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Online and mobile safety

Online safety

Online safetyComputers and mobile phones help us all to share things, talk to our friends and meet new people. But they can also make it easier for bullies and other people who might want to hurt you to get close to you.

So it's important to know how to be safe on your computer, on your phone and on websites.

 
 
 
 
 

Sexting

Sexting is when someone sends or receives a sexually explicit text, image or video on their mobile phone, usually in a text message. If someone has sent a picture of you on to their friends, remember this is not your fault. Read more about Sexting

Social networking

Social networking sites, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, are websites where you can create a profile all about yourself and send messages to other people. It's important to know how to stay safe online and what to do if someone is nasty to you. Read more about Social networking

Cover your tracks

How can keep your visits to the ChildLine website private? Calling ChildLine's helpline is confidential. If you also want to keep your visits to ChildLine's website confidential follow the steps on this page. Read more about Cover your tracks

Mobile phone safety

Mobiles are a great way to keep in touch with your mates. If someone you don't know gets in touch with you on your mobile, or if you are being bullied through your phone, you should tell someone who can help you, or call ChildLine. Read more about Mobile phone safety

Online Gaming

Many young people play games online. These can be simple ones, like the ones on the ChildLine website, to large multiplayer games. In these games, people play against hundreds of other people who they often do not know. They can also interact with other players like in a social networking site. It's important to stay safe online and not let the fantasy world of gaming affect your real life.

Read more about Online Gaming

Facebook Timeline

Lots of you use Facebook in your daily lives. Adults and young people aged 13 and above can use the social networking site to post pictures, videos and chat to friends. Since March 2012 Facebook have been changing the way they look, rolling out the new Timeline design for all profile pages. Read more about Facebook Timeline

ChildLine on Facebook

ChildLine has a new official Facebook page - it's a great place to get encouraging and inspiring messages that you can share with your friends. Read more about ChildLine on Facebook

 
 
 
 
 

Ask Sam

my mum has drugs

my mum has drugs

i know my mum has drugs because i have seen them im 11 and just started secondary so i have no proper friends i can talk to about it because all my primary school close friends have gone to a...

Read more
Write a letter to Ask Sam
 
 
 
 
 

Accessibility

We want to make sure everyone can access the information provided on this site

We've put together a few tips and help for you. Please send us a message if you can't find what you're looking for. Or you have a suggestion of something we could include.

Using the keyboard instead of the mouse.
As well as using the tab key to navigate through the screen, the ChildLine website has special access keys:

Alt+S = skip navigation
Alt+1 = home
Alt+0 = accessibility information.

Is the text size too large or too small?
You can change your text settings through your browser options:

In Internet Explorer, go to View > Text size and select your desired text size setting (eg, larger, smaller).

In Firefox, go to View > Text size and increase/decrease using Ctrl and + or -

If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, you can hold down Ctrl and scroll back or forth to increase or decrease the font size in both IE and Firefox.

Changing your computer screen settings
To change the size of the image shown on your screen on a PC running Windows 95 and upwards, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings and change the desktop area by using the sliding bar.

On an Apple Mac, you can use the Monitor & Sound Control Panel to change the resolution.

Having difficulty with your keyboard or mouse?
You can fine-tune your mouse and keyboard settings under Start > Settings > Control Panel > Accessibility in Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and XP.

Skipping navigation for talking browsers and screen readers
For speech browsers, you can press Alt and S followed by Enter to skip navigation on our pages.

The site is W3C level A compliant.

Help

Online safety

On this page you will find links to information about issues related to online safety.  If you would like to read more about an issue, click on the title to go through to the information page.  If you can't find the issue you want to find out about, you can try the site search or go back to the Explore page to look at other issues.