6 Safety Tips When Using Facebook’s Messenger App
One of the latest in technology that is fun to use is Facebook’s video chat app. Today, I’ll share with you 6 safety tips when using Facebook’s messenger app.
But besides privacy, issues of cyberbullying or harassment of minor children using it is another possible concern from this popular Facebook application.
Here are things to keep in mind when you’re using FB chat/messenger app.
Nothing is private. Messenger Rooms isn’t encrypted, so it’s not the place to have private conversations or share sensitive content. Note: The internet in any form isn’t the place to share any personal content. Anything exchanged online — even a “private” text between two people — is vulnerable to hackers, device theft, or the possibility of a relationship falling out.
Nothing is really free. Remind your children that services online are free for a reason. There is always an exchange: Free use for data. Be aware that profile information and bits of a conversation could be mined and used by a third party. To understand better how data is collected, check with Facebook’s help center or read its data policy.
Age-appropriate options. For kids under 13 (Facebook age requirement), there’s Messenger Kids, a Facebook feature that allows younger kids to video call with friends in a parentally-supervised room. It’s a great tool for teaching kids safe, online practices before they use the real thing.
Privacy settings. If you organize a Room, lock it to keep unwanted people from crashing your meet up.
Lock your room. Unless your child adjusts his or her preferences, it will be open to anyone that person is friends with on Facebook who will see the public Room at the top of their newsfeed. That means lovable Uncle Pete may mistakenly stumble into your daughter’s “squad” rant unless the Room is locked.
Report and block. If an unwanted person disrupts a Room kids can block the user and report it to Facebook.
To stay safe you may also consider monitoring your child’s devices with parental controls designed to filter content, monitor screen time, and track new apps.
I hope these 6 safety tips when using Facebook’s messenger app help your children and you to be safe on Facebook. If you liked this post, please share it with the people that you care about. Thank you for reading. Stay safe. Cheers!
