
Cover your tracks
If you’re worried someone will find out you’ve used Childline, our advice can help you keep your visits private.
Can anyone see that I’ve used Childline?
Whenever you visit a website it leaves a record on your device. Your device might save:
- small bits of information called cookies to help the website remember you
- a record of the visit to the site in your internet history
- data from the website, to help it load faster each time you visit
- passwords and usernames you save.
If someone has access to your phone, computer or device then they might be able to use this information to see whether you've used Childline. But there are ways to remove this information.
Top 3 tips for staying safe online
- Switch to private browsing or incognito mode in your browser
- Delete your cookies and internet history
- If you're worried that you might be tracked, ask someone you trust to use their device
What different words mean
Browser
This is software that lets you search the internet and visit websites like Childline. There are lots of types of browsers and they all work differently. Some of the most popular browsers are Chrome and Safari.
Cookies
These are small files sent to your computer or device. They’re used to tell websites if you’ve visited them before and what things you’ve looked at. The Childline website also uses cookies.
Device
Your device is anything you use to go online. It could be your phone, laptop or tablet. It could also be a computer you use at school or in the library. Touch devices also have touch screens.
Internet history
Whenever you visit a website, your browser remembers lots of information. It saves which sites you've been to, what you've downloaded, and much more. This is called your internet history.
Private browsing
Some browsers will have a special mode called private browsing. When you use it, they won't save any cookies or websites you've visited in your internet history after you finish. Anything you download will still be saved though.
Even if you use private browsing, someone might be able to see what you're doing in other ways.
Tracking and monitoring software
If this is installed on your device, it lets someone else see what you're looking at on the internet, your messages and where you are. We've got advice if you're worried.
CLOSING THE WEBSITE QUICKLY
The Childline website has a “Hide page” button on every page. It’ll either be at the top of the screen or on the right-hand side. Press this any time you need to leave quickly and you'll be taken to Google.
Even if you leave the page, someone can use the back button or your browser's history to see what you were looking at. If you’re worried, clear your history and close the browser window after you’ve left.
Deleting your browser history and cookies
Your browser lets you see the internet on your phone or device. Whenever you use your browser, it remembers which sites you've been to, what you've downloaded, and much more. This is called your internet history.
Don't worry, deleting your internet history and cookies isn't difficult. Just follow the steps for whichever internet browser(s) you use. If you're not sure which browser you're using, you can usually find out by finding the 'about' option in your browser's menu.
Google Chrome
On desktop:
- Open Google Chrome.
- Click on the Chrome menu icon in the top right-hand corner (it looks like three dots).
- Click on 'More tools'.
- Click on 'Clear browsing data'.
- A pop-up window will appear. Choose a time range to clear from the drop-down list. For example, 'the past hour'.
- Tick each box: Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files.
- Click 'Clear browsing data'.
On mobile:
These steps might be different depending on your phone model:
- Open Google Chrome.
- Click on the three dots in the right-hand corner.
- Click on 'History'.
- Tick each box: Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files.
- Click on 'Clear data'.
Safari
To delete history on a desktop or laptop:
- Go to the Safari menu at top right of the screen (looks like a wheel).
- Click on 'Preferences...'
- A pop up will appear. Select the 'Privacy' tab.
- Select the 'Remove All Website Data...' button.
For iPhones:
- Go to Settings.
- Go to Safari.
- Scroll down until you see 'Clear History and Website Data'.
- Tap 'Clear History and Website Data' to delete history.
Firefox
On desktop:
- At the top of the window click on the menu button which looks like three lines.
- Click on 'History' icon. It looks like a clock.
- Click on 'Clear Recent History.'
- A pop up window will appear. Choose a time range to clear from the drop-down list. For example, you can just choose to clear the 'Last Four Hours'.
- Click on 'Clear Now'.
On mobile:
These instructions might be different depending on your phone model:
- Open Firefox
- Press the 3 dots in the right-hand corner
- Tap ‘Settings’
- Tap ‘Clear private data’
- Select the data you want to clear and tap ‘Clear data’
Opera
On desktop:
- Go to the 'Start page'
- Click on the ‘History’ icon, it looks like a clock
- Click on the 'Clear browsing data...' button at the top right
- Select how long you want to clear history from, for example 'the past hour'
- Tick all boxes and press 'Clear browsing data'
On mobile:
These instructions might be different depending on your phone model:
- Tap the Opera symbol
- Select ‘Settings’
- Scroll down and tap ‘Clear browsing data…
- Select what data you want to clear and tap ‘Clear data’
Microsoft Edge
To pick certain websites and delete them from your history:
- Click on the ‘hub’ icon in the top right-hand corner. It looks like 3 lines.
- Click on the history icon. This looks like a clock.
- Hover over the pages you want to delete and click the ‘x’ on the right-hand side.
To delete all your history and saved passwords:
- Click on the ‘more’ icon in the top right-hand corner. It looks like 3 lines.
- Click settings.
- Under “Clear browsing data” click “Choose what to clear.”
- Tick each box: Temporary Internet files, Cookies, History, Cached data and files, Passwords, Form data and Download History.
- Click clear.
Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) and earlier versions
The steps below are for a desktop browser and some touch devices. Mobile phones and some devices may be different.
Internet Explorer 11:
- Click the Tools button in the top right of the screen (it looks like a wheel).
- Choose Safety, then click Delete browsing history.
- Tick each box: Temporary Internet files, Cookies, History, Download History, Form data, Passwords, and Filtering data.
- Click on Delete.
To pick certain websites and delete them from your history:
- Tap or click the Favourites button (it looks like a star). This will bring up a drop-down menu.
- Choose the History tab and click. Now you can choose how you want to view your history. You can view sites by date, by most visited and by site
- Right-click (or press and hold) on a site from any of these lists, then click (or tap) ‘Delete’. This will delete the site from your history.
Internet Explorer 10
- Move your mouse to the right-hand side of the page to bring up a side panel. Click on the 'Settings' icon (it looks like a wheel shape) and click on 'Internet Options'.
- Go to the 'Safety' menu and select 'Delete'.
Internet Explorer 9
- Click on the 'gear' icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. It looks like a little wheel. Then click on Internet Options.
- This will make a box pop up, that will already be open on a section called General.
- In this section, scroll to Browser History and then click the Delete button.
- Tick each box: Temporary Internet files, Cookies, History, Download History, Form data, Passwords, InPrivate Filtering data.
- Un-tick the 'Preserve Favourites website data'.
- Click Delete to clear everything.
Internet Explorer 7 and 8
- Go to the menu bar at the top of the page. Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. This will make a box pop up , that will already be open on a section called General.
- In this section, scroll to Browser History and click the Delete button.
- You can select and delete each section: Temporary internet files; Cookies, History; Form data and Passwords.
- You can also just select the 'Delete all' button at the bottom to clear everything.
Internet Explorer 6
If you use Internet Explorer 6, go to the menu bar at the top of the page.
- Click on Tools.
- Go to the bottom of the dropdown menu and click on Internet Options. This will open a box with the names of several different sections along the top. You will already be in the section called General.
- In the middle of this box is a section called 'Temporary Internet Files'. Click on the button marked 'Delete files'.
- When the box pops up, tick the 'Delete all offline content' box and then click OK.
- When your computer finishes deleting your temporary internet files, you will be back in the General Internet Options box.
- Look at the section below called History. Here you can click on the 'Clear History' button.
- A pop-up box will ask you if you want to delete all items in your history folder. Click 'Yes'.
- Click 'OK' to close the Internet Options box.
Private browsing
Private browsing is when you tell your browser not to save any history, cookies or temporary files after you close the window. If you use it before your visit to Childline, it won’t be saved in your history.
If your phone or device has monitoring software installed, someone still might be able to see what you’re doing, so it’s important to be careful.
Private browsing also won’t delete any bookmarks you create or files you download.
Before your visit, here's how to set up private browsing to keep your visit hidden.
Google Chrome
In Google Chrome private browsing is called 'Incognito mode'.
On desktop and mobile:
- Click the 3 dots in the top right of the window
- Select 'New incognito window' from the list
- On desktop, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+N to open a new incognito window straight away
- Use the new window to go to Childline
- Once you have finished, close the window to delete any browsing information
If you're on mobile, the instructions might be slightly different depending on your device.
Safari
On a mac:
- Press ‘file’.
- Select ‘New Private Window’.
On mobile:
- Tap the two squares icon.
- Tap ‘Private’.
- When you’ve finished, tap the two squares and tap ‘Private’ again.
Firefox
On desktop and mobile:
- Before you visit the Childline website, click on 'Tools' in the menu bar.
- Select 'Start Private Browsing' from the list.
You can also do this quickly by typing Ctrl+Shift+P together on your keyboard. To stop Private Browsing, select 'Tools' again and then 'Stop Private Browsing' or typing Ctrl + Shift + P again.
Opera
On desktop:
- Tap the 3 dots in the corner.
- Select ‘Private mode’.
- When you’ve finished, close the window.
On mobile:
These instructions may vary depending on the device you’re using.
- Press the squares button at the bottom to open the tabs
- Tap ‘Private’
- Open a new tab to browse privately
- When you’ve finished, close the tabs
Microsoft Edge
To use Private Browsing on Microsoft Edge you’ll need to open an InPrivate window:
- Press the 3 dots in the top right corner, this might be in the bottom right corner on mobile.
- Select ‘New InPrivate Window’.
- Once you've finished, close the window to delete any browsing information.
Internet Explorer 11 and earlier
On desktop:
For Internet Explorer 11 and earlier, here's how to use Private Browsing:
- Click on the cog icon on the browser toolbar.
- Select 'Safety', then click on 'InPrivate Browsing'. You can also do this by clicking CTRL+SHIFT+P on your keyboard.
- A new window will open with an 'InPrivate' image. You can continue browsing as normal in this new window.
- Once you've finished your session, close the window and this will delete any browsing information.
On mobile:
- Press the ‘tabs’ button in the bottom left corner, then press the 3 dots in the bottom right corner.
- Press 'new inPrivate' tab.
- When you’ve finished, press the ‘tabs’ button again, and press the ‘x’ in the corner of the window.
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Worried your device is being tracked?
Online and computer monitoring software (sometimes called tracking software or parental control apps) lets someone see what's happening on a computer. Sometimes parents or guardians will install it on a phone, computer or tablet to block certain websites that may be unsafe or unsuitable for you to use. Apple devices come with Screen Time which monitors how much time you spend on different websites and apps. Screen Time can be turned on and off under settings.
If monitoring software is being used on your device, it means someone might be able to track:
- the pages you're looking at on the Childline website
- calls you make to Childline
- what you're saying in a 1-2-1 counsellor chat and what you type in your locker.
If you’re worried
If you're worried that what you're doing or saying on the Childline website might be being tracked, you can:
- use a different phone to speak to Childline on 0800 1111 – calls to Childline are always free
- ask someone you trust to use their device
- speak to someone at school or your library about whether using the computers there would be private.
Keeping calls to Childline private
Calls to Childline won’t show up on most phone bills, but may still show up on your call logs. Follow the steps below to remove the call history on your phone.
Apple iPhones
Different versions of iOS might be slightly different, but the following will let you clear your call history on iOS 11:
- Press the green phone icon
- Press ‘Recents’
- Press ‘Edit’ in the top right corner
- For each call to Childline, press the red circle on the left and then press ‘Delete’.
Samsung and Android phones
Some Android phones work differently, but you can clear call logs from your phone app by following these steps.
On newer Android phones:
- Press the green phone icon
- Go to ‘Recents’ and press the 3 dots in the top right corner
- Press ‘Delete’
- Select the calls to Childline and press ‘Delete’.
On older Android phones:
- Press the green phone icon
- Press ‘Logs’ at the top of the screen
- Hold down on the call to Childline
- Depending on your phone, either press ‘delete’ or press the trash can in the top right hand corner.
Landlines and other types of phones
If you call from a landline it shouldn’t show up on the phone bill, but might show up on the most recent number dialled. To make sure someone can’t push redial you can call another number straight after calling Childline.
Different phones might store dialled numbers somewhere. To check whether yours does you can look at your phone’s instructions or speak to a counsellor.
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