The widespread teenage boy sextortion scam: What to do if your child is a victim

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks

This week’s Washington Post article about the teenage boy sextortion scam by Chris Moody is all I’ve been thinking about. In part because I know a kid who was targeted in this way, and it was a terrible situation. But to learn that this is a problem...

Do you qualify for a payout from the $725 million Facebook class action settlement?

by Liz Gumbinner | Social Media, Tips and Tricks

Wow, I sound like a TV law firm ad saying, “you may qualify for a payout from the multi-million dollar Facebook settlement!” But honestly, that’s the fact. I’ve popped my name into a couple of class action settlements recently — generally...

What my teen daughter had to say about THAT article about Instagram and body image

by Liz Gumbinner | Social Media, Internet Safety, Kids

We’re all talking about “that” Wall Street Journal article about Instagram: Facebook Knows It’s Toxic for Teen Girls. You’re probably talking about it. Or your kids are. I know it’s all we’ve been seeing in our social feeds...

How can I prevent a Facebook hack? Reader Q&A

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks, Best Apps, Internet Safety

This week in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook group, we were asked how to prevent a Facebook hack, and specifically, if were any security measures to take that might help.  And yes, yes there are! Here, a few really simple tips to help prevent a Facebook hack. They can...

The top 10 most popular Cool Mom Tech posts of 2020

by Cool Mom Team | Link Roundups, Tips and Tricks

Every year, we share our top 10 most popular posts on Cool Mom Tech. From the best podcasts for kids to customizing your iPhone 14 home screen, here are the posts we wrote this year that resonated the most with our readers in 2020. Also check out: The top 10 Cool Mom...

Here’s how to make that Facebook Avatar that looks nothing like you.

by Kristen Chase | Tips and Tricks

If you’re like me, then your Facebook feed has been filled with everyone’s new Facebook avatar. It’s also been filled with people saying how they look nothing like them. And I have to be honest, I totally agree. So of course, I had to give it a try...

How to practice safe socializing using tech during the Coronavirus outbreak

by Christina Refford | Tips and Tricks

It’s ironic that I chose the word “connect” as my 2020 word, just to find myself practicing “social distancing” three months into the year. Suddenly, instead of looking forward to coffee shop meetups, long chummy walks, and dinners with...

Here’s how Facebook is stalking you. And what you can do about it.

by Kristen Chase | Social Media

If you’re like me, you’ve had a few instances where you know you didn’t search for a particular product or service on your phone or your computer, but suddenly you’re getting ads for it in your Facebook feed. Is Facebook listening into your...

This Facebook design flaw allowed kids to chat with unauthorized users on Messenger Kids.

by Kristen Chase | Social Media

Since Messenger Kids launched back in 2017, we were pretty skeptical about the messaging app that purported to offer kids a safer way to chat with friends, all without having to actually be a Facebook user. Not surprisingly, the Messenger Kids app was highly...

Here’s what you need to know about the WhatsApp breach

by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety

With lots of tweens and teens using Facebook’s WhatsApp as a way to communicate, not to mention parents, especially those of us who travel a fair amount, we were very concerned about the cybersecurity breach on Monday. Users were left vulnerable to malicious...