Academics · Subject Resources

Five settings,
every app, together.

Most privacy problems for students come from a handful of settings left at their defaults: a public profile, messages open to anyone, location on. Sit down with the student and add each app they use. The checklist scores each one, counts the open risks across all of them and says exactly which setting to change first.

Add an appWhat you get

Apps and accounts

The worked example is made up: a 12-year-old on a game whose terms say 13, with open chat; a photo app with a public profile and location always on; and a school account set up well. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per app or account: name, kind, student age, the app’s minimum age, date last reviewed, profile, messaging, location, contact syncing, two-step sign-in and six things to do together. Scores safe settings out of 6; lists every account with its score and counts open risks; flags students under the app’s age, public profiles, messages from anyone, location always on, contact syncing, no two-step sign-in and settings not reviewed in six months.
Who it is for
Parents and caregivers of students with phones, games or social accounts, and students in middle and high school checking their own.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per app. Prints one app, all of them in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Sit down together with the phone or tablet.
  2. Open each app’s privacy and safety settings.
  3. Add the app and set each answer as it is now.
  4. Change the flagged settings on the spot.
  5. Review again every few months and after big updates.

Add an app

What matters most

The settings that matter most, in orderSettingSafer choiceWhyWho can messageApproved friends onlyStrangers start contact hereProfilePrivatePosts and followers hiddenLocationOff, or while usingSays where a student isTwo-step sign-inOnStops account takeoversContacts syncOffSuggests the student to strangersThe settings that matter most, in orderWho can messageSafer choice: Approved friends onlyWhy: Strangers start contact hereProfileSafer choice: PrivateWhy: Posts and followers hiddenLocationSafer choice: Off, or while usingWhy: Says where a student isTwo-step sign-inSafer choice: OnWhy: Stops account takeoversContacts syncSafer choice: OffWhy: Suggests the student to strangers
Setting names differ between apps; look under Privacy, Safety or Account. Updates sometimes reset them, so check again after a big update.

Why 13

The federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act requires apps that collect personal information from children under 13 to get verifiable consent from a parent first. Rather than do that, most general apps set 13 as their minimum age. A child under 13 on such an app has none of the protections the law intended.

Do it with them

Settings a parent changes alone are often changed back. Going through them together, and explaining why messages from strangers or a location map matter, makes it more likely they stay that way.

Sources

  1. Federal Trade Commission. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA): a guide for parents (consumer.ftc.gov).
  2. Federal Trade Commission and partners. Protecting kids online, privacy settings and sharing (consumer.ftc.gov).
  3. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Turn on multifactor authentication (cisa.gov).
  4. American Academy of Pediatrics, Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. Family media plan and privacy guidance (aap.org).

The worked example is made up and names no real app. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.