The Proton Blog

How to manage the internet for your family

Richie Koch — Tue, 20 May 2025 21:38:23 GMT

The internet is essential to today’s society — work, recreation, and even socializing with friends increasingly take place online. To help the people you love get the most out of the internet, you need to be ready to answer their questions. Kids, parents, grandparents — everyone needs to be equipped to make smart decisions.

The good news is you don’t need to do this alone. Proton Drive makes it easy for you to protect your most precious information — your family photos. And we’ve compiled several guides to help you tackle some of the biggest issues you might face when helping your family be safe, get things done, and have fun online.

A parent’s guide to keeping kids safe online

If you have kids that are old enough to be online, we’ve got you covered. Below we share practical guides covering some of the most popular social media and gaming platforms. They explain the risks your kids can face, the parental controls these platforms offer, and how to talk to your kids about them.

Learn how to help keep your kids safe on:

How to protect your family’s privacy

There’s nothing more precious than your family’s data. Unfortunately, Big Tech, marketers, and AI developers want to sweep up your emails, photos, videos, and more. We explain how they collect this information — and how you can keep it safe.

Your family photos are training AI – here’s why it matters and how to stop it

Your family deserves a better internet

Helping your family navigate the internet is tricky but essential work. It’s also not about locking things down, but empowering the people you care about the most. When you help protect your child’s privacy and explain how these platforms work, you set them up with skills they’ll use for life. The same goes for parents and grandparents.

We’re here to help. We also believe it should all be a little easier. That’s why privacy is the foundation of our service, not an optional feature. Thank you for your support. With your help, we’ll build a better internet that not only protects your data, but also empowers your whole family.

Does Minecraft have parental controls?

Richie Koch — Tue, 20 May 2025 21:07:48 GMT

In brief

Minecraft is the world’s most popular game. It provides a sandbox environment and multiplayer options, meaning the experience, play style, and content a child encounters can vary widely depending on the server they connect to.
There are many family-friendly Minecraft servers designed to be safe environments for kids to play. Two of the most popular are The Sandlot and CubeCraft.
You can also take advantage of Microsoft’s Family Account to help support your child.
The most important thing you can do is talk to your child and teach them how to play responsibly, identify potentially distressing or inappropriate content, and how to respond.

Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time (and the subject of a recent movie with Jack Black), with 300 million copies sold, and is incredibly popular among kids and teens. Minecraft is a “sandbox” game, meaning there’s no real goal — players can use their imagination to explore, create, craft, build, farm, hunt, mine, and fight how they see fit. Released in 2011 by Mojang Studios, it’s available across just about every platform, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Fire OS/TV, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, and Samsung Gear VR.

Video games can be a positive and fun outlet for kids, but as with all technology, there are risks. For one, video games like Minecraft can lead to hive-mind behavior. Players can also interact with others from all over the world through the internet, which can lead parents to ask all kinds of questions:

Who is your child talking to when they play a video game?
Do they know this person?
What information are they sharing with strangers?

Lastly, companies can also collect data on a user, including their personal information, gameplay, and online communications. If your child is playing Minecraft, Microsoft and Mojang are likely collecting data on who they are, how often they play, and more.

What information does Minecraft collect?
Practical steps to minimize data collection
Help your child avoid distressing content
How to talk to your child about Minecraft safety

What information does Minecraft collect?

The type of information that Minecraft collects depends on the platform you’re using. Most users sign up with a Microsoft account, but you can also use a PlayStation Network account, Nintendo account, Google account, or an Apple ID. You can download the game and play without an account, but to save your gameplay and access most features, you’ll need to sign in. Once you log in with your Microsoft account, Minecraft and Xboxlive.com can share your personal information.

Microsoft’s privacy policy states that it and Mojang collect account information, including your email address, gamer tag, avatars, age range, and the information associated with your gamer tag. The company may also collect usage data, like when you sign in and out of Xbox, when you make purchases, the games you play, the apps you use, your game progress, play time per game, in-game activity, rankings, gamer profiles, and other gaming statistics.

Microsoft can also collect performance data, like information about your Xbox console, Game Pass, the Xbox network, any connected accessories, your network connection, and any software or hardware errors. Device information, like the operating system used and your hardware specifications, may also be collected, as well as your location data, including the country from which you accessed the gaming server and your IP address.

If your child is playing Minecraft with other people, Microsoft may also collect communication data, including texts, pictures, and video captures that are uploaded or shared, as well as chat data, interactions with other gamers, your child’s friends lists, and people they follow.

Once Microsoft has this data, it uses it to advertise and market to you with targeted ads.

Practical steps to minimize data collection

You can configure your child’s privacy settings within Minecraft to limit data sharing and manage their safety and communication preferences. If you download Minecraft on a smartphone, you will be prompted to allow Minecraft to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. Always select Ask App Not To Track.

Help your child avoid distressing content

Compared to some social media services, Minecraft’s data collection and risks can seem relatively low stakes. However, the type of players, behavior, and content you encounter in Minecraft can vary widely depending on the server your child connects to.

The good news is, there are dozens of servers that advertise themselves as family-friendly and are set up specifically to provide a safe, fun environment for younger kids, The Sandlot and CubeCraft being a couple of the most well-known ones. When looking for servers for your kids, make sure they have the following:

Clear community guidelines
Active moderation
Allowlisting or other access control methods

As your child gets older, they might want to find their own servers. As they start to flex newly found independence, you should talk to them about how to play responsibly and identify potentially inappropriate content. You can support them as they learn by using a Family Account.

Create a Family Account

Parents can create a family account using either the Microsoft Family Safety website or Xbox Family app. To create a family account that oversees your child’s account, log in to the Microsoft Family Safety website or Xbox Family app using the parent’s account.

For Microsoft Family Safety

Click Create a family group and then Add a family member. Create a new child account or add your child’s existing email address. You can log in and manage your child’s account at https://account.xbox.com/en-us/settings.

For the Xbox Family app

To add your child to your account in the Xbox Family App.

Tap the green silhouette icon in the top right-hand corner of the app.
Tap Add child.
Tap Create new account or Add existing account.
Locate your child’s account under Members to manage settings.

Parental controls

Parents can set up a number of parental controls to restrict certain features and monitor gameplay, player spending, and more. This is a great way to keep your child safe while they play video games. To begin, log in to your Microsoft Family Safety or Xbox Family app and select the account you wish to manage.

If you don’t want your child to engage with other players on the internet within the Minecraft ecosystem, you can turn off multiplayer games and cross-network play. You can also control who can view your child’s profile, set screen time parameters and spending limits, and enable the “Ask to buy” feature so kids can’t make in-game purchases without permission. Don’t forget to turn on activity monitoring to view which apps and games your child has been playing, how much time they’ve spent playing them, and more.

Turn off chat mode

Turning the online chat feature off can be useful if you don’t want your child communicating with people online, especially strangers.

To turn off chat mode:

Open Minecraft, click the menu, and select Options → Chat settings.
Turn chat settings to Commands only or Hidden to turn off the chat feature.
Next, turn off Web Links and Prompt on Links so your child can’t access links sent to them inside the chat.

Check for regular software updates

It’s easier to get hacked if your software isn’t updated. Always ensure that Minecraft (or any game you play) is updated to the most recent version to benefit from the latest security patches and protect user data.

Practice safe modding

Mods are programs created by third-party developers that allow users to alter game code for expanded play. In Minecraft, the possibilities are endless — you can install a mod to create dinosaurs, helicopters, planes, spaceships, medieval castles, and more.

Because any tech-savvy person can develop a mod (you can even learn how to make your own), these fun enhancements also have the potential for viruses and malware. Always advise children to download modifications, or mods, from reputable sources to avoid malware. You can’t guarantee the safety of every single mod, but you can take steps to ensure you’re downloading a safe mod.

To find a safe mod, first, make sure you have anti-virus software installed. Minecraftsmods.com is a popular website to find mods, but no matter what website you use, only download highly rated mods with a high number of downloads (in the thousands), positive reviews, and comments.

Next, download Forge mods. Forge is a reputable server that allows Minecraft players to create and download modifications safely. For more information on how to download mods, watch this video from CodaKid.

How to talk to your child about Minecraft safety

The most important way to keep your kids safe online is to help them identify threats themselves and teach them how to deal with them.

Have an open dialogue

Encourage regular conversations about online experiences and concerns, like harassment, hate speech, or inappropriate content they might see in online communities or in gameplay.

Set boundaries

Establish clear rules for online interactions and time allowed for playing Minecraft or other video games. Watch for problematic behaviors and gaming habits, like not finishing homework, foregoing sleep to play Minecraft, or not socializing with friends.

Use strong passwords

Explain the importance of creating robust passwords to your child. This includes making sure they never share account details with friends or other gamers on the internet.

Recognize inappropriate content

Teach children to identify and report unsuitable material or behavior to an adult. This can include text communications during in-game play, inappropriate photo uploads, aggressive or threatening behavior, stalking, and more. Additionally, you can learn how to Report a player for inappropriate behavior to Minecraft and show your child how to report someone on their own. The in-game menu also allows you to block or mute players. Simply click on a player profile and then choose Report or block, Change friendship, or Mute in chat.

Empower decision-making

Help your child understand the importance of their safety by talking to them about the risks and dangers of online gameplay. Have regular discussions about what they should and shouldn’t share on the internet, as well as why it’s important to keep their personal information and data private.

For additional information, read more about how to talk to your child about video game safety and ensure they have a positive gaming experience.

Building a safe internet sandbox

At its best, Minecraft is a digital sandbox where your child can flex their imagination. This guide should help you feel better about your ability to keep that sandbox safe.

We want everyone to be in control of information, especially kids and their families. As the internet grows more central to our lives, we want to educate parents on how to maintain their child’s privacy, reduce data collection, and stay safe online.

Does Instagram have parental controls?

Richie Koch — Mon, 19 May 2025 22:07:40 GMT

In brief

Instagram is one of the world’s largest social media platforms, and it collects troves of data, can nudge your teens toward disturbing material, and make them feel pressure to always be sharing.
Fortunately, Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts globally. Teen Accounts turn Instagram’s settings to their most private by default for anyone under 18.
Parents can take an even more proactive role in monitoring and guiding their child’s Instagram use with its supervision features.
But the most important thing parents can do is talk to their kids about how Instagram is designed to keep them scrolling — because your kids should be in control of the tech they use.

Instagram is often your child’s first “public” platform — and while it’s built for connection, it’s also designed to gather data, surface risky content, and reward oversharing.

The good news is that this year, Instagram is globally introducing Teen Accounts, which turn many of its privacy and safety features on by default for teenagers between 13 and 17. It also updated its supervision feature that allows parents to help manage their teen’s safety settings. While this is a good start, these features alone are not enough to ensure your child’s privacy, safety, and mental well being.

If you’re a parent looking to create a safer online space for your child, understanding Instagram’s data practices and how the platform works can help you talk with your child about how to stay safe, helping them develop healthy habits that they can use across the internet and for the rest of their life.

What Instagram knows about your child
The Instagram algorithm: What parents should understand
Instagram’s Teen Accounts
Instagram’s Family Center
Design patterns that encourage oversharing
How to talk about privacy with your child
How to take a break – or opt out

What Instagram knows about your child

Meta (via Instagram) collects:

Location (even when not actively using the app)
Biometrics (via filters)
Contacts (if synced)
Interactions and engagement patterns
Follower graphs and interest profiles

Meta can also collect data about your activity outside of Instagram and other Meta services (such as Facebook or WhatsApp) via third party partners and its Facebook pixel.

Instagram uses this data to power recommendations, sell ads, and refine the algorithm. Meta, the parent company behind Instagram, keeps user data after content is deleted and doesn’t define how long it may keep it for. Meta’s privacy policy explicitly states that the company “might” keep some account information, though it doesn’t specify what that information entails. The information Instagram collects can be preserved to respond to legal requests, comply with the law, for “safety, security and integrity” purposes, and for litigation. Additionally, Meta may keep information about users to review “suspicious activity,” including “suspected money laundering” or “terrorist funding.”

The data that Meta keeps on your child’s Instagram account, including their location, physical features and characteristics, personal contacts, social media interactions, and followers, can divulge far more information to Meta than a parent realizes. It’s important that parents know what kind of information Meta collects on children so they can protect their identity and privacy while ensuring a safe and age-appropriate user experience.

You can review how Meta uses your data, including your activity outside of Meta, to influence you and your online behaviors:

Go to accountscenter.instagram.com/info_and_permissions/ and click Your activity off Meta technologies to see what companies are sharing information about you with Meta. From there, you can manage future activity and disconnect activity so third parties no longer share your — or your child’s — browsing habits with Meta.

The Instagram algorithm: What parents should understand

Instagram’s data collection is only part of the equation. You should also be mindful of the content Instagram shows your child. Instagram uses the information it collects to show people content it thinks would be interesting or relevant to them. Discovering these content surprises can light up the same parts of your brain as other addictions, like alcohol or gambling.

You’ve likely heard about the Instagram algorithm, the platform’s intricate system that provides a personalized content experience based on a user’s activity. The algorithm is designed to optimize a user’s feed, keeping them on the platform longer by showing users content that is relevant to their interests. This system is influenced through Instagram’s Explore tab, Reels, suggested content, and user engagement.

How does it work?

The algorithm is driven by engagement signals including likes, comments and watch time
Content doesn’t have to be followed to be surfaced
Sensational content, which is often not age-appropriate, performs better

The last point is the most important. Social media outlets have found that sensation and divisive content is the most likely to be shared and keep people engaged, meaning these platforms are incentivized to show more of it. It’s very easy to feel like your feed has been taken over by content you don’t necessarily want. Earlier this year, Instagram saw a surge in bizarre and disturbing content (paywall), including surgeries and AI-generated videos. A side effect of this is people’s social media feed can slowly nudge them into radical media niches and warp their perception of reality.

If you feel like Intagram’s algorithm is repeatedly showing you inappropriate or unwanted content, you can now reset it.

To get a fresh start with the Instagram algorith:

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.

Tap the menu button in the top right.
Scroll down until you see Content preferences. Tap it.
Tap Reset suggested content.
Follow the prompts. Instagram will wipe out your recommended content and let you start fresh.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t delete your data.

Learn more about resetting Instagram’s recommendations

Instagram’s Teen Accounts

Anyone under the age of 18 who signs up for Instagram will automatically be enrolled in a Teen Account and have many of Instagram’s settings switched to its most private option by default.

If teens already have an Instagram account, their account will automatically use the following privacy settings list below if they’re under the age of 16, even if their account was public previously.

Private accounts

Teen Accounts are set to Private by default, meaning they must accept new followers and people who aren’t followers can’t see their content.

Messaging

Teens can only receive messages from followers or people they have previously sent messages to. If someone isn’t follower, they cannot send your child a message request or add them to a group chat. (Followers can always send messages unless your teen blocks them.)

Tags and mentions

Photos and content from Teen Accounts can only be tagged or mentioned by followers.

Sensitive content

Meta claims Instagram’s feed, search results, and its Explore and Reels features will only show and suggest less sensitive content.

Unfortunately, recent reporting by the nonprofits Accountable Tech and Design It For Us suggests the enhanced moderation isn’t as effective as Meta claims. These organizations created five test Teen Accounts and found that all five were algorithmically recommended sexual content and four were recommended body image and disordered eating content.

Read the report

Sleep mode

Teen Accounts automatically mute notifications, auto-reply to messages, and remind teens to close Instagram between 10 PM and 7 AM each night.

Daily time limits

Teens can use Instagram and Threads for a combined total of 60 minutes a day before they see a reminder to close the app.

Hidden Words

Teen Accounts automatically use the most restrictive version of Instagram’s Hidden Words feature, which hides messages and comments that include inappropriate or offensive content (for example, racial slurs or curse words).

These settings can’t be adjusted by teens under the age of 16 with their parents’ assistance. Once teens turn 16, they can adjust these privacy settings on their own unless their parents have set up supervision features.

Learn more about Instagram’s Teen Accounts

Instagram’s Family Center

If you’d like to be more involved in your teen’s feed, you can use Instagram’s Family Center to set up supervision features. This will let you see how much time your teen spends on Instagram, who they’re following, who is following them, and more.

It’s important that you talk to your teen before you try to set up supervision. Parental controls will be much less effective if your teen is openly hostile to the idea. Your real goal should be teaching your teen how to navigate the internet and social media maturely and healthily — you should think of these parental controls as a backstop.

To use supervision, you’ll need to get your teen to accept an invite. Your teen can also invite you, but then they’ll need to re-confirm once you accept their invite.

To send your teen an invite for supervision:

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.

Tap the menu button in the top right.
Scroll down until you see Family Center. Tap it.
Tap Invite your teen.
Select your teen’s Instagram account and tap Invite. If you can’t find your teen’s account or don’t follow them, you can tap share a link instead, which will generate an invite link you can copy and paste into your chosen app to share with your teen.

Once your teen accepts, they’ll need your permission to adjust privacy settings. You’ll also be able to set a hard time limit (instead of giving the teen a reminder after 60 minutes, a parent can use supervision controls to block the app).

Learn more about Instagram’s Family Center

Design patterns that encourage oversharing

In addition to privacy concerns and radicalization, Instagram and social media use can have negative impacts on children. Increased social media use among kids is correlated with poor mental health, including negative self-image, anxiety, depression, bullying, and risky behavior.

Instagram’s manipulative design can exacerbate these issues among children. Beauty filters and influencer culture reinforce appearance anxiety and consumerism, encouraging children to purchase makeup, clothing, and expensive and trendy new items to fit in.

Additionally, features like Instagram stories and highlights reward oversharing and encourage users to always be “on.” This can be especially harmful to kids who rely on social media for community and to “fit in.”

Instagram’s “People You May Know” feature can also nudge children toward unwanted connections, like age-inappropriate accounts or school bullies.

To keep your child safe on Instagram, it’s important to talk to them about their experiences on social media. Topics you can discuss include:

What kinds of attention feel good — and which feel weird
What they’ve seen in Explore that made them uncomfortable
How they decide who to follow or interact with

How to talk about privacy with your child

It isn’t always easy to talk to teens about their social media use, but talking to your child about the potential dangers of Instagram is one way to ensure your teenager is using the platform responsibly. Follow these scripts and strategies the next time you want to discuss online privacy with your child in a way that encourages their autonomy and safety.

“Instagram is built to keep you scrolling and sharing. We want you to be in charge of it, not the other way around.”

Model the idea that privacy is a sign of maturity, not restriction.

“Social media can be fun, but we want you to be in control so you can disengage when it doesn’t feel positive.”

Ask: “What are some things you can do when you see something online that makes you feel bad?
Try brainstorming activities together that encourage taking a break from the internet.

How to take a break – or opt out

For parents considering more active interventions, here’s how you can delete an account.

Temporarily deactivate Instagram — or delete it:

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile. Tap the menu button in the top right.
Tap Accounts center → Personal Details → Account ownership and control → Deactivation or deletion
Select the profile you want to deactivate or permanently delete.
Tap Deactivate account if you want to temporarily disable your account. Your profile will be hidden on Instagram and will be inaccessible to yourself or viewers until you reactivate it.
Or, tap Delete account to permanently delete your Instagram account. Your profile, photos, videos, comments, likes, and followers will be permanently removed. Remember, Meta will still retain a profile of your account and its data, even after it is deleted.

Learn more about deleting Instagram accounts

Download account data

Before deleting your account, you may want to have a copy of your data. Follow these steps to download:

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile. Tap the menu button in the top right.
Your Activity → Download your information.

Learn more about downloading your information

Remember that Instagram can’t remove some data. Screenshots other people have taken of your profile (including messages, photos, likes, and comments) may still exist, as will direct messages you sent to someone else.

Ultimately, Instagram can be a fun space for kids, but it’s up to you to create a safe environment for them. It’s important to have regular conversations about privacy, risky behavior on the internet, and the mental health effects of social media. With an open dialogue and the right tools, you can take steps to ensure your child has a healthy relationship with social media that prioritizes their privacy and safety.

At Proton, we advocate for a better internet, starting with your family’s privacy and safety. As kids spend more time online, we want to educate parents on how to maintain their child’s privacy, reduce data collection, and create a safe place for all.

Does TikTok have parental controls?

Richie Koch — Mon, 19 May 2025 22:05:36 GMT

In brief

TikTok, one of the most popular apps in the world for teens and preteens, is a hyper-personalized video stream that learns from every interaction.
It collects all sorts of data, including their location, emotional reactions, and more, to build detailed user profiles. It also uses tricks like endless scroll and autoplay to ensure users never have a break to log off.
By default, TikTok now turns on its most private settings for teenagers between 13 and 17. Parents can also use Family Pairing to be more involved in how their kids use TikTok.
The best way to prepare your kids for TikTok is to have an honest conversation about what it does, what they enjoy about it, and how to minimize its downsides.

TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the world, especially with teens and preteens, because it’s effortless — open the app, and the entertainment begins. But behind that frictionless feed is a powerful surveillance engin e that’s constantly observing, comparing, and optimizing for engagement. This optimization process works incredibly fast and can quickly lead your children into niche or disturbing content.

Fortunately, TikTok has introduced new settings that automatically implement its strictest privacy settings for teenagers between 13 and 17. Still, you should know how TikTok works and what you, as a parent, should look out for.

This guide offers practical advice parents can use to help protect and prepare their kids.

What TikTok knows about your child
How old do you have to be to use TikTok and age-based protections
How the For You Page works – and why it matters
How TikTok keeps teens scrolling
How to talk to your child about TikTok
How to use Family Pairing
How to download or delete TikTok data
Awareness is a win

What TikTok knows about your child

TikTok collects all kinds of data and builds detailed profiles for each user to ensure that they keep watching. It doesn’t just track your children’s preferences and habits — it learns your vulnerabilities, curiosities, identity shifts, and more — and uses that information to keep them engaged.

Here’s a breakdown of the data it collects:

Location: Even if your child isn’t posting content with geotags, TikTok can use their device’s IP address, settings, GPS signals, and SIM card to infer their location, routines, and favorite spots. All this data helps the algorithm localize content and ads — and can build a behavioral map.
Voice and video: TikTok doesn’t just collect what your child types — according to its privacy policy, it can scan their voice, face, and even the background of their videos. This data can be used to categorize users and fed into emotion-detection models that tailor content to facial expressions, tone, or energy level.
Viewing Behavior: TikTok monitors how long your child watches a video down to the second, whether they rewatch, pause, or scroll past. These micro-behaviors are clustered into hyper-personalized, interest-based profiles that are then reinforced by suggested content.
Contacts (if synced): If you sync your contacts, TikTok scans them and builds a map of your social network — including people who might not be on the platform. TikTok can use this map of your child’s relationships to hone its personalization, friend suggestions, and peer-based nudging.
In-app browsing behavior: TikTok logs every search, like, click, and comment. This data powers the recommendation system and refines ad targeting. A single search — even if accidental — can seed a pattern and drive the TikTok algorithm to deliver similar content.

How old do you have to be to use TikTok and age-based protections

To create a TikTok account, children must be at least 13. This might seem young, but the app’s default settings cover several areas of concern for young users, offering its strongest protections for kids 13-15. More standard TikTok features are available to teens ages 16-17, but full access to all of TikTok is only available if you’re 18 or older.

While TikTok’s Teen Safety Center explains basic safety and privacy features, it doesn’t fully equip teens to navigate the complexities of data privacy and algorithmic influence. Parents should talk openly with them about mindful usage, emphasizing critical thinking and encouraging teens to reflect on how the app’s design affects their attention and behavior.

This age-based breakdown shows when and how TikTok’s default protections apply and suggests what parents should still consider.

Ages 13-15: Strongest protection, still some gaps

Anyone under 16 gets TikTok’s strictest account settings, with many features locked down completely.

Accounts are private by default and can’t be made public.
No one can Duet, Stitch, create stickers with, or download their videos.
Direct messaging is turned off entirely, even if they follow and are followed by someone else.
Comments default to Friends (followers they follow back) but can be changed to No one.
The “Suggest your account to others” feature is turned off and can’t be enabled.
Sticker creation from their videos is blocked and can’t be enabled.

Parents should know: Even with these protections, your child’s profile photo, username, and nickname are visible to everyone. Shared content can be linked externally, even if it can’t be downloaded or Dueted. And while these default settings greatly reduce outside exposure and contact, they don’t eliminate TikTok’s social pressure, attention-seeking incentives, or the emotional impact of its algorithmic feedback. It’s still important to help your child understand why privacy matters — and how invisible systems can shape their experience in powerful ways.

Ages 16-17: More flexibility, less protection

Teens in this category still get protective defaults but can now modify them.

Accounts are private by default but can be made public at any time.
Downloads, Duets, and Stitches are blocked for private accounts, so no one can download or remix their videos. If your child switches their account to public, they can change this setting from its No one default to allow Friends or Everyone to Duet, Stitch, or download content.
Direct messages are turned off by default but can be enabled. The default is No one, but it can be switched to Friends or Suggested Friends (mutual contacts).
On private accounts, comments default to Followers, meaning anyone who follows the user can comment. On public accounts, comments default to Everyone, allowing any TikTok user to comment. You child can change this setting to Friends or No one, regardless of whether their account is public or private.
“Suggest your account to others” is off by default but can be turned on for both account types.
On private accounts, sticker creation is blocked and can’t be enabled. On public accounts, sticker creation is set to Friends but can be changed to Everyone or Only you.

Parents should know: Teens in this group are more independent and socially active, but they’re still navigating digital boundaries. Even with default protections, the ability to switch to public and opt into more exposure means that conversations about intentional settings, emotional safety, and online reputation are even more important.

Ages 18+: Full access, minimal default protection

At 18, TikTok assumes users can navigate the platform with adult-level autonomy, lifting most protections that applied to teens.

Accounts are public by default but can be made private at any time.
All interaction features are fully enabled by default, including Duets, Stitches, downloads, sticker creation, and direct messages from anyone (though settings can be changed).
Comments default to Everyone regardless of who follows or is followed, though users can change this to Friends or No one.
“Suggest your account to others” is on by default but can be turned off.

Parents should know: While these users are adults, they may not be fully aware of TikTok’s behavioral design, which is likely to be even more aggressive in targeting them with highly personalized, attention-optimizing content. Many 18-year-olds are still in high school, still developing their identities, and still vulnerable to algorithmic nudging, body-image pressures, and compulsive use cycles. Parents can offer perspective by talking to their teenagers about their long-term digital presence, data permanence, and how their attention is monetized on platforms that only seem “free.”

Learn more about TikTok’s teen privacy settings

How the For You Page works – and why it matters

TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) is a hyper-personalized stream that learns from every interaction. It’s designed to feel personal, relevant, and impossible to look away from, and the more your child interacts with it, the better the algorithm gets at exploiting them.

According to TikTok’s own explanation of its algorithm, the app tracks:

Video watch time
Replay behavior
Pauses and scroll speed
Likes, shares, and comments
Who your child follows and engages with
What they search for, or stop searching for

TikTok uses this information to map emotional and cognitive patterns so it can serve content that prolongs attention. Every micro-interaction teaches the algorithm something about your child’s mood, attention span, curiosities, and sensitivities. FYP not only reflects who they are, but over time it can subtly shape who they’re becoming.

And because the FYP is optimized for engagement above all else, it has the potential to serve questionable content that might not align with a family’s values. That includes:

Promoting mature or distressing videos
Platforming misinformation and harmful “advice”
Reinforcing unrealistic ideals or emotionally manipulative narratives
Funneling users into echo chambers that feel affirming but limit growth

This can happen even if your child never actively seeks out this type of content. All it takes is one hesitation, rewatch, or mistaken tap.

The FYP can feel like a glimpse of your child’s inner world, but it’s also a projection of what TikTok wants them to feel and follow. The more parents understand that, the easier it is to help kids understand and make changes.

You can’t turn off the FYP, but you can interrupt its momentum.

Alert the algorithm to any video you don’t want to see more of.

Long-press the video.
Tap Not interested.

Periodically clear your watch history.

From the home screen, tap the profile icon at the bottom.
Tap the hamburger button (three horizontal lines) in the upper-right corner of your screen and then tap Settings and privacy.
Under “Content & Display”, tap Activity center.
In the Activity center, tap Watch history.
Under Watch history, tap Select in the upper-right corner.
Tap Select all watch history. When the red button lights up, tap Delete.

Periodically clear your cache.

Go to Settings.
Scroll down to “Cache & Cellular” and tap Free up space.
Tap Clear.

Use Digital Wellbeing tools to create intentional breaks

Go to Settings.
Digital Wellbeing → Screen Time Management / Break Reminders

Encourage mindful viewing
Ask your child if you can watch with them from a place of genuine curiosity. If certain content hits a sour note, ask what else is happening in the feed, gently encouraging them not to dwell on things that don’t serve them.

How TikTok keeps teens scrolling

TikTok’s interface is intentionally designed for maximum stickiness. TikTok discovered people respond powerfully to personalized, bite-sized content in an infinite scroll that rewards engagement with unpredictable dopamine hits and optimized its platform to minimize friction, maximize attention, and deepen attachment.

Here is what to watch for and how to talk to your child about the invisible architecture guiding their scroll:

Endless scroll and autoplay: Every time you swipe, a new video starts — no pause, no sense of completion. This creates a loop with no natural stopping point because there’s always one more video. This structure is explicitly designed to blur your perception of time.
Engagement metrics (likes, shares, Duets): TikTok constantly signals popularity through like counts, view numbers, reposts, and reaction features like Duets and Stitches. These metrics train kids to evaluate content (and themselves) based on public validation. This might fuel comparison, anxiety, and compulsive posting just to “keep up” or get more validation.
The ever-present “Post” button: Even when your child is just watching, that plus button is always visible. It reinforces the idea that watching isn’t enough — you should also contribute. That pressure to participate can lead to rushed posts, impulsive oversharing, or chasing trends that don’t align with who they really are.
AI-generated captions and voiceovers: TikTok increasingly auto-generates captions, suggests text overlays, and promotes AI narration. These features can affect how kids frame their stories, adding an emotional tone or urgency that may not reflect how they feel.
Filters and editing tools: From “beauty mode” to jawline-enhancing effects, TikTok’s tools can reshape faces in real time, often without users realizing just how much has changed. Constant exposure to idealized, filtered appearances can affect self-esteem, especially for younger teens.

How to talk to your child about TikTok

These questions work best when they’re not quizzes but shared moments of curiosity. You don’t have to have the answers. Just ask your child to reflect on their experience with the app. Reassure them that this isn’t a trap — it’s an invitation to think critically about what they’re getting and giving:

“How does TikTok make you feel after 10 minutes? After 30?”
“Have you ever seen something that felt off or too grown-up?”
“Is it hard to stop scrolling? Why do you think that is?”

TikTok’s Family Pairing gives parents some visibility and control but not total oversight. If it’s used as a backdoor into your child’s private world, it can backfire fast.

This section walks you through what Family Pairing actually does, how to set it up, and most importantly, how to use it as a collaborative tool, not a surveillance system.

How to use Family Pairing

Family Pairing requires you to have a TikTok account. Once enabled, the feature allows you to link with your child’s account. You can’t read messages, see who they’re messaging, see what they’re posting, or view search or watch history, but parental access does give you the ability to:

Set or limit screen time
Enable restricted mode (filters out some mature content)
Control who can send direct messages
Limit who can view your child’s liked videos
Decide whether your child’s account is private or public

Learn more about Family Pairing

How to set up Family Pairing

Before you get to any of the mechanical setup, make sure you introduce Family Pairing the right way. If it seems like an obvious tool of parental control, your child could shut down. Frame it as a way to explore TikTok together and help them develop habits that support their autonomy, not undermine it. Here’s an example of what to say:

Hey, I know you’re good at navigating this stuff, but I also know these apps are designed to be kind of manipulative. Would you be open to linking accounts — not so I can spy, but so we can figure out how to make it work for you?

You and your child will both need to log in, as your child must confirm the link for it to activate.

On both accounts, go to Settings.
Under “Content & Display,” tap Family Pairing.
Select Parent and Teen on your respective devices, and when the red button lights up tap Next.
To link accounts, have your teen scan the QR code, or tap Send invite.
Once your accounts are linked, choose the features you want to manage.

From there, it’s a good idea to have regular check-ins about privacy settings, especially as TikTok releases updates and your child grows and develops.

How to download or delete TikTok data

If you and your child want to understand what the app has collected or decide it’s time to leave altogether, there are options. But transparency is partial at best, and deletion isn’t as clean as it sounds.

Here’s what you can access, what you can erase, and what lingers.

Download a copy of your data

You can request a file containing basic account info, activity history, and settings. Note that it won’t include video content, watch history, or algorithmic profiling data.

Go to Settings and tap Account.
Tap Download your data.
Tap All data → Done → Request data.

The file may take a few days to generate. It will include:

Your bio and profile settings
Comment history
Like history
Search terms
Login devices
Settings and preferences

It’s important to know what it doesn’t include:

Watch history
Algorithmic profiling data

TikTok doesn’t include watch history because it’s one of the most valuable — and revealing — sources of behavioral insight the platform collects. This data drives TikTok’s recommendation engine and is likely classified as proprietary or “inferred,” meaning users can’t see or delete it, even though it plays a huge role in shaping what they’re shown.

TikTok doesn’t include algorithmic profiling data because it reveals how the platform categorizes and targets your child. That information is considered proprietary, and keeping it hidden protects both TikTok’s business model and its ability to shape behavior without scrutiny.

Learn more about how to download your data

How to delete a TikTok account

If your child is ready to walk away completely, the power is in your hands. However, TikTok retains some data even after deletion. This may include messages or content shared with others, server logs, behavioral metadata, and data already shared with third-party advertisers or partners.

Go to Settings → Account.
Tap Deactivate or delete account.
Follow the prompts and confirm with a code. The account is deactivated for 30 days and then deleted if not reactivated within that window.

Learn more about how to delete your account

Deletion gives you a sense of control, but in the world of Big Tech, erasure is never total. As the saying goes, the internet is forever. So understand that some information may still remain in TikTok’s system:

Recommendation training data (used to improve the algorithm, even after you leave)
Data retained for legal or compliance reasons
Videos posted by your child downloaded by other users

Awareness is a win

Social media is a moving target, and trying to find the right balance of enjoyment and safety can be stressful for kids and parents. The important thing is talking about it, sharing whatever you can, and being real about the stakes and concerns on both sides.

If you reinforce for your child that their time, attention, and privacy are valuable, they’ll be better equipped to use TikTok — rather than the other way around.

At Proton, we want to build a better internet, starting with your family’s privacy and safety. Our kids spend spend more time online than ever, so it’s important that parents know how to maintain their child’s privacy, reduce data collection, and make the internet a safer place.

Does Snapchat have parental controls?

Richie Koch — Mon, 19 May 2025 22:02:33 GMT

In brief

Snapchat favors disappearing content that lets people focus on connecting with friends.
However, the company still tries to maximize engagement and collects an incredible amount of data, including location, conversations with its AI, what you view, and more.
Snapchat has introduced default settings for teens that make it more private and safer, including turning off location tracking and making accounts private. You can also use Snapchat’s Family Center features to be more involved.
The best way to help your kids stay safe on Snapchat is to talk to them honestly. Explain that Snapchat has its own interests for keeping their attention and ask them how they feel after they use Snap.

Snapchat is one of the most popular social media platforms among teenagers. It favors disappearing content and real-time interaction, meaning there’s less pressure to create a persona and more focus on connecting and sharing with real friends.

That’s the value of Snapchat, but using the app still comes with risks. Not just in terms of access — who can view what, who can message whom — but also in the scope of data collected by the platform and subtle behavior manipulations it employs for engagement.

Snapchat has introduced new default settings for teens that help to keep their profiles private and prevent them from seeing inappropriate material. We explain how they work, what other parental controls you can use, and how to approach a parent-child conversation about minimizing negative impacts together.

What data does Snapchat collect?
Teen Accounts on Snapchat
Snapchat’s Family Center
Red flags to watch out for
Talk to your child like they know social media better than you
How to delete Snapchat or opt out
Collaboration is your strongest tool as a parent

What data does Snapchat collect?

Snapchat calls transparency a “core value,” asserting that “a personalized experience should not come at the expense of your privacy.” But the platform doesn’t make it easy to see the whole picture of what it observes and learns from users.

While Snapchat’s privacy policy lists the types of data it collects, like contact information, usage patterns, and location, it stops short of explaining how it uses those data points to shape your child’s experience. You will find general statements about personalized content, advertising, and product improvement, but you won’t see specifics about features like Snapstreaks, AI chat logging, or passive location tracking.

To understand what Snapchat really knows — and how it nudges behavior — you have to read scattered help center pages and product-specific disclosures that aren’t linked to from the main policy.

Here’s a clearer look at what Snapchat tracks and why it matters.

Location: Snapchat tracks location when your child opens the app, but it also passively updates location information in the background if they use Snap Map. This builds a pattern of their movements, even if they’re not actively posting or sharing. Serious vulnerabilities come with this type of profiling, which has given rise to a data market worth billions.
Metadata: Snaps may disappear, but metadata doesn’t. Snapchat logs timestamps, recipients, and frequency of interactions to fuel things like Snapstreak, a feature that rewards the daily exchange of Snaps with a friend and encourages users to keep the streak going at all costs. That can lead to compulsive use, and there are ongoing concerns about effects on brain development and emotional regulation.
Contacts: If your child gives Snapchat permission to access contacts, it uploads the list to map their social connections — even if those contacts aren’t on the platform. This allows deeper profiling of your child, raises ethical concerns about sharing other people’s personal information without consent, and can contribute to social feedback loops that aren’t always healthy.
Search terms and Discover views: Every search and every video viewed in the Discover tab helps train Snapchat’s algorithm on what holds attention — including influencer content and ads targeting body image or social status, which can strongly influence teens (even when they’re not actively seeking it).
Interaction data with My AI and ads: Conversations with Snapchat’s AI assistant are saved and analyzed to improve responses and personalize content and advertising. That means every question, joke, or emotionally vulnerable moment your child shares with My AI may feed into a profile that shapes what they see in the app (or foster a false sense of intimacy with the bot that can carry real emotional consequences). And if location sharing is on, even their physical movements can influence these interactions. Snapchat doesn’t explain the full scope of how this data is used across systems or whether it’s stored indefinitely.

Teen Accounts on Snapchat

Snapchat prioritizes engagement, not privacy. But it also introduced protections for teens between 13 and 17. The minimum age for having Snapchat account is 13 and anyone under 15 automatically has the following privacy protections turned on by default.

Private accounts

By default, Snapchat sets teens’ accounts to private, meaning their friend list is hidden from others on the platform and they can only communicate with mutually-accepted friends (your child has accepted them as a friend and they have accepted your child as a friend). Similarly, teens can only tag friends in Snaps, Stories, or Spotlight videos.

Location sharing is turned off

Snapchat turns location sharing off for everyone by default. Even if you turn location sharing on, you can only share share it with friends (there is no option to share your location with people on Snapchat that aren’t your friends).

Public profiles

Teens under the age of 16 cannot make their profiles public. Once a child turns 16, they can turn on Public Profiles, which allows them to share a Story with the public or submit a video to Spotlight. However, they’ll be able to choose which videos become public and who can see them. Videos and Stories shared publicly by older teens can only be seen by friends, followers, or people that have a friend in common.

Moderation

Snapchat places higher standards on its moderation and uses human moderators to help ensure that teen accounts aren’t shown inappropriate content, including advertising.

Learn more about Snapchat’s Teen Accounts

Snapchat’s Family Center

Snapchat’s built-in Family Center doesn’t let parents read messages, but you can see who your child is friends with, who they’ve messaged recently, and how much time they spend on the app. Let your child know you’re not trying to spy — you’re trying to stay connected and help them develop healthy digital habits. Family Center works best as a shared tool out in the open, because you and your child both have to opt in.

You can also use the Family Center to take the following actions:

Turn off Snapchat’s AI chatbot and prevent it from responding to your teen
Report concerning accounts (for example, accounts that chatted with your child) directly to Snapchat’s safety team
Send a request to your child asking them to share their current location

To turn on the Family Center and use its parental controls on your teen’s account, you must:

Download and sign up for Snapchat.
Add your teen as a friend (and they must add you).
Go to Profile Page → Settings (gear icon) → Family Center.
Send an invite to your teen to participate in the Family Center. Your teen must accept.
Once your teen accepts, you can begin using Family Center’s parental controls.

Learn more about Snapchat’s Family Center

Red flags to watch out for

Even with these safety settings in place, Snapchat’s design can still pull kids into patterns of unhealthy use. These aren’t necessarily signs of danger, but they might indicate that the app is shaping their behavior in ways you should pay attention to. Watch for these habits, and use them as openings to talk to your kid:

Compulsive Snapstreak maintenance
Streaks may seem like harmless fun, but the pressure to keep them going can build into an obligation (especially with the app deploying a sand-timer emoji to warn users when a streak is about to expire).
Pressure to respond immediately to friends
Because messages disappear, there’s a built-in fear of missing out — or disappointing someone — by not replying fast enough. This can create social anxiety, where your child feels “on call.” Over time, that pressure can disrupt sleep, increase stress, and make it harder to unplug.
Interactions with users not in real-life social circle
Snapchat makes it easy to connect with new people through Quick Add, group chats, or public Stories. If your child is messaging strangers, it’s worth asking why. It could be innocent curiosity, or it could point to loneliness, social comparison, or vulnerability to manipulation.
Use of My AI for personal questions or emotional support
Snapchat’s AI assistant is always available, always affirming, and never judgmental. That can be comforting, but when kids turn to AI for real connection, they may be outsourcing emotional needs to a system that’s designed to learn from them, not support them.
Discover tab promoting unrealistic body, beauty, or wealth standards
The Discover tab is tuned to keep attention, which means influencers, luxury lifestyles, and appearance-based content. Even if your child isn’t seeking out this content, the algorithm observes and serves whatever content holds their gaze.

Talk to your child like they know social media better than you

Snapchat’s design urges users to engage more, from Snapstreaks and time-based notifications to trophies and “friend rankings.” But helping kids recognize these features as the nudges they are is a big part of empowering them to take control.

In fact, they may already recognize what’s going on. Teens are incredibly tech savvy. That goes for social media mechanics and concerns about how it affects them. They could already be aware of the risks.

It’s also worth mentioning that, after much handwringing in response to social media’s grip on young people, more nuanced assessments are attempting to parse the upsides. To get at what that 13-17 demographic finds of genuine value.

Parents need to personalize that effort. Your goal shouldn’t be to control through surveillance, because teens will always find workarounds. By treating them as partners in this conversation, you’ll build trust and help them develop healthy, lasting habits.

Start with curiosity
Ask your child for a tour, and frame it as mutual learning: Can you walk me through how you use Snap Map or My AI? I want to see and understand things from your point of view.
Explain the nudge
Define dark patterns in plain language and challenge them to spot the nudge: The app uses things like Snapstreak and timer emojis to get you to open it more. It’s not about you; it’s about engagement.
Validate their autonomy and concerns
Share your concerns without shaming and let them share theirs, acknowledging what they may already know: What’s something you like about Snapchat, and what’s something that feels weird or pushy? It’s cool that you can be yourself here, but let’s make sure you’re really safe to do that.
Co-create rules and shared expectations
Offer options instead of demands and refine them together, with an agreement to revisit things.

How to delete Snapchat or opt out

The reality is that, like all social media, Snapchat rewards habits that benefit the platform, not the user. For families who want to reset, opt out, or move on:

Delete your Snapchat account

Log in and follow the prompts to Delete My Account (it will be deactivated for 30 days, then permanently deleted if no one logs back in).
Note that even after deletion, Snapchat may retain some data. Find details in the privacy policy, Snap’s pages on privacy FAQs, and the US State Privacy Notice.

Learn more about deleting your Snapchat account

Request data deletion

You can email Snapchat at privacy@snapchat.com with a request for data deletion. Or, if you’re in a region covered by privacy laws like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

Visit Snapchat’s Privacy Request Portal.
Select Submit a request under “Your Data Rights”.
From there, you can request:
- Access to the data Snap has stored.
- Deletion of stored data.
- Restrictions on future data processing.

How to wipe Snap Map’s history

To clear location history and stop passive location updates:

Settings → See My Location → Ghost Mode ON.
Tap Clear My Location on the Map.
You can also revoke Snapchat’s location access completely through your phone’s Privacy or Location settings (iOS or Android).

Even after deletion or opt-out requests, Snapchat may retain:

Metadata (timestamps, frequency of communication, general usage patterns)
Friends’ saved messages or Memories (Snapchat can’t delete content others saved that includes your child)
Device and log data for legal or operational reasons

Collaboration is your strongest tool as a parent

Snapchat can be a place of fun and friendship, but it’s also a product designed to shape behavior and harvest data. By understanding how it works under the hood, you’re not just protecting your child’s privacy—you’re helping them build digital literacy, self-awareness, and the confidence to navigate tech on their own terms.

At Proton, we advocate for a better internet, starting with your family’s privacy and safety. As more kids go online to spend time with their friends, we want to educate parents on how to maintain their child’s privacy, reduce data collection, and avoid inappropriate content.

Your family photos are training AI – here’s why it matters and how to stop it

Elena Constantinescu — Fri, 16 May 2025 08:52:59 GMT

The family photos you share online, such as weddings, birthdays, and everyday moments, can end up in places you never imagined: helping train AI models. These aren’t just stock photos or staged portraits. They’re real snapshots of your life, kids, partner, and memories — quietly pulled from social media, blogs, and even old public albums.

And without your knowledge or consent, Big Tech companies have used these images with your valuable data to build facial recognition systems, train surveillance tools, and generate synthetic scenes that feel uncomfortably familiar.

Some pressure is being placed on companies to limit data scraping and enforce consent. The EU’s new AI Act, for example, bans certain high-risk uses and sets stricter rules for training data. But for now, most platforms treat public content as fair game.

While some opt-out options exist, they’re buried, unclear, or rarely offered upfront. And even if you do get your images removed, the AI has already learned from them. That’s the catch: once your face is part of the model, it stays there.

So, what can you do to keep your family photos safe? While laws are still catching up, the practical steps in this guide can help you reclaim control and keep your cherished memories out of AI datasets.

How Big Tech uses family photos to train AI
Examples of public images scraped for AI
What you risk when your memories train AI
How to keep your family photos private
Keep your family photos safe with Proton Drive

How Big Tech uses family photos to train AI

Big Tech has been scrutinized for how it uses public images, including family photos, to train AI models. Here’s how that process often happens:

Scraping public images: Companies collect publicly available images from the internet, including family pictures posted on social media, blogs, or image hosting sites.
Datasets built from these photos: The photos are used to build large datasets, often labeled with metadata like age, gender, emotion, or activity — such as laughing, hugging or family gathering. These help train AI models to recognize human faces, expressions, and even relationships.
Use in facial recognition and surveillance: Family photos help train systems to identify people in various lighting, angles, and group contexts from datasets — making the tech more accurate in real-world conditions.
Training generative AI: Photos of families help these models understand human composition, realistic skin tones, clothing styles, and other factors. For instance, happy family at a picnic scenes rely on training data that included actual images of families having picnics.

Examples of public images scraped for AI

Here are some of the most well-known cases where personal images, including family photos, were used without consent:

MegaFace dataset: The University of Washington used photos from Flickr, including family albums and personal moments, to create a facial recognition dataset. This dataset was used by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, other companies, and government agencies worldwide. People found their own or their children’s faces in the dataset without knowing.
Clearview AI: Billions of photos from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other websites were scraped to build a powerful facial recognition tool used by police and government agencies. People found themselves, their kids, and even deceased relatives in police databases. Clearview AI has since faced lawsuits, fines, and legal warnings for violating people’s privacy.
LAION-5B dataset: LLAION-5B, used to train AI models like Stable Diffusion, included images of children from personal blogs, social media, and stills from YouTube videos with small view counts. Human Rights Watch found over 170 images of Brazilian children used without consent.
Facebook’s DeepFace: This deep learning facial recognition system uses publicly available photos and can identify people in photos with over 97% accuracy — to compare, FBI’s technology has 85% accuracy.

What you risk when your memories train AI

Opt-outs exist, but only after the fact: Some platforms let you request image removal from datasets. But unless the model is retrained — which rarely happens and there’s no clear way to know — your data stays baked in.
Can’t control the narrative: Once AI learns from your photo, you no longer control how it’s used. Your face, smile, or the way you hug your child could live on in synthetic images used by others without your knowledge.
Invisible targeting: AI trained on your family photos can recognize what you look like, how you dress, and where you live. That data can sharpen ad targeting or make facial recognition systems more effective on you and your loved ones.
Surveillance without consent: Your image could end up in AI training for facial recognition systems used by law enforcement or other surveillance tools without your knowledge. These systems may later identify you in public spaces, airports, protests, or social platforms, based solely on photos you once shared.
Exploited for ransom: Bad actors can use AI to turn your photos into deepfakes — sometimes explicit or abusive. In one case, a 14-year-old was targeted with a deepfake image and blackmailed by a predator threatening to share it unless paid.

How to keep your family photos private

Here are practical steps you can take online:

Lock down your privacy settings

Make your profiles private on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or other platforms where you share pictures. Note that Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok now set teenagers’ profiles to private by default. However, photos of minors shared through adult accounts aren’t automatically protected.
Review old photo posts — such as Facebook albums — and set them to private.
Turn off facial recognition and other AI-powered features:
- On Google Photos, navigate to Your Google Account button → Photos settings → Privacy and turn off Face Groups and Activity-based personalization.
- On iPhone, go to Settings → Apps → Photos and disable Enhanced Visual Search; then go to Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off Learn from this App.
Opt out of AI training where possible. For example, object to your information being used for AI at Meta, or manage Data Controls settings on ChatGPT.

Limit the pictures you expose online

Be cautious about location tagging and image descriptions. That extra context you add when sharing photos online can reveal your home, school, work, favorite spots, who’s in the photo, or what they’re doing.
Remove metadata from photos, such as GPS coordinates or date and time. Doing this ensures AI systems scraping images have less personal data to work with, even if they access the photo itself.
Review app permissions to revoke photo library access to apps you rarely or never use.
Blur or mask faces — especially of children or vulnerable individuals — if you’re posting publicly. AI can still learn from altered images, but it makes scraping harder and reduces quality for training.
Avoid uploading to AI tools, such as apps that offer face filters, age changers, animated designs, or AI family portrait generators. They often store and reuse your uploaded images.
Talk to family, friends, and schools about photo privacy. Ask them not to post identifiable pictures without permission, avoid adding personal context like names or locations, and encourage private sharing groups and clear consent policies at events and schools.

Check and remove images from public AI datasets

You can use Have I Been Trained to search for your pictures in datasets like LAION-5B. If found, request dataset removal or contact dataset creators directly. However, your photos may still exist in already-trained AI models.

Keep your family photos safe with Proton Drive

Proton Drive is secure cloud storage that offers true privacy by default. Unlike Google Photos, which has unclear AI policies, or iCloud, where end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is optional and no longer available in the UK, Proton Drive is safe by design for sharing and storing photos.

End-to-end encryption is automatic and always on — your photos, albums and their metadata are encrypted before they leave your device, and there’s no way for us or anyone else to see your files. Your pictures are never used for AI training, and they stay private, no matter where you are.

When it comes to sharing, Proton Drive makes it easy to send photos to relatives safely using email invites or expiring, password-protected links. A dedicated tab lets you manage and revoke shared access at any time.

Your memories deserve more than trust — they deserve proof. Proton Drive is open source and independently audited, so your family photos stay safe, and you stay in control.

Microsoft pushes users deeper into its walled garden

Edward Komenda — Fri, 16 May 2025 03:47:08 GMT

Microsoft has announced that, starting in June, you’ll no longer be able to save new passwords in the Microsoft Authenticator app. By August, saved passwords and autofill will stop working entirely — unless you use Edge, Microsoft’s own browser.

This means if you want to keep using Microsoft’s password management features, you’ll need to step further into Microsoft’s walled garden and submit to Edge’s data collection. And while this might look like a technical update, it reflects the inescapable logic of walled gardens: It’s a clear shift toward its own ecosystem that restricts choice under the guise of convenience or security.

According to Microsoft’s own documentation, this is part of a broader realignment of services. But behind the careful phrasing is a simple truth — features that once worked anywhere now only work wherever Microsoft wants you to be.

A slow narrowing of the web

This move is part of a broader pattern in Big Tech. Apple’s passkeys sync exclusively through iCloud. Google continues to tie identity and login services to its entire ecosystem. And now, Microsoft, after attempting to build its own walled gardens with Windows 365 and OpenAI, is limiting password management to Edge.

These changes often come in small steps. Gradually, choice erodes, and systems that once worked broadly start to work best only when you’re locked inside one company’s walled garden. Once you’re in the walled garden, these companies move swiftly to monetize you at every opportunity (for example, Outlook’s new data collection or Gmail wedging ads in between your emails).

Privacy that depends on a platform isn’t privacy

When basic features are tied to specific tools, user control takes a back seat. You no longer decide how your information is handled or where it’s stored. That decision gets made for you — and often, it’s made to benefit the platform, not the person using it.

Microsoft Authenticator was a simple, dedicated tool that allowed users to store and autofill logins across platforms. Like most Microsoft products, Authenticator collected data, but wasn’t equipped to track across the internet.

By forcing users to move their logins to Edge, Microsoft appears to be imitating Google’s playbook with Chrome. It can now tie your accounts to your browsing history and track you much more effectively.

This shows how central walled gardens are to the business models of today’s internet. Despite authorities in Europe and the USA investigating unfair bundling and gatekeeping, Big Tech cannot stop pushing toward centralized identity systems that are harder to leave and less transparent by design.

Privacy is about more than encryption. It’s about autonomy. If you can’t choose the tools that protect your identity, how private can your digital life really be?

What you can do

This change might feel technical or obscure. But it has a direct impact on how you use the internet and how much data collection you subject yourself to.

The good news is, there’s a lot you can do to push back.

Choose open-source alternatives.

When you use open-source tools, you’re not just picking a product — you’re supporting an ecosystem that values transparency, user control, and public accountability. These projects don’t hide how they work, and that openness makes them safer. If you care about digital freedom, this is one of the clearest ways to vote with your clicks.

Support cross-platform solutions.

Avoid tools that only work with one browser, operating system, or device. Look for services that offer true interoperability — the ability to switch platforms without losing access or features. Password managers, email providers, and cloud tools should work where you work, not where a single company decides.

Contribute to open standards.

Whether you’re a developer or simply a supporter, backing initiatives like WebAuthn and FIDO2 helps shape a future where authentication is secure and portable. These standards are the foundation for a more decentralized, privacy-respecting internet. Get involved, donate, share knowledge, or just advocate for their adoption.

Hold platforms accountable for UX choices.

Design isn’t neutral. When companies make it harder to switch tools or find certain settings, that’s a choice — and often a strategic one. Call it out. Push for transparency and user-first design. Advocate for interfaces that prioritize agency, not retention.

And, finally, speak up.

These changes are often introduced quietly, but they have long-term consequences. If you’re a tech advocate or developer, talk about them. Share your concerns. Pressure works — especially when it’s collective. Platforms listen when enough people raise their voices. Silence, on the other hand, is easy to interpret as agreement.

Take back control with Proton Pass

Microsoft’s decision to lock password autofill behind Edge is just the latest example of how Big Tech designs products to keep you dependent. At Proton, we believe you deserve better.

Proton Pass is our end-to-end encrypted password manager built on transparency, open standards, and user choice. It works across all major browsers and devices. We don’t believe in walled gardens, and we don’t hold your data hostage behind a specific browser or app.

With Proton Pass, your passwords belong to you — and only you. No forced platform, no hidden trade-offs, no surprise restrictions.

If you want a tool that respects your privacy and gives you back control of your digital identity, Proton Pass is a better way forward.

Get Proton Pass

Real privacy doesn’t come with conditions. And the best technology is the kind that lets you choose.

Nearly half of UK parents have no idea companies can access and use their kids’ photos

Jasmine Linford — Thu, 15 May 2025 10:13:38 GMT

From those first baby steps to birthday candle blow-outs, your family memories are priceless. Cloud storage ensures the photos that document these moments are never more than a swipe away — making it the go-to solution for parents looking to keep their albums safe, organized, and easily accessible.

But, after surveying more than 2,000 parents with children under 16 in the UK, we have found that beneath this convenience lies a growing concern about the security and privacy of these cherished snapshots and a real need for clarity and transparency around family photo storage.

What cloud providers really do with your photos

With growing media attention on the dangers of sharing personal images online — from the pitfalls of sharenting to the impact of digital footprints on anything from schoolyard bullying to job applications — it’s no surprise that 72% of parents agree that keeping their photos private is extremely important.

Yet, despite these concerns, almost half of parents (48%) are unaware that cloud services like Google Photos, Dropbox, Amazon Photos, or Apple’s iCloud, can access their uploaded photos and associated data.

For example, both Google Photos and Amazon Photos automatically scan images to recognize faces, identify events, and categorize content — from family vacations to birthday parties. This data is used to compile curated albums, but it can also be used to build detailed user profiles, personalize experiences, be sold to third parties and target advertising.

As prevalent as this practice is, less than half of surveyed parents (43%) knew that cloud storage providers could collect meta data — like date, location, or device used — from uploaded photos, and only 36% knew that the providers collect information like people and objects from the images themselves.

This is possible because most cloud storage providers only encrypt data in transit (as it travels to the cloud) and at rest (when it’s stored on their servers). Encryption works by translating data into an unreadable format that can only be deciphered by those with authorization. Providers, like Google or Dropbox, that use in transit and at rest encryption hold the keys to decrypt your files and collect your data while it is stored on their servers — benefiting its bottom line while leaving your data vulnerable not only to internal use, but to other forms or third-party access or potential breaches. Which is where things get more serious.

The risk of data breaches for family photos

It’s easy to assume that large organizations are inherently secure, but size alone is no guarantee of safety. Take Dropbox, for example — a well-known company with a history of security issues, including compromised passwords and unauthorized data sharing with third parties. Incidents like these highlight the vulnerabilities even major cloud storage providers face, and they can serve as gateways to serious crimes such as identity theft, online fraud, and deepfake misuse.

According to Professor Carsten Maple from the University of Warwick’s Cyber Security Centre, with today’s AI tools, as few as 20 photos are enough to create a realistic profile of someone, or even a 30- second video, expanding the scope of potential dangers — a fact that 53% of surveyed parents did not know.

Professor Maple continues, even when uploading seemingly innocent photographs, “parents are unwittingly opening their children up to possible exploitation by criminals who want to use their data for their own purposes.” Data gathered from photos can reveal sensitive information such as where your child’s name, age, where they live, and where they go to school. And, with over half of parents (56%) allowing their photos to upload automatically in the background, this creates a continuous and detailed stream of personal data — without ever needing to press ‘upload’.

Transparency matters now more than ever

There’s no doubt that there is a growing awareness of the digital footprint that sharing photos leaves behind — more than two thirds of parents (69%) recognize that there are risks, but a staggering 97% feel there needs to be more clarity from cloud providers about how their data is used in order to make more informed decisions about it.

At Proton, we believe transparency is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. With Proton Drive, our end-to-end encrypted cloud storage, the only people to ever see the photos or videos you store are you and the people you choose — not even Proton can gain access.

With the launch of Albums in Proton Drive, parents now have a simple and secure way to preserve family memories without fear of online dangers. Albums lets parents create and share albums of photos while encrypting both their content and their metadata, such as album names and locations.

Sign up for Drive Plus today and get 200 GB to protect your memories (that’s enough space to store more than 40,000 high-resolution 5 MB photos!) plus peace of mind knowing your family’s photos are in safe hands.

Try Albums in Proton Drive

Perspectus Global conducted this survey, on behalf of Proton, with 2,019 UK adults who have children under the age of 16

Organize, share, and revisit your favorite memories with Albums in Proton Drive

Anant Vijay — Wed, 14 May 2025 11:55:15 GMT

Your life is made up of thousands of moments — from photos of weekend getaways to videos of your child’s first steps, or snapshots with friends. But over time these memories can get lost in a sea of digital clutter.

Today, we’re excited to announce a new way to organize, share, and revisit the moments that matter to you with the introduction of Albums in Proton Drive.

Highly requested by our community, this new feature enhances Proton Drive’s existing secure file and photo storage experience. Albums lets you manage your memories with ease and privacy — all while continuing to protect your files with Proton’s industry-leading privacy and security safeguards. The only people who can access your images are you and the people you choose.

Try Albums in Proton Drive

What you can do with Albums in Proton Drive

Organize your photos

Whether you’re grouping snapshots from annual family gatherings or sorting through years of travel memories, Albums simplifies how you store and revisit your favorite memories. Create and curate custom collections, say goodbye to endless searching, and have your photos and videos at your fingertips.

Collect shared memories

Planning a group trip or special event? Create a shared Album and invite family and friends by email. You decide who can view it or contribute, and you can revoke access at any time. With real-time syncing, everyone stays updated with new photos and edits, making collaboration effortless.

Spotlight your favorites

Easily find and revisit your most cherished memories with the ability to mark your top shots as favorites. You can mark your pet’s cutest antics or the best shots from a shared Album created for a recent birthday party. Favorites lets you see your top images in one dedicated space — so your personal highlight reel is always just a tap away.

Keep personal moments private

Just like everything stored in Proton Drive, every Album you create is protected by end-to-end encryption. That means only the people you choose can access them — album names and metadata like photo locations included. Our advanced privacy and security measures keep your memories safe from advertisers, algorithms, and hackers alike.

What’s coming next

This version of Albums is just the beginning. We’re rolling out more features to make organizing your photos and videos even easier. Soon, you’ll be able to share photos via links, so you can send albums to friends or family, even if they don’t have a Proton account. Plus, with the upcoming quick filter for screenshots, you’ll save time and effort finding that important receipt or funny meme.

Protecting the moments that matter most

At a time when many photo storage providers scan the data stored in your photos to target ads, train algorithms and AI models, or unwittingly share it with strangers, Proton Drive is the simple, secure solution to keep your family’s photos protected and entirely in your control.

This new addition to Proton Drive builds upon our mission at Proton to empower everyone to take control of their digital life. We believe convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of privacy and we’ll continue to build solutions to defend your data.

Albums are now available for everyone in Proton Drive. If you already have Proton Drive installed on your mobile device, update your apps today to access this feature. If you’re new to Proton Drive, sign up for Drive Plus and unlock 200 GB of cloud storage to protect your memories — that’s enough space to store more than 40,000 high-resolution 5 MB photos! Safeguard your precious memories and rest assured knowing your photos are securely stored, always within reach.

Get Proton Drive for Android Get Proton Drive for iOS

How SSO helps companies stay safer and move faster

Edward Komenda — Tue, 13 May 2025 22:51:57 GMT

Login fatigue is real. And juggling too many credentials is slowing your team down. Single Sign-On (SSO) offers a smarter solution by letting your employees securely access all their work apps with just one login.

In this article, we’ll break down what SSO is, how it works, and why Proton SSO is a simple yet powerful way to boost productivity and reduce security risks across your organization.

What is Single Sign On (SSO)?

SSO is an identity access management (IAM) tool that allows users to seamlessly access multiple applications and websites with just one login. With Proton SSO, for example, you just have to authenticate your identity once to have access across all Proton services.

How can Proton SSO help my business?

Managing dozens of logins isn’t just frustrating; it’s a drain on time, focus, and security.

Proton SSO eliminates these daily disruptions by giving your employees seamless access to all Proton services with a single, secure login. Whether they’re checking email, storing files, or managing passwords, your team can stay in flow — without wasting time resetting credentials or switching between accounts.

Reduce login tension while ramping up your employees’ productivity.

With SSO, your employees will only have to remember one set of credentials, and they won’t have to log in every time they want to access a different application within the Proton ecosystem.

Taking the time to log in to multiple separate accounts throughout the day can get in the way of your employees’ task flow. SSO streamlines the process so your employees can focus on the important tasks at hand, rather than fumbling with numerous logins.

With fewer passwords and usernames to manage, your IT team can spend less time on account recovery and more time on meaningful work. Say goodbye to avoidable IT tickets, especially those caused by forgotten login details. Single sign-on (SSO) helps your employees stay focused on their projects. For even better security, we recommend pairing SSO with a secure password manager, such as Proton Pass.

Sign on securely with Proton SSO

SSO doesn’t just make your business more efficient — it makes your data more secure, too. At Proton, we know your business has sensitive data that needs the strongest protection at all times. Using SSO means your employees don’t have to use multiple passwords, some of which could be weak and put your business’ data at risk.

Because each new password creates another possible access point for scammers to enter, SSO eliminates these security risks. And because your employees won’t need to use more than one login, you’ll reduce your risk of phishing attempts as well.

Safeguard your data with stronger passwords

Passwords are there to protect your business’ information, but too many weak passwords creates a fragile ecosystem ripe for hacking. Proton Pass’s password generator ensures that whatever password you create adheres to the highest security measures, making it even more difficult for hackers to access your business’ sensitive data.

Visit our support center for more information on how to set up SSO.

Protect your business with Proton

At Proton, we know that cybercrime is an ubiquitous threat. Protect your business with Proton SSO so that you never have to worry about scammers and hackers. By making sure that your employees only need one secure login, you’ll never have to worry about putting your data at risk.

Privacy is at the center of everything we do. All of Proton’s services are end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one — even us — has access to your data.

Based in Switzerland, Proton is protected by some of the world’s strictest privacy laws. This ensures that your data — and your business’ data — is protected, too.

Over one million businesses and people use Proton today. Together, we’re working to make the internet a better place, where privacy is the standard for everyone.