Parents and carers are being encouraged to download an eSafety app and turn on push notifications to help protect their children online.
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant said Beacon was developed in collaboration with the Telethon Kids Institute and Bankwest to provide parents and carers with personalised, evidence-based information about the online world through an easy-to-use app.
“With a lot of the country still in lockdown, many parents, carers and children are still finding themselves online – and for longer,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“While the internet has been a lifesaver for keeping us all connected, it’s also increased the risk of online harms occurring,” she said.
“We know that 95 per cent of parents see online safety as one of the key parenting challenges, but we also know that parents tend to seek out advice only after something goes wrong online.”
Ms Inman Grant said for time poor parents, seeking out information could be tough.
“That’s why the pushing out of tailored messages to parents right on the Beacon app is a fantastic feature,” the Commissioner said.
“A combination of pushing and pulling these important safety messages is one of the best ways to keep enhancing parents’ digital literacy – one of eSafety’s ultimate goals,” she said.
Spokesperson for Telethon Kids Institute, Donna Cross said the app’s push notifications sent important information to parents and carers at particular points or milestones when they were most likely to need it, such as the start of school term or a significant birthday.
Professor Cross said one year on from its launch, the Beacon app had more than 16,000 downloads and was available for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.
