How Safe is Your Children’s Data?
Have you ever wondered just how safe your children’s data is in today’s digital world? While new GDPR rules have helped to tighten data protection, does this mean our children are now safer from the risks of online security? Here we’ll look at the types of places which keep records on children, from school admissions to social media.
School records
Schools need to store records of each student for a variety of reasons. However, the way in which these records are stored today are vastly different to how they used to be. The majority of information is stored digitally, with many schools taking advantage of systems such as Synergy’s School Admissions.
These types of systems are generally much more secure, ensuring hackers cannot gain access to the records stored.
Social media
Social media has become prominent in today’s society. However, many parents don’t realize just how much data it is capturing about their children. Even if your children aren’t on social media, their data could still be gained through your use of the platforms.
Placing pictures and information up about your children on social media can lead to a lot of data being stored. So, why is this a problem? Well, this stored data may be breached at some point, leading to an increased risk of your child falling victim to identity fraud in later life. It’s also a privacy issue too. Children can’t always give their consent for what they want to appear online and the data they want stored about them.
Internet-connected toys
One thing many parents don’t realize is that those popular internet-connected toys that their children play with, could be collecting all kinds of data. While new GDPR rules have helped to make it clearer about what data is collected and stored, it’s still difficult to know exactly what is being collected. So, when your children play with those internet-connected devices, they could unknowingly be transferring data over to the company.
Overall, it can be shocking discovering just how much of your children’s data is collected. It’s definitely worth contacting your child’s school to see how their data is used, as well as limiting the amount of information you share on social media. While it’s impossible to stop all data from being collected about your children, being aware of it, along with your rights, is highly beneficial.
