How to Protect Children and Parents Online

We continue Cybersecurity Awareness Month — our series of posts on protecting data online. Today we’ll talk about those who are in the risk zone: children and elderly parents.

They’re less likely to spot deception online — they trust flashy buttons and new acquaintances, emails “from the bank” and calls “from loved ones.”

We explain how to protect children and parents online.

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TL;DR

Children and the elderly are in the risk zone: they’re more likely to trust flashy buttons, “emails from the bank,” and promises of free access to services or online safety.
One of the main traps is free VPNs: they’re used to steal money or data. A University of Michigan study: of 281 free VPNs for Android, 61 transmitted data without encryption, and more than 80% reached out to tracking domains.
The first layer of protection is reliable software: open source code and a no-logs policy. Amnezia Free is for basic access for your family.
The second layer is parental controls. The article has step-by-step instructions for Windows (Microsoft Family Safety), Google devices (Family Link), and Apple (Family Sharing): content filters, screen time, and limits on purchases and app installation.
Third-party browsers other than Edge, Chrome, and Safari are a loophole. It’s worth setting up separate accounts and requiring an administrator password to install software.
Amnezia’s family solutions: Premium (one account for seven devices) or Self-hosted on Amnezia Hosting (your own server, your family’s entire traffic under your control).

Risk Factor: Free VPN Services

Scammers lure victims in, promising to get around digital ID requirements for social media access or game bans in their region. With the older generation, paradoxically, they promise protection from online threats. There’s a universal lure too: discounts and special offers.

All of it to achieve two goals:

Steal money — scammers ask for an “advance payment” or promise to “speed up your internet” and, once they get the transfer, disappear. This also includes fleeceware — software that floods the user with ads or demands for microtransactions.
Steal data — the VPN service may even work, but the attackers get access to all the information your household members transmit. Everything comes in handy: bank card numbers, personal data, passwords. Botnet agents fall into this category too.

Experience shows that free VPNs are found mainly in mousetraps. In 2026, researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed 281 free VPN apps for Android. They found that 29 leaked traffic, 61 transmitted data without encryption, and more than 80% reached out to advertising or tracking domains.

That’s why we keep the Amnezia VPN source code open to users and researchers: anyone can examine the program and assess its security. What’s more, we follow a no-logs policy — we process information about your connection in the server’s RAM, so there’s simply nowhere for it to be stored.

Given this, Amnezia Free is the best option if you want to keep your family safe online.

Family Safety Settings

Choosing the right software is the first layer of protection for your family online. But you can’t control every step a child or grandparent takes online.

This is where the second layer comes into play — built-in family safety tools. You may know them as parental controls — but the same family safety settings work just as well for keeping an eye on elderly parents.

They protect from two sides: they filter access to undesirable resources and block dangerous actions online.

Microsoft

On Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft Family Safety will protect your loved ones:

Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Open Settings → Accounts → Family (in Windows 10, Family & other users), then click Add a family member.
Select Create one for a child or add an existing one by email address; for a child under 13, a parent’s consent will be required.
On the Microsoft Family Safety web page or in the app, open the child’s profile and, in the Overview section, set screen time and content filters.
Enable web filters for Microsoft Edge: blocking adult sites or the Only allowed sites mode.

The Google Ecosystem

On Android, Google Family Link will help:

Install Google Family Link on your device — it’s also available for iOS.
On the child’s or adult’s device, open Settings → Google → All services → Parental controls and tap Get started.
Add the account you want to protect, or create a new one, and select Supervise account.
Set daily usage limits and bedtime.
In the Google Chrome and web section, choose a site filter and block the installation of extensions without your consent.
In the Google Play settings, turn on purchase approval and restrict app installation by age.

Apple Devices

On macOS and iOS, online safety is handled by the Family Sharing group of settings:

Open Settings → your name → Family Sharing and add the child’s or adult’s account if they’re not in the group yet.
Go back to Settings → Screen Time and set a name for the new family member.
Tap Turn On Screen Time and set a passcode that only you know.
In the Content & Privacy section, enable content filters and restrictions on purchases and app installation.
In the Communication section, decide whom the owner of the new account can call and message.

Browsers

With Edge, Chrome, and Safari, the system settings will protect your household, but any other browser can become a loophole for the especially curious. We recommend creating separate accounts for them on the home computer and requiring an administrator password to install any third-party software.

Protect Your Loved Ones

A combination of a trusted VPN service and well-chosen parental control settings will keep your household safe. But what if a child wants cartoons on YouTube, and your mom can’t figure out the keys for Amnezia Free?

We have two solutions:

Amnezia Premium. One account protects up to seven devices: the home computer, kids’ phones, parents’ tablets.
Amnezia Self-hosted. Your own server under your control. If you want your family’s traffic to go only through you.

In that case, we recommend setting it up on Amnezia Hosting — our service is optimized for Amnezia VPN, and we’ll help with the initial setup.