Navigating social media safely

Get tools and tips to support your child’s digital wellbeing on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp

See safety tools

See reporting guides

Facebook Parent Portal

See guides on how Facebook works and ways to help your child navigate the platform safely

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Instagram Parent Guide

Get advice about safety features on Instagram and tips to encourage teens to use it positively

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WhatsApp Safety Tips

Learn about the tools available to help children stay safe on the platform

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Connecting Safely Online

A hub for parents, carers and young people with SEND to help navigate social media safely.

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Community Guidelines

Read through these guidelines with children to help them understand what behaviour is accepted across the social platforms.

See Facebook Community Standards to make children aware of what is allowed on the platform.

See WhatsApp Terms of Service to help children interact safely with others on the platform.

See Instagram Community Guidelines to give children advice on what to expect from others.

How to set privacy settings on social

Use our Set up Safe guides to add the right privacy settings across the social platforms and help children review their usage on the platform.

Privacy checkup – manage who can see posts and info on their Facebook account

Instagram Privacy Settings – manage who can see their content

WhatsApp Privacy guide – restrict who can see kids’ messages

Learn more about how children use Instagram and safety features from parent blogger Adele Jennings

Watch parent blogger Adele Jennings walk through how to use Facebook’s privacy checkup

Having conversations about social media use

In addition to setting privacy settings and alerts to manage time spent on the apps, it’s equally as important to have regular conversations about what they do online to equip children with the tools to make safer choices.

Social media sharing tips

Get tips on what issues to discuss with your child to help them share safely on social media.

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Conversation starter tips

Help children deal with online issues and open up about their digital lives with these simple tips.

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How to report issues

See links to report issues across the social media platforms and organisations who can offer support for you and your child.

Tackling abuse

Fake accounts

Privacy violation

One-to-one support

Young minds Parents’ helpline
Young minds Teen crisis helpline
Childline Teen support

Hacked accounts

Exploitation

Self-harm

Benefits of social media

See how your child can make the most of their social media use with these simple tips

Digital challenges

Get expert advice to help children become digitally resilient and make smarter choices online

Campaign to support online safety for families

Campaign launched to help young people ‘Stay safe at home. Stay Safe online’

The campaign, created by End Violence Against Children Fund and backed by Facebook, has been launched to help young people ‘Stay safe at home. Stay Safe online’.

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Expert Q&A

Our experts give advice on the following question: How can I help my child not to overshare on social media?

Parent stories

Read through other parents’ experience of parenting in the digital age to get insight to help you support your child.