"We know that there are many parents who are worried and thinking about how to protect their children on social media. We also know that there are quite simple things that can be done to increase children's awareness and reduce their vulnerability on social media," says Malin Blixt, head of department at IMY.
Adapted for children
The Fantomapp app that the authority is now releasing comes from France, where it was developed by IMY's French counterpart, CNIL.
The app has been developed together with children aged 10-15 to ensure that it is as target group-friendly as possible.
I would say that it is adapted for children, has appeal for children, but you can really use it as a parent too.
How children use social media and what they share can be a difficult discussion for many parents. Malin Blixt sees the app as a way to address the issue.
Many times it can be the case that we avoid that discussion, but here we have the opportunity to have a conversation about this.
Unwanted contact attempts
The app includes things like information on where to turn if you are being bullied or hacked and step-by-step guides on how to block people and certain types of content.
This may involve settings for people you don't want to have contact with. You can turn off unwanted contact attempts both from people you know and from people you don't know.
Fantomapp is adapted for social media, but Malin Blixt sees that it could be developed to also include games. Several of the functions can also be used in the gaming world.
You also have the option to upload your own pictures, for example, and blur them so you can remove parts of the picture, other people, or things you might not want to be seen. And you can test your passwords, which is useful in games and in places other than social media.
FantomApp has been developed with funding from the EU. IMY has translated and adapted the app to Swedish conditions in collaboration with the French supervisory authority (CNIL).
In the app, you can, among other things, test whether a password is secure, make photos anonymous, get help with settings that protect you on social media, test how much information your profile shows, and get information about where to turn if you have been subjected to cyberbullying or fraud, for example.
Source: Swedish Privacy Authority (IMY)
