The Goodies Drawer

• Set your main accounts to private and check who can message or tag you.
• Turn off location on posts, stories and your camera app.
• Remove followers you could not name in real life.
• Turn on two factor authentication for email, then for your socials.
• Change any password you have reused, starting with your email.
• Search your own name and username, and see what a stranger would find.
• Check which apps are connected to your Google or Apple login and remove old ones.
• Save one adult and one helpline in your phone as your who do I tell plan.

Five signals a message is fake

Scam messages nearly always show at least one of these. If you spot two, treat it as fake until you prove otherwise.

• Signal 01

  It creates a deadline. Pay now, verify in 24 hours, your account closes tonight. Real companies do not rush you.

• Signal 02

  The link is nearly right. One swapped letter, an extra dash, or a .com you have never seen before.

• Signal 03

  It opens with Dear Customer or your email address instead of your name.

• Signal 04

  It asks for a code, a password or a card number in the chat itself.

• Signal 05

  Safe move: leave the message, open the real app or type the website in yourself, then check from there.

Passwords without the headache

You do not need dozens of clever passwords. You need a long one you remember and a manager for the rest.

• 01

  Length beats symbols

  Four random words strung together, like copper-mango-tunnel-plate, is far harder to crack than P@ssw0rd1 and much easier to remember.

• 02

  Your email is the master key

  Whoever controls your email can reset everything else, so give it your strongest password and two factor authentication first.

• 03

  Let something else remember

  The password manager built into your phone or browser is free and fine. Use it so every account gets a different password.

• 04

  Codes are never shared

  No bank, school or app will ever ask you to read out a verification code. Anyone asking is trying to get into your account.

Myths worth dropping

• “Private mode makes me anonymous.”

  ActuallyIt only hides history on that device. Your school, your internet provider and the sites themselves still see the traffic.

• “Disappearing messages actually disappear.”

  ActuallyScreenshots and screen recordings exist. Assume anything you send can be kept forever.

• “Only careless people get scammed.”

  ActuallyScams are written and tested by people who do it full time. Being busy or tired is enough to get caught.

• “Deleting a post removes it from the internet.”

  ActuallyIt removes it from your profile. Copies, archives and other people's saves can stay behind.

Habits for your health, not just your accounts

Digital wellbeing is partly security and partly how the phone leaves you feeling. These are the changes that helped us most.

• Habit 01

  Charge your phone outside your bedroom. Sleep is the first thing scrolling takes.

• Habit 02

  Turn off notifications for anything that is not a person you know.

• Habit 03

  Unfollow accounts that leave you comparing yourself. Your feed is editable.

• Habit 04

  Wait ten minutes before posting anything you feel strongly about.

• Habit 05

  Check your weekly screen time once, without judging it, then pick one number to lower.

• Habit 06

  Keep one part of the day phone free, like the walk home or dinner.

If something has already gone wrong

All of these are free, and none of them will get you in trouble for asking. Save one or two in your phone now, while nothing is wrong.

• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 · 24/7
• eSafety Commissioner Report serious online harm
• Scamwatch Report a scam to the ACCC
• IDCARE 1800 595 160 · identity theft support
• Lifeline 13 11 14 · crisis support
• headspace Youth mental health support

If you are ever unsure who to call, start with Kids Helpline. They will talk it through and point you to the right place, even if it turns out to be nothing.