Surf safer with new ‘First Phone’ lessons

Vodafone is helping to keep children safe online by offering young people a new ‘First Phone Tutorial’.

Vodafone is helping to keep children safe online by offering young people a new ‘First Phone Tutorial’. The special sessions will teach parents and children everything from setting up a smartphone to online safety and managing social media accounts.

Vodafone has launched a number of initiatives to promote children’s online safety:

• My First Phone Tutorial – teaching parents and children what they need to know about setting up a new smartphone and online safety
• Digital Life Skills – a workshop run by trained Vodafone employees for parents and children in selected schools across the UK
• Digital Parenting Magazine – helping young people to become more confident and resilient online

My First Phone

Getting a first phone is an exciting rite of passage for many children, marking the start of their online independence and often coinciding with starting secondary school or walking home alone for the first time. For parents too, it is a significant milestone as their child starts to take their first steps towards independence.

Vodafone’s My First Phone Tutorials are designed to give both parents and children clear and useful information about how to stay safe online, as well as tips on how to use their new phone responsibly. The tutorials are designed to be fun and will also show young people how to get the most out of their chosen device. Parents can sign up for a session in store from today. For more information, please see here: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/tech-team-hub/

Helen Lamprell, General Counsel & External Affairs Director, Vodafone UK said: “Giving a child a first smartphone is a big moment for both parent and child.   Parents want to be sure that their children are using their phones responsibly and staying safe online. With ‘First Phone Tutorials’, both parents and children will have the opportunity to learn about online safety.”

Vodafone is also offering interactive Digital Life Skills Workshops for parents and children in selected schools across the UK. This hour-long workshop is run by trained Vodafone employees, and is designed to educate parents and children between eight and 13.

To coincide with the launch of the First Phone Tutorials, Vodafone’s digital parenting experts have put together a checklist for parents for when their children get their first phones. It includes everything from creating restricted profiles and controlling access to certain apps, to disabling location settings and restricting camera access. The checklist can be applied to any Android Smartphone or tablet, such as the Vodafone Smart E8 or Vodafone Smart Tab N8, which are affordable and easy to use first devices.

Top Tips for keeping children safe online

Create a restricted user – a restricted user profile is controlled and curated by an owner user (i.e. a parent) and it takes less than a minute to create. Simply follow the steps below on your Android device.

1. Open the settings app
2. Tap on Users
3. Select ‘Add User’
4. Select ‘Restricted user’

Android lets you create multiple user accounts on your phone or tablet, whether they’re restricted or not.  This means you can set up a user account for yourself and a separate restricted user profile for your child or children.

Restrict Google Play access – to choose what apps your children have access to, make sure you go into the Google Play Store app and audit the Parental Controls there. Simply follow the steps below:

1. From inside the Play Store open the menu
2. Select ‘Settings’
3. Then, scroll down and select ‘Parental Controls’
4. Turn on

After you enable this, go through and set the content ratings for apps, games, movies, TV, books and music.  This also applies to social media apps such as Facebook, Spotify and YouTube – preventing children from accessing those services on the tablet should you wish.

Disable location access – disabling location access prevents apps from using your child’s location information. To do this simply:

1. Open the App Drawer and go to Settings
2. Scroll down and tap location
3. Scroll down and tap Google Location Settings
4. Tap Location Reporting and Location History, and switch the slider to off for each one

Restrict Camera access – This will prevent apps from accessing the camera function, helping to protect your child’s privacy. It will also prevent them from filling up the tablet with pictures and videos which will take up a lot of storage.

Safe Search Filters – If you don’t want your child to use Chrome to surf the internet, then set the SafeSearch filters via the Chrome app. SafeSearch uses advanced technology to filter out adult content, and can be activated via the following steps:

1. Go to apps > Settings > Accounts
2. Select your Google Account and go to the Search section
3. In the privacy section, tap on Accounts & Privacy
4. Check ‘SafeSearch’ filter

For further information on online safety check out Digital Parenting Magazine – Vodafone’s dedicated online and digital safety magazine for families, which can be found here: http://www.vodafone.com/content/digital-parenting.html/

-ends-

Notes to Editors
The First Phone Tutorial lasts 35 minutes and costs £15 – booking is subject to availability. Children cannot attend the tutorial without a parent/guardian present for the duration. Ask a Tech Expert in store for further details.

For more information please contact:

Vodafone UK Media Relations

Tel: 01635 693 693

Email: ukmediarelations@vodafone.com