Technical Security

Step-by-step guides: How to make your child's smartphone and favorite apps safer.

Basics

Smartphone Basics & Location

iOS & Android Parental Controls

Risk: Without system restrictions, children can uncontrollably install uploaded apps, make in-app purchases, or access inappropriate web content. Perpetrators often try to get children to download certain messengers (like Telegram) to communicate undisturbed there.

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  • Apple (iPhone/iPad):
    1. Open the Settings on the child's device (or via Family Sharing on your device).
    2. Tap on Screen Time.
    3. Turn on Screen Time if you haven't already, and set a separate Screen Time Passcode that the child doesn't know.
    4. Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions and toggle the switch at the very top.
    5. Tap on iTunes & App Store Purchases. Here you should set "In-app Purchases" to Don't Allow. You can also block "Installing Apps" so that every new download requires permission.
    6. Under the item Content Restrictions, you can block explicit web content.
  • Android (Google Family Link):
    1. Download the Google Family Link app (for parents) onto your smartphone.
    2. Link your child's Google account (the child's device has the app "Family Link child and teen").
    3. Select the child in the parent app and go to Manage settings > Google Play.
    4. Set the approval requirement for purchases and downloads to "All content".
    5. Make sure to block in-app purchases so the child cannot buy digital currencies (e.g., in games).
  • Hardware Tip (Notebooks/Tablets):

    Physically cover the webcams on laptops or tablets (unless needed for FaceID) with special webcam stickers. This is a 100% secure protection against secret recordings by malware.

Remove Location from Photos

Risk: Every picture taken with the smartphone can contain invisible Exif data (GPS coordinates). Perpetrators extract this data from supposedly harmless photos to find out exactly where the child lives, goes to school, or currently is.

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  • Disable permanently for the camera (iPhone):
    1. Go to Settings.
    2. Scroll to Privacy & Security and tap on Location Services.
    3. Find the Camera app in the list.
    4. Check the box for Never. From now on, no new photo will save the location.
  • Remove location for individual photos (iPhone):
    1. Open the photo in the Photos app.
    2. Tap the Share icon (square with an arrow pointing up).
    3. At the very top under "1 Photo Selected", tap on Options.
    4. Deactivate the toggle for Location (it must be gray), before tapping "Done" and sending the picture.
  • Disable permanently for the camera (Android - Samsung/Google):
    1. Open the Camera app.
    2. Tap the Gear icon (Settings), usually top left or right.
    3. Find the item Location tags, Save location, or Geotagging and turn it off.
  • Good to know about messengers:

    When photos are sent via WhatsApp or Signal as a "normal photo", the app usually strips the GPS data when compressing. BUT: If pictures are sent as a "Document / File" (to maintain quality) or via email/Discord, the location data is preserved!

Communication

Messengers & Social Media

Telegram & Zangi (Danger!)

Risk: Both platforms are characterized by absolute encryption (Zangi) and a lack of moderation/cooperation with authorities (Telegram). They are the main platforms for perpetrators. Perpetrators often use gaming chats or TikTok only for the initial contact and then quickly ask children to switch to Telegram or Zangi, as they have no fear of deletion, prosecution, or parental controls there. Extreme violence and CSAM are also exchanged there uncensored.

Recommended Action (Please read)
  • Zero Tolerance: These messengers have no place on the devices of children and young teens.
  • The setup for Zangi: Zangi requires no phone number for registration. Users log in anonymously. It is completely impossible to trace who is behind a profile.
  • The setup for Telegram: So-called "channels" and "groups" on Telegram can hold hundreds of thousands of members. There are no parental control filters. Anyone can search for contacts using the "People Nearby" function.
  • Seek a conversation: If you find these apps on the device: Do not delete them without a word. Ask the child: "Who asked you to download this app? Who are you talking to there?" Perpetrators create enormous pressure to use these apps. Talk to your child about the dangers of these hidden spaces.

Discord

Risk: Discord is often used in parallel to playing games. The danger lies in large, unmoderated "servers" where anyone can write a Direct Message (DM) to anyone. Perpetrators specifically look for children there, send pictures or links, and build confidential chat relationships.

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  • Block Direct Messages from strangers:
    1. Click the Gear icon (User Settings) in the bottom left.
    2. Go to Privacy & Safety.
    3. Find the item Allow direct messages from server members and disable it. In the future, only confirmed friends will be able to send messages to the child.
  • Regulate friend requests:
    1. Also in User Settings under Friend Requests:
    2. Disable "Everyone" and "Server Members".
    3. Ideally, only leave "Friends of Friends" enabled.
  • Enable content filter:

    Under Privacy & Safety, you will find the explicit image filter. Make sure to set this to "Keep me safe" (Scan direct messages from everyone).

WhatsApp

Risk: If privacy settings are open, perpetrators can see the child's profile picture via automated number searches, message them, or add them unasked to disturbing groups (e.g., with violent content).

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  • Protect profile picture:
    1. Go to Settings > Privacy.
    2. Click on Profile Photo and select My Contacts (never "Everyone").
  • Hide online status:
    1. Under Settings > Privacy > Last seen and online select Nobody or "My Contacts". Otherwise, perpetrators can read when the child is awake or using the phone.
  • Block stranger group invitations:
    1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Groups.
    2. Select My Contacts here. This prevents the child from being pulled into "spam" or grooming groups by strangers.

Snapchat

Risk: Snapchat's main danger is the illusion of fleetingness. Children believe pictures delete themselves and hastily send inappropriate content. Perpetrators use screenshots or third-party apps to save these pictures and use them for extortion ("sextortion"). In addition, the "Snap Map" reveals the exact live location up to the minute.

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  • Ghost Mode (Hide live location):
    1. Open the Snap Map (via the location pin bottom left).
    2. Tap the Gear on the top right.
    3. Activate Ghost Mode permanently. This is the only way to ensure no one sees where the child is.
  • Limit contact requests:
    1. Go to your own profile (avatar top left) and tap the Gear.
    2. Scroll to "Privacy Controls" and tap Contact Me. Select My Friends.
  • Disable "Quick Add":

    In Settings, go to See Me in Quick Add and uncheck the box. This will stop your child's profile from being algorithmically suggested as a possible new contact to strangers.

TikTok

Risk: When children publish their own videos (dances, playback), "public" profiles often attract pedophiles who download these videos, sexualize them (e.g. via AI) or make contact via private message ("Great dancing, how old are you?").

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  • Family Pairing:

    (Recommended) Use the "Family Pairing" mode. This allows you to lock the child's settings from your own phone without having to take their phone away.

  • Set up a private account:
    1. Go to Profile > Menu (three lines) > Settings and privacy.
    2. Tap on Privacy and activate Private account. Only approved followers can see the videos of the child.
  • Prevent downloads & duets:
    1. Also under Privacy:
    2. Set Downloads to "Off" (no one can save the videos).
    3. Set Duet and Stitch to "Only me" (no one can misuse the videos for their own collages).
  • Block Direct Messages (DM):

    Set Direct messages to No one. (TikTok does this automatically for users under 16, but false age information during registration bypasses this protection).

Instagram

Risk: Similar to TikTok. Public profiles make the child a target. "Message requests" end up in a separate folder for public profiles and very often contain dick pics (unsolicited nude pictures from men) or scams.

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  • Private Account:
    1. Go to Profile > Menu > Settings.
    2. Under the item Account privacy, activate the switch for Private account.
  • Limit messages & toxic comments:
    1. Search in Settings for Hidden Words and activate the filter for offensive/toxic terms in both comments and message requests.
    2. Under Messages and story replies > Message controls, set it so that messages from complete strangers cannot be received.
  • Close Friends List:

    Explain the "Close Friends" feature for stories to the child. This way, private content can be specifically shared only with true friends (green circle) and not with loose acquaintances from the follower list.

Gaming

Games: Roblox, Minecraft & Co.

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Risk: The voice chat in Fortnite connects players worldwide. Perpetrators use gaming lobbies to gain children's trust (e.g., by gifting in-game currency "V-Bucks"). The unfiltered voice chat is also often full of toxic language and insults.

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  • Limit voice chat & text in game:
    1. Open the menu in the game and go to Settings (Gear).
    2. Switch to the Audio tab (Speaker icon).
    3. Under "Voice Chat", set the option to Nobody or at most to Friends Only.
  • Epic Account Parental Controls (Important!):
    1. Log into the child's account on the Epic Games Website on a computer.
    2. Go to Account Settings > Parental Controls.
    3. Set a six-digit PIN.
    4. Here you can globally and tamper-proof set who the child can chat with and protect V-Bucks purchases with a PIN. A "Cabined Account" is automatically created for children under 13.
  • Party Visibility:

    Set the party joinability in the player menu to "Invite Only". This way, strange players cannot simply join the group.

Roblox

Risk: Roblox is a huge collection of user-generated games. Although Roblox uses filters, perpetrators try very actively to make initial contact here. They use popular role-playing games ("Adopt Me", "Brookhaven") to approach children and then guide them to external, unsafe chats (like Discord or WhatsApp).

Show detailed instructions
  • Set up Parent PIN (Do this first!):
    1. Open the Roblox Settings (Gear) > Security.
    2. Activate the Account PIN (Parent PIN). This 4-digit number prevents the child from changing the following security settings themselves.
  • Enable Account Restrictions:
    1. Stay under Security.
    2. Activate the Account Restrictions. This means only age-appropriate games are accessible for all age groups without exception, and the chat is set to the highest filter level.
  • Strictly regulate communication:
    1. Go to the Privacy tab.
    2. Under the contact settings, set "Who can message me?", "Who can chat with me in app?", and "Who can chat with me in game?" to No one (or "Friends" under close supervision).
    3. Set "Who can invite me to private servers?" to Friends or No one.

Minecraft

Risk: On huge public multiplayer servers, perpetrators occasionally hang out alongside scammers. The greatest danger in the Minecraft universe often does not lie in the game itself, but in accompanying Discord servers or foreign WhatsApp groups created to build together.

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  • Microsoft Family Dashboard (Central Management):

    Security settings (especially in the "Bedrock" edition on consoles and tablets) can often not be changed in the game, but only online via the linked Xbox Live / Microsoft account. Log in at account.xbox.com/settings with the parent account.

  • Multiplayer Restrictions (Online):
    1. Select your child's profile.
    2. Go to "Privacy & online safety" > Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 devices Online Safety.
    3. Here you can Block "You can play with people outside of Xbox Live" and "You can create and join clubs".
    4. Under "Privacy", set communication (voice and text) to Friends or Block.
  • Prefer Realms:

    It is best to let primary school children play on so-called Realms (rented private servers from Microsoft). Only real friends can be invited here with a direct code. Avoid large, public networks.

Brawl Stars / Supercell

Risk: Very popular mobile games like Brawl Stars or Clash of Clans are designed so that children make in-app purchases or join clubs/clans. Perpetrators use the clan chat function to make contact ("Come to my WhatsApp group, I'll give you gems").

Show detailed instructions
  • Block In-App Purchases on system level:

    As described in the basics, the block for the entire smartphone is the most important measure here. Use Google Family Link or Apple Screen Time so the child cannot secretly buy "jewels", "gems", or passes.

  • Disable friend requests:
    1. In Brawl Stars, go to the Settings menu (three lines, then Gear) on the top right.
    2. Disable Receive Friend Requests. This way, foreign players cannot simply add the child to the friend list after a match.
  • Check family-friendly clubs:

    Brawl Stars filters swear words in the chat very aggressively (sometimes even too much). Nevertheless, if children join a "Club" (association of players), they should make sure that this club is marked as Family Friendly in the settings. Such clubs do not allow unfiltered chat.