to trade, and gets blocked in this game.
ESRB parental-control guides ↗Homes with cameras, speakers, TVs, or connected appliances
Smart-home privacy
Smart devices may include microphones, cameras, viewing data, cloud accounts, and long-lived access that families forget to review.
What to do
- 1.Change default passwords, enable automatic updates, and remove devices no longer in use.
- 2.Place less-trusted smart devices on a guest or separate network where practical.
- 3.Review recordings, household members, linked services, and remote access after moves or relationship changes.
Conversation starterWhich devices in our home can see, hear, unlock, record, or know when someone is present?
FTC home-network guidance ↗Anyone replacing technology
Selling, donating, or recycling a device
Deleting a few files is not the same as removing the account, activation lock, stored payment data, and recoverable personal information.
What to do
- 1.Confirm photos and important data are backed up before making changes.
- 2.Sign out, remove the device from the account, disable activation locks, and perform the manufacturer’s factory-reset process.
- 3.Remove SIM and storage cards, then use a reputable trade-in or electronics-recycling program.
Conversation starterWhat information would this device reveal if someone could open it after we gave it away?
FTC device-disposal guidance ↗Adults and aging parents
Digital estate & trusted access
Families often cannot reach photos, bills, subscriptions, password vaults, or important accounts during illness or after a death.
What to do
- 1.Name appropriate legacy contacts in Apple, Google, password-manager, and social accounts.
- 2.Document which accounts exist and where authorized instructions are stored—never place passwords in an unprotected binder.
- 3.Review beneficiary, power-of-attorney, and estate implications with qualified professionals.
Conversation starterWho should be able to help if you cannot use your devices, and what should remain private?
Apple Legacy Contact guidance ↗