My online safety plan
A plan is made before trouble comes. Use four boxes and write two ways in each. Box one, protecting my devices: for example, ‘a grown-up keeps the protection updated’ and ‘I lock the screen when I walk away’. Box two, protecting my personal information: ‘I share no address’ and ‘I keep my passwords secret’. Box three, staying safe on chat and sharing sites: ‘I accept only people I know in real life’ and ‘I tell a grown-up if someone makes me uncomfortable’. Box four, handling a threat. If something goes wrong, follow five steps. Stay calm but act quickly. Tell your contacts, so they do not open the suspicious thing. A grown-up scans the device and updates its security. Change your passwords, even if only one account seems to have a problem. Report it to a trusted adult, who decides whether to tell the service provider or the authorities. You are never in trouble for telling. Then share your plan on paper in a short letter to a family member, and finish two sentences: ‘I will always…’ and ‘I will never…’.
| Box | Two ways (examples) |
|---|---|
| 1. my devices | updated protection; lock the screen |
| 2. my personal information | share no address; secret passwords |
| 3. chat and sharing sites | accept only people I know; tell a grown-up if uncomfortable |
| 4. a threat comes | stay calm and tell; a grown-up scans and updates |
| I will always… | I will never… |
|---|---|
| ask before opening a strange link | share my password |
| tell a trusted adult | forward a scam message |
Plan in four boxes. Fold a page into four boxes with the four headings from the lesson. Write two ways in each, in your own words. Then write a letter of five lines to a family member and finish ‘I will always…’ and ‘I will never…’. Do not write any real password or address.