Family IT Guy Podcast

Epizode

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  Keep Your Kids Safe Online - Weekly Q&A - Aug 12 2026 13.08.2026 1h 23min

  Keep Your Kids Safe Online - Weekly Q&A - Aug 12 2026
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  You’re the Product, Not the Customer (The Paid, Private Internet) 11.08.2026 3min

  The apps are free, the games are free, email and search and videos are free. But free is not really free. The payment is your family's data, time, and attention. There is another internet where you pay a few dollars and become the customer instead of the product, and here is what it costs and where to start.One question sorts the whole internet: how does a company make its money? If the answer is advertising, the product being sold is your attention, and the app is built to collect as much of it as it can. If the answer is subscriptions, you are the customer, and the company stays in business by keeping you happy. Ben walks through the paid, privacy-respecting options by category: email like Proton or Fastmail for about ten to twenty dollars a month, search like Kagi for about five dollars a month, messaging like Signal, which is free and run by a nonprofit, and paid kids' games without the ads and tracking built into free ones.He also explains how to check a "we're private" claim: open source, which means the app's code is public so outside experts can inspect what it actually does. You do not have to switch everything at once. Start with one, like search, then try getting your close friends and family onto Signal with you.Proton: https://proton.meFastmail: https://www.fastmail.comKagi: https://kagi.comSignal: https://signal.orgChapters:0:00 Free isn't free0:37 The one question that sorts the internet1:07 The paid alternatives, category by category1:47 How to tell honest apps from dishonest ones2:20 Start with one changeWatch the whole series, How the Internet Really Works: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3jDQHQdQekMore in this series:It Started With Bacon (How Free Apps Make Money): https://youtu.be/FQbVOHcQRMEThe Cloud Is Someone Else's Computer: https://youtu.be/NsYAPKyJhXgShould You Accept or Reject Cookies?: https://youtu.be/EEt33DXh--gYou're the Product, Not the Customer: https://youtu.be/UWBA-VcLOGEFamily IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass: https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-masterclassWebsite and free guides: https://www.familyitguy.comListen to the Family IT Guy Podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8g#parenting #onlinesafety #digitalparenting #kidsonline #cybersecurity #familyitguy
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  How to Make Video Games Safe and Actually Good for Your Kids 06.08.2026 55min

  Most parents feel stuck on video games: ban them and your kid feels left out, allow them and you worry about who's on the other end of the chat. Devyn Ricks has spent her whole life in games and now runs Miss Devyn's Video Game Universe, where a team of teachers hosts moderated online gaming clubs for kids. She's also a mom of four.In this conversation she walks through how she decides which games her own kids play, why she's a hard pass on Roblox, the simple signal that tells you a game is doing more harm than good, and how to check whether any game is safe even if you've never picked up a controller. We also get into why a console beats an iPad, which system to buy at each age, and why teaching kids the "why" protects them long after the rules stop working.If gaming is a fight in your house, this one is for you.Chapters: 0:00 Meet Miss Devyn and her video-game clubs 2:14 What the clubs actually do (and why community matters) 13:23 Games are neutral: how you use them is everything 15:16 Why she's a hard pass on Roblox, and reading your kid's cues 18:38 If a game is free, your child is the product: console vs iPad 24:52 How to vet any new game (research, chat settings, observe) 31:03 The hard truth about who's online, and staying involved 34:32 Skills, not rules 38:16 What game system to buy at every age 48:09 The biggest misconception about kids who game 53:49 One piece of advice: play the game with your kidFind Devyn: Miss Devyn's Video Game Universe — missdevyn.com YouTube: @MissDevynsVGUTikTok: @MissDevynGames Classes on Outschool: search "Miss Devyn"Family IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication. Learn the problems, protect your family, start with yourself.Get the iPhone Parental Controls guide: familyitguy.com
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  Should You Accept or Reject Cookies? What the Pop-Up Does 04.08.2026 3min

  Every website asks you to accept or reject cookies, and most of us click Accept just to clear the box. Clicking Reject barely helps either. Here is what the pop-up actually does and the free change that does more for your family's privacy than the button ever will.A cookie is a small file a website saves on your device so it can recognize you. Some cookies are useful, like the one that keeps you logged in or remembers your cart. Tracking cookies are the problem: they follow you from site to site and build a profile of what you read, shop for, and watch, which advertisers pay for. The pop-up is left over from privacy laws the ad industry has already worked around, so even Reject leaves you tracked in other ways.The real fix is a browser that blocks trackers for you on every site. On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Safari already does this. On Windows or Android, use Firefox instead of Chrome or Edge, and set it as the default on your devices and your kids' devices. Then tell your kids why you changed it. The lesson is bigger than cookies: everything you do on the internet should be treated as public.Chapters:0:00 The cookie question0:28 What a cookie actually is1:03 Why clicking Reject barely helps1:32 The free fix: a private browser2:12 What to tell your kidsWatch the whole series, How the Internet Really Works: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3jDQHQdQekMore in this series:It Started With Bacon (How Free Apps Make Money): https://youtu.be/FQbVOHcQRMEThe Cloud Is Someone Else's Computer: https://youtu.be/NsYAPKyJhXgShould You Accept or Reject Cookies?: https://youtu.be/EEt33DXh--gYou're the Product, Not the Customer: https://youtu.be/UWBA-VcLOGEFamily IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass: https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-masterclassWebsite and free guides: https://www.familyitguy.comListen to the Family IT Guy Podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8g#parenting #onlinesafety #digitalparenting #kidsonline #cybersecurity #familyitguy
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  The Cloud Is Someone Else’s Computer (Where Your Data Goes) 28.07.2026 4min

  When you save something to the cloud, it does not float in the sky. It goes to a real building full of computers that a company owns, and that company can usually read what is stored there.Ben spent years designing and running data centers, including one for the F-18 fighter jet program, so he can show you what "the cloud" actually is: warehouses full of servers in real cities, keeping copies of your photos, messages, and files. You cannot realistically quit the cloud. What you can control is whether the companies holding your data can read it. That comes down to encryption, which means scrambling your files so only a private key can unlock them, and who holds that key. If you hold it, only you can read your files. If a company holds it, they can too.Ben shares the services he pays for and uses himself for this: Proton for email, files, photos, and passwords, and Signal for private messages and calls. Start by moving one thing you care about to a service that hands you the key.Proton: https://proton.meSignal: https://signal.orgChapters:0:00 Where your data really goes0:40 What the cloud actually is1:12 Watch the data leave a computer2:52 How to keep private things private3:32 Why this matters for our kidsWatch the whole series, How the Internet Really Works: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3jDQHQdQekMore in this series:It Started With Bacon (How Free Apps Make Money): https://youtu.be/FQbVOHcQRMEThe Cloud Is Someone Else's Computer: https://youtu.be/NsYAPKyJhXgShould You Accept or Reject Cookies?: https://youtu.be/EEt33DXh--gYou're the Product, Not the Customer: https://youtu.be/UWBA-VcLOGEFamily IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass: https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-masterclassWebsite and free guides: https://www.familyitguy.comListen to the Family IT Guy Podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8g#parenting #onlinesafety #digitalparenting #kidsonline #cybersecurity #familyitguy
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  It Started With Bacon: How ”Free” Apps Make Money 21.07.2026 6min

  Almost everything online is free because the internet is a marketing engine, and the fuel it runs on is your family's data, time, and attention.In the 1920s a bacon company hired a man named Edward Bernays to sell more bacon. He got physicians to endorse a big breakfast, newspapers ran their opinions as news, and bacon and eggs became "the American breakfast." That method, borrow a trusted voice, hide who is paying, and make the message look like advice, built the modern advertising industry. For most of the last century it had two limits: advertisers could not see exactly who got their message, and they could not change it per person. The internet removed both. Every tap, every pause while you scroll, every video you half watch is measured, and the message adjusts to you in real time.Ben explains why that makes the internet dangerous for kids. The real problem is not screen time, it is marketing exposure time. Youth suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people, and for kids aged 10 to 14 the rate tripled between 2007 and 2018. He gives you one question to ask about anything your kids use for free: who is paying for this, and what are they buying? If the answer is advertisers buying attention, that is a red flag, and a lot of the most popular apps fall into that category. Tell your kids the bacon story. Once a kid can spot the hidden sponsor in their breakfast, they start spotting it everywhere.Chapters:0:00 The bacon story1:07 The method behind modern advertising1:42 How the internet changed the game3:11 Why this is dangerous for kids5:18 What you can doSources:Meta's advertising revenue, about 98% of its total: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000162828026003942/meta-20251231.htmEdward Bernays and the Beech-Nut bacon campaign: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_BernaysYouth suicide statistics, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db471.htmWatch the whole series, How the Internet Really Works: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3jDQHQdQekMore in this series:It Started With Bacon (How Free Apps Make Money): https://youtu.be/FQbVOHcQRMEThe Cloud Is Someone Else's Computer: https://youtu.be/NsYAPKyJhXgShould You Accept or Reject Cookies?: https://youtu.be/EEt33DXh--gYou're the Product, Not the Customer: https://youtu.be/UWBA-VcLOGEFamily IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass: https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-masterclassWebsite and free guides: https://www.familyitguy.comListen to the Family IT Guy Podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8g#parenting #onlinesafety #digitalparenting #kidsonline #cybersecurity #familyitguy
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  Bark’s Chief Parenting Officer on Predators, AI, and Keeping Kids Safe Online 03.07.2026 1h 14min

  Titania Jordan is the Chief Parenting Officer at Bark. She sat down with Ben Gillenwater to walk through what she's seeing in how kids actually use their phones, what scares her most, and what you can do about it without being technical.They get into a lot: why the free apps your kid uses aren't really free, why your kid is already using AI and who should be teaching them, the slang and rating systems kids use on each other that most parents have never heard of, and the red flags that an online "friend" is really a predator. They also dig into the parts of Big Tech's parental controls that don't actually work, what good monitoring really does, and one simple thing any parent can do today.A couple of numbers from the conversation: suicide is the second leading cause of death for kids 10 to 14 in the US, behind accidents, according to the CDC. Titania also shares two of Bark's own numbers: about 80% of the time, parents had no idea their kid was struggling until an alert flagged it, and Bark now helps protect around 7.5 million kids.Ben reviewed the Bark Phone earlier this year, and references that review here: https://www.familyitguy.com/bark-phone-review.htmlThe iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass walks you through locking down your kid's iPhone, every setting, step by step: https://courses.familyitguy.com/iphoneIf you ever find out a child is being targeted or exploited online, you can report it to the NCMEC CyberTipline at https://report.cybertip.org/. If you or someone you love is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is there any time at https://988lifeline.org/.Chapters:0:00 Intro: Titania Jordan, Chief Parenting Officer of Bark0:52 How she became a Chief Parenting Officer5:34 Free isn't free: how platforms monetize your time6:48 An MBA for kids: teaching them the business model7:25 Dopamine, frame rate, and overstimulated kids15:08 Nobody is teaching your kid AI, except you17:40 Where AI belongs for kids, and where it doesn't23:16 Why Bark exists: 80% of parents had no idea28:52 Big Tech's parental controls are theater (Apple, TikTok)33:21 Apple walked back catching child abuse images34:45 There's no such thing as a friend in a corporation36:41 Nobody at Bark reads your kid's texts: how it works41:05 You're not authoritarian, you're being a parent42:30 Privacy belongs to your child; you're the steward47:46 Decoding what your kids are really saying (the slang)55:15 The phone that won't let a kid take a nude58:00 The predator playbook: grooming red flags1:00:41 "Disappearing" messages don't disappear (Snap, screenshots)1:04:06 No company is your friend, but some still do good1:06:23 Judge a company by how it measures success1:09:19 Roblox: who are you actually funding?1:10:37 The one free thing every parent can do1:12:28 Close: protecting millions of kidsFamily IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.Website and free guides: https://www.familyitguy.comGuest: Titania Jordan, Chief Parenting Officer of Bark.#parenting #onlinesafety #digitalparenting #kidsonline #cybersecurity #familyitguy
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  Porn: The Conversation That Protects Your Kids | Chris McKenna 18.06.2026 1h 13min

  How do you talk to your kids about pornography before the internet does it for them? Chris McKenna founded Protect Young Eyes to help parents answer exactly that, and his approach surprises most people: the fix is not a better filter. It is a braver and more frequent conversation.Most of us are scared of this talk, so we put it off, and putting it off is the one move that leaves a kid alone with whatever they find. Chris makes the case for the opposite. Make the conversation normal. Start early, keep it casual, have it often, so your kid runs to you when something feels wrong instead of hiding it. Shine light on the topic.We get into the number that stopped me cold. In every child-on-child case the counselors Chris interviewed had handled that year, the child who had harmed another had been exposed to pornography early in childhood. We talk about why a young brain has no "file" for what it is seeing, then we get practical: ten conversations before age 10, the porn talk you can have in the car without ever saying the word "porn", and how to make yourself the person your kid comes to.MORE FROM CHRIS McKENNAOrder his book, 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family (out June 16 2026): https://www.techreadyfamily.comProtect Young Eyes: https://protectyoungeyes.comDigital parenting coaching, The Table: https://protectyoungeyes.com/the-tableThe Ultimate Guide to Understanding Routers: https://www.protectyoungeyes.com/devices/the-ultimate-guide-to-understanding-routersCHAPTERS0:00 Welcome1:05 How Chris got into this10:39 The realities of porn today20:04 Young brains can't process it21:28 The 100% statistic24:00 Make Porn the Norm (the reframe)28:14 10 before 1030:28 Where kids really see it35:11 How to actually have the talk43:42 Porn isn't real sex57:31 The one fix at AppleSOURCESThe 100% figure is from Chris McKenna's interviews with counselors at Children's Assessment Centers, which work with both the child who was harmed and the child who caused harm. More on his research at https://protectyoungeyes.comABOUT CHRIS McKENNAChris is the founder of Protect Young Eyes and president of The Better Tech Project. He testified before the U.S. Senate in 2019, co-authored the Child Device Protection Bill that is now law in Utah and Alabama, and is featured in the documentary Childhood 2.0. Publishers Weekly calls his new book "comprehensive," "illuminating," and "an informative resource for parents eager to establish digital safety nets for their children."ABOUT FAMILY IT GUYBen Gillenwater is a cybersecurity expert and dad who helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication.#digitalparenting #onlinesafety #pornography #raisingkids #parentingtips #protectyoungeyes #screentime #familyitguy
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  Apple iOS just made kids’ phones safer. 09.06.2026 2min

  For years, giving a child their first phone meant starting with a device designed for adults and then trying to lock it down afterward.Apple just announced a major shift.With iOS 27, kids' devices can start as a blank slate—no wide-open access, no endless game of chasing settings and blocking apps after the fact. Parents decide what gets added and when.This is how child-safe technology should work: parental authority first, access second.It's also a reminder that protecting kids online doesn't require invasive age-verification systems or sacrificing privacy. Good design can solve a lot of problems before lawmakers try to.Apple deserves credit for raising the bar on both privacy and parental controls.Would you feel more comfortable giving your child a phone if it started locked down by default?#Apple #iOS27 #OnlineSafety #DigitalParenting #FamilyITGuy
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  The Hidden Risk of Instagram’s New Instants Feature 08.06.2026 3min

  Meta's new Instants feature has drawn comparisons to Snapchat for one simple reason: both are built around disappearing photos and messages.For parents, the important question isn't which app your child is using—it's whether they understand how these features actually work.Platforms market disappearing content as temporary, but "disappearing" doesn't mean private. Content can be screenshotted, screen-recorded, photographed with another device, shared, and in many cases retained by the platform itself. The technology may make content less visible, but it doesn't make it disappear from the internet.In this video, I look at why Meta is embracing a Snapchat-style feature despite ongoing concerns about youth safety online, what parents should know about supervision tools, and why digital literacy is a more effective long-term strategy than relying on app settings alone.The most valuable lesson we can teach kids is not which apps to fear, but how to think critically about privacy, permanence, and the business models behind the platforms they use every day.I'm Ben, the Family IT Guy—a dad and cybersecurity expert with 30 years of experience helping families navigate social media, smartphones, AI, parental controls, and online safety.Subscribe for practical advice on raising tech-smart kids in a digital world.
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  Age Verification Laws Explained: Why They Won’t Protect Kids 02.06.2026 7min

  Age verification laws are spreading fast, and the "prove your age to use the internet" approach will make every family less safe, not more.Governments across the US and around the world want everyone to prove their identity before going online. In places like California, that's moving down to the operating-system level, so you'd have to verify who you are just to use your own computer. It sounds like a reasonable way to protect kids. It isn't.To check your age online, a company has to collect your ID, verify it, store it, and tie it to what you do. Once that data exists, it lives under whatever the rules happen to be at any given moment, forever. History already showed us how that goes. In 1940 the US Census promised confidentiality; two years later the government canceled that promise, handed over Japanese American families' names and addresses, and sent 120,000 people to internment camps. In 1998, COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) was meant to protect kids online, and instead it gave companies a reason to never build kid-safe products in the first place. So the real fix isn't more databases. It's skills. Parents who understand how the internet works can lead by example and pass that on to their kids. You can't uncollect data, which is exactly why the only real protection is to not collect it in the first place.Read the full Declaration of Principles on the protection of children, families, and freedom in the digital age:https://www.familyitguy.com/declaration-of-principlesCHAPTERS0:00 The age verification laws coming for everyone0:39 How online age checks work1:18 What we want for our kids (the Declaration)2:09 1940: a privacy promise broken (the Census)3:38 1998: how COPPA backfired5:31 What actually changes behavior6:09 The real fix: skills, not surveillance6:58 You can't uncollect data7:16 The one question to always ask7:37 Your turnSOURCES AND FURTHER READING1940 Census and Japanese internment:- Scientific American, confirmed Census disclosure: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-the-us-census-b/- National Archives, Japanese-American Incarceration: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation- The Second War Powers Act (1942), which suspended census confidentiality: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-56/STATUTE-56-Pg176COPPA:- FTC, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA): https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa- FTC, Google/YouTube $170M COPPA settlement: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/09/google-youtube-will-pay-record-170-million-alleged-violations-childrens-privacy-lawWhat actually reduced youth smoking:- CDC, adult cigarette smoking data (42% to 11%): https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/php/data-statistics/adult-data-cigarettes/index.html- Levy et al. (Georgetown), SimSmoke policy analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4801780/- Farrelly et al., "truth" campaign dose-response: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1449196/LISTEN TO THE FAMILY IT GUY PODCASTYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe_GB8g05M6PyRj4OLhD1LF1x_6vEK-LcApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8gABOUTI'm Ben, the Family IT Guy. I help parents handle the two biggest digital dangers facing their kids: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication (and the ways AI is making both worse).Website: https://www.familyitguy.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFamilyITGuy/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/family_it_guy/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@family.it.guy#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #DigitalParenting #KidsOnline #OnlinePrivacy
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  Your Kids Are Not the Customer. They’re the Product. 30.05.2026 5min

  One of the most important skills parents can teach kids today is how to think critically about business models.Because if kids don’t understand how internet companies make money, they can’t fully understand what these platforms are designed to do.In this video, I break down:• Why “free” apps are never actually free• How social media companies really make money• Why attention is the product being sold• How addictive algorithms are designed• Why platforms optimize for “eyeball time”• How understanding incentives helps kids stay safer onlineCompanies like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Google, and others are often framed as tech companies or social platforms. But in reality, most of them are advertising companies.Their business model depends on maximizing your attention so they can sell ads.That changes how we should think about screen time, social media, and digital parenting.If we want kids to navigate the internet safely, we need to help them understand what they’re actually engaging with.More resources:familyitguy.comChapters00:00 Why Understanding Business Models Matters00:25 What a Business Model Actually Is00:50 How Traditional Businesses Measure Success01:43 Why “Free” Internet Products Aren’t Free02:14 The Real Product Social Media Companies Sell02:54 How Addictive Algorithms Work03:28 Why You Are the Product03:52 Looking at SEC Reports04:43 Why Kids Need This SkillSubscribe for practical digital parenting advice grounded in cybersecurity and real-world experience.
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  The Two Biggest Online Threats to Kids Right Now. 29.05.2026 5min

  If you're new here, welcome.My name is Ben Gillenwater, also known as The Family IT Guy. I’m a dad and a cybersecurity expert with 30 years of experience, and my mission is simple: help families keep kids safe online while raising healthy, capable humans in a digital world.In this video, I break down the two biggest online threats facing kids today:• Addictive algorithms• Anonymous online chatThese systems are not accidental. Social media platforms are intentionally designed to maximize attention, and anonymous messaging creates environments where predators, criminal networks, and dangerous influences can reach children at scale.But this video is not about fear.It’s about understanding what matters most and focusing on practical solutions that actually help families:• Education over panic• Skills over rules• Community over isolation• Leading by example as parentsI also share the free resources available through Family IT Guy, including:• Articles and conversation guides• My podcast with psychologists, detectives, and parenting experts• My “boring iPhone” setup guide for kids• The Being meditation app• The Family IT Guy communityThis is a complicated time for parents, but you do not have to figure it out alone.Resources:www.familyitguy.comChapters:00:00 Introduction00:20 Why This Work Matters00:40 The Two Core Problems01:14 How Addictive Algorithms Work01:35 Anonymous Chat and Online Predators02:04 Why This Matters for Every Family02:41 Skills vs Rules03:14 Leading by Example as Parents04:08 Hope for the Next Generation04:18 Free Resources for Families05:15 Questions From the CommunitySubscribe for practical guidance on parenting, technology, and online safety.
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  The Dark Truth About Snapchat Parents Aren’t Being Told 29.05.2026 3min

  This video is dedicated to Avery, a 15-year-old boy who died after buying MDMA through Snapchat.Avery grew up with strong boundaries around technology. Waldorf education. Outdoor adventures. Shared screen time rules. Minimal exposure to social media. But once Snapchat entered the picture in high school, everything changed.Within a year, Avery bought drugs from a local dealer through the app. He took too much and died on December 19, 2024.I spoke with Avery’s dad, Aaron, who asked me to share this story so other families don’t experience the same loss.This is not an isolated case.According to the DEA, 76% of investigated youth drug-buying cases involved Snapchat. Internal company documents have also shown that dealers prefer disappearing-message platforms because they make detection harder.In this video, I break down:• Why Snapchat is different from what most parents think• How social media platforms enable dangerous behavior• Why “everyone else has it” is not a good reason• What actually helps protect kids online• Why removing social media often strengthens real friendships• Tools like the Bark Phone that can help parents monitor riskWatch my conversation with Mike McLeod here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJU9u68PNt8For more resources, visit:www.familyitguy.comSearch “Snapchat” on the site for additional articles and tools.Chapters:00:00 Avery’s Story01:11 Why Snapchat Is Different02:18 The DEA Investigation03:04 What Actually Protects Kids04:08 Are Snapchat Friendships Real?05:08 Why Boundaries Matter05:47 Tools That Can Help ParentsCheck out the @BarkTechnologies phone here: https://www.familyitguy.com/go/bark
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  If You Use AI for Therapy Watch This 12.05.2026 5min

  A growing number of adults and teens are using AI chatbots for therapy, emotional support, advice, and difficult conversations. Some people say it helps them feel less alone. Others are relying on it daily for mental health guidance.But there’s a major problem most people are missing:AI can sound caring, wise, and authoritative without actually understanding you, your situation, or the consequences of its advice.In this video, I break down:• Why people are turning to AI for therapy• The benefits people are experiencing• The serious risks parents need to understand• The privacy tradeoffs nobody talks about• The dangerous “human-like” illusion of AI• Why skepticism matters more than fear• The exact custom instructions I recommend using with AI systemsI also discuss the tragic case referenced in current litigation involving a teen and an AI chatbot, and what it reveals about the limitations of these systems.My goal is not panic or blind trust. It’s helping families understand what these tools are, where they help, where they fail, and how to use them responsibly.Read the full article and copy the custom AI instructions here:https://www.familyitguy.com/ai-therapy-custom-instructions.html#AI #MentalHealth #Parenting #ChatGPT #AITherapy #DigitalParenting #Technology #CyberSafety #OnlineSafety #FamilyITGuy
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  Why We Removed Phones From Our Bedrooms (And What Changed Immediately) 07.05.2026 3min

  If you are trying to keep your kids safer online, this is where I would start: keep internet-connected devices out of bedrooms.Bedrooms should be calm places. Places for sleep, rest, conversation, quiet, and recovery.But phones, tablets, gaming systems, and social media feeds bring noise into that space — not just sound noise, but mental and emotional noise.In this video, I explain why removing devices from bedrooms has been one of the most impactful digital changes in our home, both for us as parents and for our kids.We talk about:• Why internet-connected bedrooms affect sleep and mental health • How phones quietly pull attention even when they are not being used • Why kids are more vulnerable online late at night • The connection between bedrooms, boundaries, and digital safety • Why parents need to model this behavior first • How our family handles phones, tablets, school devices, gaming systems, and smartwatches at nightOne of the biggest surprises for my wife and me was how different our bedroom felt the very first night we removed our phones. The room immediately felt calmer, quieter, and more connected.That same calm matters even more for kids.Our family rule is simple: Bedrooms are for rest. The internet sleeps somewhere else.If you want the chargers, alarm clocks, and other gear we use in our home, go to: https://www.familyitguy.com/no-internet-in-bedrooms.html#digitalparenting #internetsafety #parenting #screentime #familytech #onlineSafety #cybersecurity #mentalhealth #phones #socialmedia
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  How to Remove Hidden Data From Your Photos 30.04.2026 5min

  Most people crop photos for aesthetics. Few realize that every photo can also contain hidden metadata.When you take a picture on your phone, it may include location data, timestamps, device information, camera details, and other digital markers that create a larger story over time.In this video, I break down a simple privacy habit that takes less than a minute but can reduce how much information you share online.You’ll learn how to:• Crop out identifying details in the background• Remove location metadata before posting• Adjust timestamps for added privacy when needed• Reduce the digital trail your photos create over timeOne photo may seem harmless, but years of uploaded images can reveal routines, locations, travel habits, and personal patterns.Perfect privacy online doesn’t exist, but small habits can make a meaningful difference.Before posting to social media, texting photos, or uploading images to AI tools, take a second look at what your photo may be sharing behind the scenes.Chapters:00:00 Why photo privacy matters00:25 What metadata is hidden in photos01:05 How to remove location data02:00 Why timestamps matter03:15 How companies connect photo data04:10 Simple privacy habits to use dailyKeywords:photo metadata, remove metadata from photos, digital privacy tips, online privacy, photo privacy settings, remove location from photos, hidden data in photos, smartphone privacy, metadata explained, internet privacy tips, AI photo privacy, cybersecurity tipsHashtags:#DigitalPrivacy #PhotoPrivacy #Metadata #CyberSafety #OnlineSafety #DataPrivacy #InternetSafety #TechTips #FamilyITGuy
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  How Predators Went From Playgrounds to Your Kid’s Phone 11.04.2026 1h 21min

  Mike Lemon investigates crimes against children for a living. He's done it for over 20 years. He trains 5,000 parents a year on what he's learned. He still built layered defenses for his own kids' devices, because he knows no child can handle a professional predator alone.We talked for almost 90 minutes. AI sextortion, how Snapchat was really designed, the evolution from physical predation to online operations, his family's actual phone contract, and a conversation framework I keep coming back to.0:00 Introduction 2:03 The man in the van 5:48 Computer forensics training 8:42 Physical abuse vs. online predation 11:41 The screams that stay with you 13:07 When predators face justice 20:03 Trust a predator to be a predator 23:09 From parks to phones 25:58 The "I'm Sorry" Scam 29:07 Sextortion at scale 35:24 Make your kids' accounts private 36:23 AI sextortion and Eli Hecock 40:07 The family contract 43:17 The whitelist approach 46:49 How Snapchat was really designed 56:16 Social media and suicide data 59:26 COPPA and enforcement 1:03:25 The one app for parents 1:09:59 Same side of the table 1:17:52 Every app is a new window 1:19:41 Advice for kidsDet. Mike Lemon | ICAC Detective, 20+ years | CyberSafeSchool.org https://www.cybersafeschool.org Family IT Guy: https://www.familyitguy.com iPhone Setup Guide: https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-setup-guide
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  Meta to pay $375 million for knowingly putting children in danger on Facebook and Instagram. 26.03.2026 3min

  A New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for knowingly putting children in danger on Facebook and Instagram. It's being called a historic win, but is it really a win for kids?In this video, I break down exactly what happened in court, what evidence the jury saw, and most importantly, what's coming next and why the proposed "solutions" may actually make things worse for your family.Chapters:0:00 — The $375M Meta Verdict0:45 — What Evidence the Jury Saw1:30 — 500,000 Cases a Day: Meta's Own Numbers2:15 — Who Actually Gets the Money3:00 — Why the Proposed "Solutions" Are a Problem4:15 — What Courts, Meta and Government Can't Fix5:00 — What YOU Can Do Right NowCourts won't fix this. Meta won't fix this. The government won't fix this.This is on us.Start here 👇📱 iPhone? Use Screen Time (free) (http://familyitguy.com/go/iphoneguide)📱 Android? Use Family Link (free) 📲 Want a phone built for families? Try the Bark Phone: https://www.familyitguy.com/go/barkwww.familyitguy.com
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  Age Verification Laws Won’t Protect Your Kids Online (Here’s What Will) 13.03.2026 5min

  At least 20 states are pushing bills that claim to protect your kids online. I've read them. I testified against one in South Dakota.The problems they're trying to solve are real. The bills don't solve them.I'm Ben Gillenwater — dad, cybersecurity expert, 30 years in the field. In this video I break down exactly what these laws would actually do, why the last major child safety law passed in 1998 made things worse, and why the most powerful protection for your kid isn't in a state capitol. It's in your house.The two things that actually put your kid in danger online:→ Addictive algorithms engineered like slot machines→ Anonymous strangers who can reach your child through games, apps, and messagingOnline enticement reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children went from 186,000 in 2023 to over one million in 2025. Laws didn't stop that. And the ones being proposed won't either.Rules expire. Skills don't. That's what this channel is about.📱 Step-by-step iPhone safety guide: http://familyitguy.com/go/iphoneguide🔔 Subscribe for the full series📤 Send this to a parent who needs to hear it