A recent online safety briefing shared by musician John Rich — produced with federal and local law-enforcement experts — is sounding an alarm for parents and grandparents: your child’s phone may be exposing them to predators, and the fix could be as simple as changing a few settings.
The presentation highlights a growing reality: while families work hard to keep kids safe in the physical world, many children are wide-open targets online. Social media apps, gaming platforms, and smartphones collect location data, expose personal details, and allow strangers to contact kids directly — often without a parent ever knowing.
The “Five-Minute Fix” Checklist
Here are the immediate steps experts recommend:
- Make all social-media accounts private — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, everything.
- Clean up follower lists — if your child doesn’t know someone personally, remove or block them.
- Turn off location services for the camera — this prevents photos from revealing your home.
- Enable privacy tools like Snapchat’s Ghost Mode.
- Use Apple Family Sharing or Google Family Link to approve apps and manage screen time.
These changes take minutes but dramatically reduce the chance of online contact by predators.
Red Flags Parents Should Watch For
Law-enforcement officials say these behaviors often signal trouble:
- Sudden secretiveness with a device
- A stranger offering gifts or game currency
- Requests to move a chat to another app
- Asking for photos or video access
- Mood changes, fear, or withdrawal
If sextortion or exploitation is suspected, do not send money. Block the offender, save evidence, and report it to federal authorities or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Why It Matters
The online world is now a child’s playground, classroom, and social circle. That means adults must treat digital safety the same way they treat locking the doors at night. A few quick setting changes can close major loopholes — and potentially prevent something far worse.
Digital convenience is wonderful, but safety must come first. Taking five minutes today to secure a child’s phone could be one of the most important protections a parent or grandparent makes.
Eye encourages all parents/grandparents to sit with their children and watch this video together. It will probably be the most important video you watch with them in their life!
