Online Friend Verification Check
Structured questions for working out whether an online friend is who they say — asked together with the child rather than about them.
Four requests distinguish a risky online contact from an ordinary one — asking for secrecy, sending gifts or in-game currency, moving to a disappearing-message app, and asking for photos — and any of them matters more than everything else combined.
Online Friend Verification Check
Frequently asked
Are online friendships bad for children?
No. For many children, particularly those who are isolated offline, they are genuinely valuable and the research does not support treating them as inherently dangerous. The task is distinguishing an ordinary friendship from a targeted one, not preventing all of them.
Should I read my child's messages?
Approaches differ by age and family, and covert monitoring reliably damages disclosure — a child who discovers it usually stops telling you things. Agreed, visible oversight that reduces with age is what most safeguarding guidance recommends.
What if they refuse to answer these questions?
Refusal about one specific contact, particularly combined with secrecy, is itself information. Rather than escalating to a confrontation, that is the point to seek advice from a child protection helpline, which is what they are for.
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