Tips, app recommendations from a tech expert on Safer Internet Day

Tech contributor Amber Mac shares tips on how to stay safe while surfing the web.

Tuesday is Safer Internet Day – a day that gives people a chance to have a conversion about keeping those of all ages safer online.

Tech expert and mother Amber Mac has four practical tips for families to build healthier digital habits at home.

Pause before you proceed

Mac says her first tip is especially important for younger children who are starting to use social media.

“What you want to really teach them is that if they are getting any type of message that expresses urgency that encourages them to click on links, you want to tell them just to slow down, take a deep breath and ask for help,” she told CTV Morning Live’s Crystal Garrett.

“In fact, I think this advice is important for all of us. What happens a lot of the time when there are scammers online is that they express urgency, so it’s really important to just take a beat, slow down and ask for help.”

Choose age-appropriate apps

Another thing Mac recommends for young children is age-appropriate apps.

“It might be tempting to allow them to download whatever apps they want but, for example, a great app is YouTube Kids. When my son was younger, under 12, I used this with him all the time,” Mac said.

“You may be thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll just let them browse YouTube,’ but we know they may still stumble upon content that isn’t appropriate for their age, but in this entirely different app they’re able to enjoy some of their favourite shows and we know that it’s age-appropriate and parents have more control as well and it’s entirely free.”

Set safer screentime

Mac says the most important advice when it comes to screen time is setting limits. She recommends families use the Google Family Link app.

“What I love about this app is it allows you to basically set those screen time limits across mobile devices and Chromebooks as well,” she says.

“What that means is you’re able to say that your child is allowed to use their device at certain times, you can approve apps that they want to download. This just puts more control into the power of the parents to make those decisions and help their kids along the way.”

Strengthen account security

Mac suggests people turn on any browser settings that allow them to have a safer experience while online.

“It helps you to strengthen your account security, for example. One thing that I love to do is turn on safe browsing in Chrome is one example, so that’s a popular browser that people are using and this means that it will block any potentially malicious websites, helps to add that layer of protection to the browsing experience and detects any type of problematic issues before they actually get to you, so that’s the important piece,” she says.

While Mac says most of her tips are for children, they still apply to adults.

“One of the most important things that we can do is have conversations with each other, have someone in the family that people can call maybe that’s kind of tech support for you,” she says.

“Everybody in the family from their kids all the way through to your parents and grandparents, they can call that person when they have a question, and there are no dumb questions, we all have to help each other and guide each other though this experience of having safer online interactions.”