Digital Safety Glossary
Half of the difficulty in talking to a child about online safety is vocabulary — theirs and ours. This page defines the terms that come up most often in our sessions, in plain language.
Terms are grouped by where you'll meet them.
The basics
Digital footprint — everything a person leaves behind online: posts, photos, comments, likes, account names, and the things other people post about them. It's larger than most children assume and it doesn't get smaller on its own. See what a post gives away.
Metadata — data attached to a file that isn't the file itself. A photo can carry the time it was taken, the device that took it, and sometimes the exact location. Most platforms strip it on upload; some don't.
Geotag / location tag — a marker attached to a post that says where it was made. The single setting most worth turning off on a child's account.
Public / private account — a public account can be viewed by anyone; a private one requires approval. For a child, private is the default with no argument attached.
Screenshot — a captured image of whatever is on a screen. The reason "disappearing" content is an interface behaviour rather than a guarantee.
Contact and conversation
DM (direct message) — a private message inside a social app, separate from the public feed. Where most contact from strangers begins.
Group chat — a private conversation with several people. Feels like a closed room; behaves like a hallway, since any member can screenshot, forward, or add someone new.
Catfishing — creating a fake identity online, usually with stolen photos, to deceive someone into a relationship or a disclosure.
Grooming — the process by which an adult builds trust with a child in order to abuse it. It rarely looks alarming at the start: flattery, shared interests, gifts, secrets, and — reliably — a request to move the conversation to a different app. That request is the warning sign worth teaching by name.
Sextortion — threatening to share a person's intimate images unless they provide money or more images. If it happens, the child is the victim, not the culprit; preserve evidence, stop contact, and involve an adult and the platform immediately.
Sharing under pressure — a large share of young people who send images they regret report having been pressured at least once. Naming the pressure in advance is the most effective prevention we know.
Harm and conflict
Cyberbullying — repeated harm delivered through digital channels: messages, posts, exclusion from groups, impersonation, or sharing someone's private content. See how to spot it.
Trolling — deliberately provoking a reaction from strangers online, usually for entertainment.
Doxxing — publishing someone's private information (address, school, phone number, family details) without consent, typically to invite harassment.
Pile-on — many people responding to one person at once. Each participant experiences their contribution as a single comment; the target experiences several hundred.
Bystander effect — the tendency for people in a group to assume someone else will act. In practice, the most useful thing a child can do is message the target privately, even if they say nothing publicly.
Accounts and security
Two-factor authentication (2FA) — a second proof of identity, in addition to a password: a code from an app, a text message, or a security key. The highest-value five minutes in family online security.
Password manager — software that generates and stores unique passwords so nobody has to remember them. Built into every modern browser and phone.
Phishing — a message designed to look like it comes from a service you trust, aiming to capture a password or payment detail. Children encounter it most often as fake game-currency offers.
Data breach — an incident in which a service's stored user data is exposed. The reason unique passwords matter: one breach shouldn't unlock everything else.
App permissions — what an app is allowed to access on a device: location, camera, microphone, contacts, photos. Most apps ask for more than they need.
Practical walkthrough: Privacy and Security Check-Up.
Feeds and attention
Algorithm / recommendation feed — the system that decides which posts you see and in what order. Optimised for how long you stay, not for how you feel afterwards.
Infinite scroll / autoplay — interface patterns with no natural stopping point. The reason "consuming" screen time needs a number when other kinds don't.
Ephemeral content — posts designed to disappear after a set time. Popular because it feels lower-stakes; unreliable for exactly the reason above.
Technoference — the small, repeated interruptions a device introduces into a face-to-face interaction. Mostly studied in parents. See checking your own use.
Screen time — a measurement, not a diagnosis. More useful when split into creating, learning and consuming than as one number.
For schools and organisations
Safeguarding lead — the named person in a school responsible for child-protection concerns. The correct first contact for a serious incident, rather than a class teacher informally.
Acceptable use policy — the rules a school sets for how its devices and network may be used, usually signed by students and parents at enrolment.
Filtering and monitoring — the software a school runs to block harmful content and flag concerning activity on its own devices and network. Worth knowing what your child's school uses, and what it does not cover once they are at home.
Missing a term? Tell us and we'll add it. For the habits behind the vocabulary, start with What Digital Responsibility Actually Means.