internet safety

Whether your kids have had a smartphone for awhile now, or you're considering getting them started with one, it's important that they understand how to use it. And as we all know, when it comes to a smartphone, it's not as simple as dial…

YouTube has come under major scrutiny in the last couple of years with inappropriate videos showing up on their popular YouTube Kids apps, from awful parodies to suicide how-to videos . So according to a recent report, they've decided to…

Our social media feeds are blowing up photos from the FaceApp, thanks to the new FaceApp Challenge, but is it safe? If you'e missed the buzz, this hilarious (ish) app lets you upload a photo to the app, then edits it using AI filters so …

These days, July 15 and 16 means Amazon Prime Day . (Yes, it's two days this year.) We've been keeping an eye on the tech deals to see if they're worth the hype, and well, depending on what kind of gadget you're in the market for, they j…

We know how helpful the Amazon Alexa can be for busy families, and over the years, we've shared a ton of helpful skills right here on Cool Mom Tech. From fitness to meal planning , even budgeting , there are no shortage of cool uses for …

Healthcare data breach html I have no idea why I haven't been seeing this massive healthcare data breach in the news, which impacts customers of companies like Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp. But when I saw a letter come in the mail from …

This is a sponsored message from Relay So many parents want their kids to have the safety and security of a phone, especially over the summer when kids have a little more freedom, and a little more run-around-outside time. And yet, those…

With lots of tweens and teens using Facebook's WhatsApp as a way to communicate, not to mention parents, especially those of us who travel a fair amount, we were very concerned about the cybersecurity breach on Monday. Users were left vu…

When it comes to digital parenting , there's a seemingly endless number of conversations we need to have with our tweens and teens. And according to a recent survey, moving " how to make a strong password " to the top of the list is pret…

With all the not-so-great news coming out around YouTube recently -- from their pedophilia problem to the horrific content spliced into kids' videos to the infamous Momo challenge -- I've been looking for some YouTube alternatives. From …

We couldn't create an Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting without including tips about how to keep your kids safe on social media. After all, for our tweens and teens, the Internet is social media, and they could sooner give up the games…

While parents are still freaking out about Snapchat and the Momo challenge, the truth is there are some risky apps for kids that can fly right under our radar. Some of them seem completely innocuous -- while some are clearly bad news wai…

As part of our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting , answering parents' top questions about family technology, we're sharing the best services and tools to help you monitor your kids on their gadgets. While most routers, phones, tablets …

As part of our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting , we know that a top question from parents is the best way to set screen time rules when we're at home. And we've got so many helpful approaches for you! Because bringing gadgets into yo…

We can't tell you how much debate we've seen over the simple question, "when is my kid ready for a smartphone?" It brings out nearly as much stress, passion and well, sanctimony, as questions about breastfeeding or sleep training. Well, …

If you've been on Facebook over the last few days, you've probably been bombarded with no shortage of articles about the Momo Challenge. Admittedly, it looks pretty disconcerting on first glance, and after the 15th, you kind of want to t…

Feeling inspired by Jordan Shapiro's interview on NPR with our former Spawned guest Anya Kamanetz , and reading his book for our upcoming interview with him on Spawned, I decided to let my tween daughter give TikTok (formerly Musical.ly)…

It's been a rough couple of weeks for YouTube, first with the news about their growing pedophile problem . And now, YouTube Kids is under fire. We know lots of parents, including us, have found a little sigh of relief letting kids watch …

Over the years, we've written about many issues that parents need to be aware of when it comes to the content on YouTube . But this recent report from Wired should really throw the huge red flag of caution up for parents, particularly if…

Last week, we had a lively discussion about inappropriate follow requests on Instagram in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook Group . Many parents bemoaned the challenges of trying to navigate this with their kids on Instagram, even on priva…

If we're all perfectly honest with ourselves, then we know that Facebook has presented many privacy issues for a long time now. We've been writing about Facebook privacy issues since we started Cool Mom Tech in 2010. That's nine years. N…

If you're a frequent Facetime user, you might want to turn it off until Apple fixes a recent glitch that actually allows callers to listen and see the people they're calling, even if they don't answer. Creepy much? Related: Watch out for…

We always get kind of excited for each new iOS update (yeah, we're geeky that way) and the new iOS 12 update is no exception. We've been looking forward to it since we heard about all the new iOS parental controls in particular that Appl…

We've been fans of the YouTube Kids app , but admittedly when so many questionable videos were making it onto their little eyeballs, we were waiting for them to make some updates to give parents more control over what their kids were see…