Case study: Aimee

Weaving privacy chats into everyday life

Aimee lives in Nottingham with her husband and three children. Her youngest daughter is nine. Like many children her age, Aimee’s daughter loves video calling friends and playing games online.

As her children got more interested in being online, Aimee started thinking about privacy. She noticed how peer pressure plays a big role. When friends join a new app or platform, children want to follow. That’s when Aimee decided to act.

She started by weaving privacy chats into everyday life. If she spotted one of her children on their phone, she’d simply ask what they were doing. One topic she keeps coming back to is location sharing. As Aimee puts it: “Your mum needs to know where you are, not the food delivery app.”

Her advice to other parents? Don’t overthink it. “It doesn’t have to be a serious sit-down chat,” she says. “It can be as simple as ‘Hey, did you know…?’”

Aimee also sees online privacy as a community issue, not just a family one. Even when her son leaves the house without a phone, he may still be messaging via a friend’s device. That’s why she encourages parents to talk to each other too, at the school gates and beyond. Building a shared understanding helps protect all children, not just our own.

Small, regular conversations can make a big difference.