Staying Safe Online in Canada
A Family’s Guide
Learn how to support safer digital habits for your kids with information and practical tips designed to help you protect your children online.
The Catalyst developed these resources in partnership with Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) and Rogers to keep newcomers safe online
Why online safety matters for families
This guide builds on our Online Safety Guide for Newcomers and is created specifically for parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers of children in Canada.
Children are often active online — playing games, watching videos, messaging friends, or using devices for school. While the internet offers many benefits, it also comes with risks that children may not recognize or know how to handle.
As a caregiver, it’s your responsibility to help them navigate this digital world safely. This guide will help you understand the risks, recognize signs of trouble, take action to protect your children, and respond if something goes wrong.
This guide provides newcomer families to Canada with practical advice to help you:
Learn what could put your child’s safety and privacy in danger online.
Spot warning signs of unsafe or suspicious digital behaviour.
Use tools, habits, and guidance to keep your child safe.
Know how to respond quickly and effectively if problems arise.
Understanding the risks
Children often use digital devices and online services for entertainment and education. But with this access comes exposure to risk — especially if they connect with people they don’t truly know or share information without understanding the consequences.
What online risks do children face?
Kids can face serious risks online, including being tricked or pressured by strangers, cyberbullied, stalked, or asked to share personal images.
The risks:
As children grow, they may have their own email, messaging, or social media accounts. It’s important to consider:
- What technology they use
- How they use it
- How much they understand about staying safe online
Children should learn early about the risks so they can recognize when something doesn’t feel right.
How you can help
- Start by helping them understand what personal information is — like their name, school, or address
- Explain why they should only share it when a trusted adult says it’s okay
- Remind them that even if they don’t think there is harm in sharing details with people online, that information can still be misused – now and in the future
- Remind them that what they post and share online can last forever
How to recognize & verify online risks
What might be unsafe online for children
While you can’t monitor your children 24/7, you can teach them how to think critically and safely about their online activity.
Here are red flags you can help your children recognize:
- Messages from people they don’t know
- Requests for personal or family information
- Promises of gifts, prizes, or free access to content
- Messages that create fear or pressure
- Requests to do something uncomfortable or secretive
What you can teach your child
While curiosity is natural, you should encourage your child to:
- Think critically about who they interact with online
- Be careful with people they don’t know and messages that seem strange or suspicious
- Pause before clicking, sharing, or responding
- Talk to a trusted adult if something feels off or if they are unsure
Examples of common online activities
Below are examples of situations you may face. For each one, here’s what to watch out for:
Online Games and Chat Features
Likely safe:
- Playing age-appropriate games with parental controls
- Chatting with real-life friends in private, monitored groups
Likely unsafe:
- Talking to strangers in open game chats
- Sharing personal details like name, school, or photos in games
Social Media and Messaging Apps
Likely safe:
- Using family-approved apps with privacy settings enabled
- Messaging known contacts under parental supervision
Likely unsafe:
- Accepting friend requests from strangers
- Clicking links or opening images from unknown users
Learning Platforms and School Devices
Likely safe:
- Accessing official school websites or homework platforms
- Using parent-verified educational tools and apps
Likely unsafe:
- Downloading unknown apps or software on school devices
- Sharing passwords or logging in on public networks
Free Offers, Ads, & Pop-ups
Likely safe:
- Ignoring ads and offers not related to your child’s activity
- Using ad-blockers on browsers when possible
Likely unsafe:
- Clicking on “free” giveaways, contests, or prize offers — these are often scams
- Entering personal or family information into online forms from unknown websites or links
Streaming & Browsing Platforms
Likely safe:
- Watching videos on YouTube Kids or safe-mode enabled platforms
- Browsing with child-friendly search engines
Likely unsafe:
- Watching unsupervised or unfiltered content
- Clicking on “suggested” videos or unknown links
How can you ensure your child is safer online?
Start with the practices found in our Newcomer Guide and at
getcybersafe.ca, including:
- Securing accounts (strong passwords, multi-factor authentication)
- Securing connections (safe Wi-Fi, device protections)
- Securing devices (firewalls, parental controls)
You can also take these specific actions to protect your child:
- Use a family “secret word” to confirm identity in messages
- Set up parental controls and turn on safe browsing features
- Review any apps your child wants to download before approving them
- Avoid using technologies that don’t offer proper safety settings
- Help your child create strong passwords or longer, easy-to-remember passphrases
- Turn off or monitor the use of cameras and microphones on their devices
- Set clear rules and regularly talk about how they use phones, games, and online platforms
- Teach them to limit what personal information they share online, since it can stay there for a long time and may be seen by others later (this is sometimes called a digital footprint)
Take action
What to do if you think your child is a victim
Online threats against children are real — and common. But if your child becomes a victim, you are not alone, and support is available.
First, have age-appropriate conversations about what to do if they feel uncomfortable or threatened online. Make sure they know they can come to you or another trusted adult.
Then, depending on the situation, take these steps:
1
Review your child’s recent activity and make note of anything unusual.
Take screenshots, then close or block suspicious accounts.
2
Contact law enforcement for serious incidents
For significant threats, crimes, or losses, police may be able to investigate and, in some cases, help recover what was taken
3
Inform the child’s school, community centre, or other relevant institution
This ensures trusted adults are aware and can intervene if needed
4
If someone is threatening to share private images or exploit a child, report it to cybertip.ca:
This could help to prevent the offender from harming other children in the future
5
Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
This organization collects information on fraud and identity theft. Visit antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca to make a report
6
Offer emotional support
Children can contact Kids Help Phone for confidential help – this is a trusted online resource for young people in Canada
7
Update their security settings
Regularly update passwords, privacy settings, and enable multi-factor authentication
8
Learn from the experience
Regularly monitor your child’s online activity, help them make safe choices about what they share, and have regular conversations about online safety
Support your child’s safe digital growth
As a caregiver, you want your child to thrive — and that includes developing their digital literacy. Today’s children learn, play, and socialize online, but with these benefits come real risks.
By staying involved and talking openly about online safety, you can help your child enjoy the internet’s benefits while protecting themselves — and your family — from harm.