Study Highlights Internet Privacy Risks for Children
A recent “Privacy Sweep” conducted by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network revealed that “50% of websites and apps share children’s personal information.” An even larger percentage (67%) collected children’s personal information, raising some major questions about privacy.
Today, children of all ages spend a lot of time on the Internet – for fun, to do homework and increasingly in the classroom at school. Each time a child browses online, the ISP and other third parties can be tracking their activity, and this information is often sold to advertisers. Many sites also collect personal information from users – including children. As we’ve previously mentioned, this information is often collected and shared with third parties without the users’ knowledge – even in the VPN space. As a result, it’s more important than ever that we understand the privacy risks for Internet users of all ages.
One way to increase privacy online for children is to connect through a VPN. VPNs encrypt your Internet connection so your ISP can’t see what sites you’re visiting as you browse online, and as a result cannot collect or sell information about the child’s activity. With a VPN you can also change your IP location, so sites cannot identify a child’s actual location. Encrypting your connection also prevents third parties and snoops from being able to see any data or personal information that is entered online. All these things can help safeguard a child’s privacy online, and being aware that this information is often collected and sold is also an important step. Golden Frog’s VyprVPN is a good way to achieve this increased privacy and security, and we run our own network and do not use third parties.
Learn more about how a VPN can protect your privacy and security.
Learn how some states are trying to protect student data.