Websites, apps can collect and share kids' personal information

Alberta's privacy commissioner helped design a new course aimed at teaching Grade 7 and 8 students how to be safer online.

The "Kids' Privacy Sweep Lesson Plan" shows children how they can unknowingly share private details when they use websites and apps.

The lesson defines what cookies, IP addresses and geo-locations are. It also shows students how companies collect and share data with third parties.

Students areasked to look at popular apps and websites to see what personal information users are asked to provide.

"It can be done at a school but it could also be done nicely at home with parents and their kids," said Brian Hamilton, director of compliance and investigation with Alberta Privacy Commissioner.

The lesson was developed after the Global Privacy Enforcement Network [GPEN] conducted a privacy sweep of 1,494 websites and smartphone and tabletapps targeted at children.

The investigation found that 67 per cent collected children's personal information and 50 per cent shared that information with other organizations.

The Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner was one of 29 information and data protection regulators to help with GPEN with the sweep.

The lesson is now available for teachers to use in schools across Canada.