📱 WhatsApp Privacy Settings – Keeping Our Children Safe Online

As our Year 6 pupils become increasingly independent online, we would like to remind pupils and parents about the importance of checking privacy and safety settings on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp has a number of settings that can help children have greater control over who can contact them, who can add them to groups and who can see their personal information.

🔒 How to check your privacy settings

Open WhatsApp and go to:

Settings → Privacy

From here, you can review a number of important settings:

👥 Groups
Check who is able to add you to WhatsApp groups. Adjusting this setting can help prevent children from being added directly to unwanted groups. If someone who cannot add them tries to do so, they can receive an invitation instead and choose whether to join.

📸 Profile Photo
Choose who can see your profile photograph. Consider whether you want people you don't know to be able to see it.

🟢 Last Seen & Online
You can control who can see when you were last active and whether people can see when you are online.

💬 About
Check who can see information you have included in your WhatsApp profile.

📱 Status
You can choose who can see your Status updates. Think carefully about what you share and who you are sharing it with.

🚫 Block and Report
If someone sends inappropriate, unwanted or upsetting messages, remember that you can block and report them.

⭐ Important reminders for Year 6

Only communicate with people you know and trust.
Think before you share photographs, videos or personal information.
Don't share your address, school details, passwords or other private information.
You do not have to respond to a message just because someone has sent one.
If you are added to a group that makes you uncomfortable, leave the group and tell a trusted adult.
If someone is making you feel uncomfortable, block and report them.
Never agree to meet someone you have only spoken to online.
Most importantly, tell an adult if something online worries or upsets you.

👨‍👩‍👧 A reminder for parents and carers

We encourage parents and carers to spend a few minutes checking these settings together with their child. This is a good opportunity to talk about who their child communicates with, what information they share and what they should do if something doesn't feel right.

Privacy settings are an important part of staying safe, but they are only one part of online safety. Regular conversations, clear boundaries and knowing who to talk to when something goes wrong are equally important.

Our key message to pupils is simple:

STOP • THINK • CHECK

Before you accept, reply, share or join - stop, think about whether it is safe, and check with a trusted adult if you are unsure.