PROTECT YOUR HOUSEHOLD WITH THESE ESSENTIAL TIPS
These days, we all make video calls. While kids have classes via webcam, adults communicate with their coworkers, and grandparents keep in touch with their grandchildren. But not all of the internet users on the other side of the screen are friendly.
Humans have become victims due to the advent of video calls. Whatever they can see – family photo on the wall, piles of bills, or kids’ timetable – all this tells a story about you. Four hundred percent more incidents related to an issue were reported last year, according to the latest research.
You don’t need to be a tech genius to protect your family during video communication. This article introduces six easy tips that any family can incorporate today. Let’s make sure that your video calls run smoothly!
The Importance of Video Call Safety for Your Family
Each video call grants others a view into your house. A camera for beginners is a window for burglars – they could discover your kid’s birthday date by spotting a postcard or deduce that your family is on vacation now by looking at your suitcases packed for vacation.
Just last year, 400 more incidents related to a breach of this simple rule were reported. I’m not telling you this to scare you but make you more aware.
Kids are at a heightened risk. They could reveal their location accidentally or show a toy with their name on it. Most of them don’t understand that their online actions have an offline impact.
Your family deserves privacy! These six easy tips will help you preserve it during video calls.
Tip 1: Find the Platform That Best Meets Your Family’s Needs
Not all video calling apps have the same security measures. Some prioritize convenience over safety. Still others put protection on every call.
Popular Apps and Their Safety Features:
| Platform | End-to-End Encryption | Waiting Room | Password Protection | Age Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | Yes | Yes | Yes | 13+ |
| FaceTime | Yes | No | No | 13+ |
| Google Meet | In the works | Yes | Yes | 13+ |
| Microsoft Teams | In process | Yes | Yes | 13+ |
| Yes | No | No | 16+ |
Seek services with end-to-end encryption. This means that what happens is visible and audible only to people on your call. Not even the company operating the service can get a peek.
See if the platform has a waiting room option. This allows you to see who is joining before admitting them. Think of it as peeking through your door’s peephole before you open it.
Keep the age of your children in mind when reviewing platforms. They’ve adopted policies requiring users to be at least 13 years old. If your child is younger, they should be using video calls only while you are present.
Read the platform’s privacy policy. Yes, it’s boring. But it does inform you of the type of information the company collects and how they use that data. If you can’t understand how they handle your data or if they share it with advertisers, choose another one.
Tip 2: Restrict Your Privacy Settings Ahead of Any Call
Privacy settings are your front line of protection. They manage who can reach out to you, view your information and join your calls. Typically, most users do not change default settings that are often set to be more open versus secure.
Essential Privacy Settings to Adjust:
Start with your profile visibility. Put it on private or contacts only. Your child’s page should never be public. Complete strangers do not need to see their picture, age and interests.
Disable location sharing completely. Lots of apps will do this for you, automatically tagging your location. Turn this off for video calling apps in settings. The location of your family should be kept private.
Decide who can add you to groups or calls. Change this to “contacts only” or “require approval.” That way, strangers can’t invite your children to group calls without their consent.
Disable auto-play of video and audio. Establish your app to automatically join calls with the camera and microphone muted. You can switch them on as soon as you’ve confirmed who is in the call.
Review these settings monthly. Apps update regularly and sometimes reset your preferences. Turn this into a family calendar item: “First Sunday Privacy Check.”
Create separate accounts for children. Do not allow children to use your personal account. Your own account allows you to put age-appropriate restrictions and track their activity.
Tip 3: Set Up a Secure Video Chat Environment at Home
Your background has secrets you might not want to reveal. A video call from your home office could reveal confidential financial documents on your desk. A call from the kitchen might give you a glimpse of medicine bottles, or personal mail.
Setting Up Your Space:
Choose a neutral background. A blank wall works perfectly. If not, opt for a bookshelf or someplace where personal items are hidden.
Position the camera carefully. Aim it away from windows, mirrors and screens that may reflect private information. Don’t use angles to feature hallways or other rooms.
Clean up before calls. Take out your address, phone number and identifying items. This is packages, mail, school papers and calendars with appointments.
Use virtual backgrounds with caution. They’re fun and private but they can glitch. Sudden motions might give away your true background. If you do use them, try first and opt for simple, non-distracting images.
Teach children about background awareness. Play a game of taking screenshots during your practice calls and snooping for personal information in the background together. Children learn so much better when it’s interactive.
Consider lighting carefully. And where there are bright lights behind you, making it difficult to see you is good when it comes to privacy. But it is too dark, and you cannot communicate properly. Find a balance.
Tip 4: Instruct Your Kids on Proper Video Call Etiquette
Adults help children make healthy online choices best by creating clear rules and maintaining consistent practice. Broad messages about “stranger danger” are less effective than concrete, actionable advice. For more comprehensive guidance on protecting your family online, visit Internet Safety Guide for additional resources and tips.
The Family Video Call Rules:
Never reveal personal details over the call. This may include your name in full, address, school, phone number, or schedule. Create a list (with your kids) of what constitutes “personal information.”
Always ask if it’s OK to join a call. Plenty of room for parents to chime in, laugh or ask questions, so children can also tell you who invited them and what they are meeting about. Keep a log if needed.
Move the call to common areas. Video calls should be held where a parent, if necessary the mother and father together, can see and hear them. Bedrooms are private, and you shouldn’t video chat with anyone but immediate family from your bedroom.
No snapshots or recordings without permission. You must teach your children it is not right to record someone without their permission. Explain that anything you do on a call may be saved and shared.
Use the “ask three questions” rule. Before calling in, children should be asking themselves: Do I know everyone on this call? Is this call being made with the consent of a parent or guardian? Would I want my parent to read this whole conversation?
Role-play different scenarios. “Now, what would you do if there was someone on your class video call that’s not supposed to be there?” “What if a friend asks to see the toy with your name on it?” Practice builds confidence.
Create a signal system. Establish a code word or gesture your child can use if they become uncomfortable while on a call and need you straight away.
Tip 5: Protect Your Devices and Network Like a Pro
Your video call is only as secure as the device and network you are using. What good is a locked door, if you’ve left the windows wide open?
Device Security Essentials:
Update everything regularly. Software updates may fix newly found security vulnerabilities. Enable automatic updates for your operating system, apps and video calling platforms.
Use strong, unique passwords for every site. “Password123” or your birthday won’t do. Fabricate 12-character (or more) passwords, including all available letters, numbers and symbols. Better yet, have a password manager generate and store them.
Turn on two-factor authentication wherever it’s offered. This is an additional security measure beyond having just a password. Someone who steals your password from a particular site would be unable to log into your account there without the second factor.
Install reputable antivirus software. There are free solutions that offer decent basic protection. They nab bad software before it can hijack your calls or filch your data.
Network Protection:
Secure your home WiFi network. Adjust the password on your router that was set by default when you bought it. If your router has it, employ WPA3 encryption or at least WPA2.
Create a separate guest network. If you have friends or service professionals who require WiFi access, provide them with guest network privileges. That way, they won’t get on any devices in your home that your family uses to make video calls.
Avoid using public WiFi for private video calls. Library and coffee shop networks are convenient but they’re dangerous. If you need to make a call while out, then use your phone’s data plan instead.
Consider getting a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for extra protection. VPNs protect your internet traffic and make it significantly more difficult for anyone to snoop on your video calls. Many affordable family-friendly options exist.
Use a webcam cover to block your camera when not in use. A strip of tape, or a webcam cover, to block access to your camera. Yes, this happens. Better safe than sorry.
Tip 6: Keep an Eye on Your Kids and What They Are Doing Online
Engaged parents are the best parental control. Technology can be a boon, but nothing takes the place of open communication and engaged involvement.
Building Trust Through Involvement:
If it’s possible, video calling should be a group family experience. Be in the room for younger kids’ calls especially. This is not about spying — it’s about safety and learning together.
Check call histories regularly. Records exist on most platforms of the calls they place and receive. Discuss them monthly with your children. Inquire about calls you don’t know.
Install age appropriate parental control software. These tools can restrict calling times, block who children can contact and tell you about any suspicious activity. Popular options include:
- Bark (monitors 30+ apps and sites)
- Qustodio (full monitoring and time restrictions)
- Net Nanny (internet filtering and real-time alerts)
- Google Family Link (for Android)
- Apple Screen Time (included with iOS)
Create a family media agreement. Set aside time to sit down and hash out rules about video calls, social media and internet usage. Everyone signs it. Review and revise it every six months as kids grow up and technology shifts.
Discuss what they see online. Make it normal dinner conversation. “Anything strange happen on your video calls today?” Ask without judgment. Children who are afraid of punishment won’t share problems.
Stay educated yourself. The internet changes fast. Follow reliable sources on online safety. The FBI’s parent guide to internet safety and Common Sense Media have more up-to-date practical pointers.
Watch for warning signs. If your child insists on more privacy when they’re on the phone, if they seem nervous about video chatting or receiving calls at odd hours of the day, do your own investigation — gently.
Establishing Safe Long-Term Habits with Video Calling
Internet safety for families isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it proposition: It’s about ongoing discussion and practice. Technology changes, kids get older and new platforms pop up. Your safety habits must grow as well.
If this sounds daunting, start small. Choose one tip in this article and put it to use this week. Next week, add another. Small changes lead to big impact over time.
Keep in mind that absolute security is never obtainable. Your aim is a reasonable degree of protection that allows your family to enjoy the benefits of video calling while minimizing its risks. Balance is key.
Make safety collaborative, not restrictive. When kids know why rules are made and have a hand in creating them, they’re better at following them. They also learn to think critically for options in future settings when they are online.
You won’t believe the incredible ways the digital economy can connect. Your family could chat across miles, attend events in your living room and keep in touch with old friends. These six suggestions help you accomplish all of that safely.
Frequently Asked Questions About Video Call Safety
At what age is it appropriate to allow children to make video calls on their own?
The majority of experts recommend hands-on supervision for children under 10. Between 10-13, gradual independence with monitoring. After 13, less intensive monitoring according to maturity and exhibited responsible behavior. Children all develop in their own ways, so try to trust your intuition about your particular child.
Are free video calling services less secure than paid ones?
Not necessarily. There are many free ones, like FaceTime and WhatsApp, that already provide top-notch privacy with end-to-end encryption. But free platforms may sometimes gather more user data for advertising. Read the privacy policies and make your decision based on features, not price alone.
How can I know whether someone is recording our video call?
The vast majority of sites show a little record icon that indicates when somebody hits the record button. But 3rd-party screen recording software will not set these flags. Operate on phone lines as though everything you say is being recorded. Share only the information you’re comfortable having permanently saved.
Can I use the same service to video chat with my colleagues and relatives?
The overall effect is more powerful if you split them. Work platforms could have employer surveillance. Using separate platforms also minimizes the chances of accidentally logging on to a work call with your personal account, and vice versa.
What happens when a stranger pops up on our family video call?
End the call immediately. Don’t engage or confront them. Record what happened (when, which platform, your username if available). Let the platform know what happened. Check your privacy settings to stop further unauthorized access. Change your meeting passwords and perhaps the platform if problems persist.
Do hackers really have the ability to secretly access my camera?
Yes, though it’s fairly rare if you are exercising reasonable security precautions. This is prevented by keeping your software up to date, having antivirus protection and ensuring that webcams are covered when they’re not in use. Never open suspicious links in emails that purport to be from video calling services.
How do I teach young kids about internet safety without frightening them?
Use age-appropriate analogies. Think of privacy settings as closing your front door. Describe strangers on the internet the way we do strangers in real life — most are fine, but we shouldn’t reveal confidential information to them. Choose the way of empowerment, not fear. Remind them that you’re teaching them to become more capable and independent, not punishing them.
The safety of your family during video calls relies on preparation, education and persistent vigilance. Here are six tips that serve as a solid starting point. Begin today, and keep every video call a safe call.
