Family
Safety settings for a child’s phone
Keep the app-store password, turn off public location, and make it normal to show you any scary message.
A child’s phone is usually a family phone in practice: school groups, games, and messages from people you have not met. The useful setup is a few controls plus a clear rule that they can show you anything.
Controls to set together
Keep the app-store password with a parent. A new app should be a conversation.
Use Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link for downtime and to approve installs. The menu names differ by phone. The point is that installs and late-night use are not unlimited.
Set social accounts to private. Turn off location stickers and live location on stories.
School name, the daily route, and a live map do not belong in a public post.
Contacts and photos should not be shared with a game or a loan-style app. If an app asks for the whole contact list, do not allow it.
The rule that matters when something goes wrong
Tell them they can show you any message, including one that is rude, frightening, or about a photo, and they will not be punished for showing you. Ask them to stop if someone requests a photo, a login code, or money.
If that has already happened, do not send money or more photos. Save the messages, block the account, and report it with them. A parent should make the report at cybercrime.gov.in when a child is being threatened.
If money has already left your account, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. This page is awareness information. It does not file a complaint.