Nine out of ten parents have talked to their child about screen time in the past month. One in five have never spoken to their child about online privacy. New research from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, published on 7 April 2026, suggests that the conversation most families are skipping may be the one that matters more.
Children are already sharing more than parents think
The ICO surveyed 1,000 UK parents with children aged four to 11. Nearly a quarter of those children had already shared their real name or address online. More than a fifth had shared personal information, including health details, with AI tools. And 35% of parents believed their child would hand over personal data in exchange for game tokens or in-app rewards.
These are primary school children. Most of them are tapping “accept” on apps and games without understanding what they are agreeing to. A single permission can expose not just a name but friendships, interests, location, mood, and browsing habits, creating a digital footprint that is extremely difficult to undo.
The gap between screen time and privacy
Most parents are already having regular conversations about how long their children spend on devices. That is worth doing. But the ICO’s research found that online privacy is one of the least discussed safety topics at home. 21% of parents have never raised it at all. 38% discuss it less than once a month. Meanwhile, 46% of parents said they do not feel confident protecting their child’s privacy online, and 44% said they try but are not sure they are doing enough.
The problem is not that parents do not care. It is that screen time is visible and privacy is not. A parent can see their child on a tablet for two hours. They cannot see what data that child has just shared with an AI chatbot, or that a game has quietly enabled location tracking, or that tapping “allow” on a notification gave an app access to the camera roll.
Three steps to start the conversation
The ICO’s Switched on to Privacy campaign is aimed at parents of children aged four to 11 and offers a straightforward starting framework.
Chat regularly. Make online privacy part of normal conversation, not a one-off lecture. Ask your child what apps they used today and whether any of them asked for information. The ICO frames this as being as natural as teaching a child to cross the road: something you build into daily life rather than saving for a formal talk.
Choose carefully. Help your child understand that not every app needs their real name, their photo, or their location. Talk about what counts as personal information, because children often do not think of things like their school name, their pet’s name, or a voice note as “data.” They are.
Check settings. Every time a new device, app, or game is set up, go through the privacy settings together. This is not about locking everything down. It is about making sure your child knows what is being shared and with whom. Most children have never looked at a privacy setting, because nobody has shown them where to find one.
What to do this week
Pick one app your child uses regularly and sit with them while they open the privacy settings. Ask them what they think each setting does. The answer will tell you how much they understand and where the gaps are. If your child is old enough to download apps, they are old enough to start learning what those apps are collecting.
The ICO’s campaign hub at ico.org.uk/SwitchedOn has conversation guides for different age groups.
Sources: ICO — Switched on to Privacy campaign launch and research, 7 April 2026 ICO — Switched on to Privacy campaign hub
