One out of three Brazilian kids on social media has an open profile
The 12-year-old girl cannot take her eyes off the little device in her hands. A notification—a comment, a new follower—is all she needs. That is why, even at such a young age, the São Paulo girl has left her profile open on networks like Instagram and Snapchat. Her behavior has her mother, publicist Suzana Oliveira, 41, concerned.
A survey by the company Unico, which specializes in digital identity, and the Locomotiva Research Institute, released Tuesday (Jan. 28), International Data Protection Day, shows that this girl’s case is far from rare. According to the study, at least one in three accounts attributed to children and adolescents aged 7–17 on social networks in Brazil have a “totally open” profile.
The survey heard 2,006 guardians across Brazil from October 9 to 24, 2024, and has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
Parental control
Another piece of information that puts families on guard is that nearly half (47%) of this demographic does not control their followers on social networks—they are willing to add and interact with any stranger. This has been a great source of stress for Oliveira.
She stated she has been monitoring her daughter’s actions using a parental control app, and restricting the time her daughter spends in front of the small screen. However, her efforts have sparked recurrent quarrels.
“Her cell phone use has led to bouts of anxiety, crying—and bad mood. My daughter plays sports regularly, but even so, social media has been damaging her health,” Oliveira said.
In the opinion of Unico’s Data Protection Director Diana Troper, the percentage of children with an open profile is frightening. “This publicly and easily accessible information concerns people who are more vulnerable. This information can be used to commit new crimes and fraud,” she argued.
The survey found that 89 percent of parents believe they are prepared to guarantee data privacy, but 73 percent are unaware of actions that could result in leaks. A total of 75 percent of Brazilian children and teenagers have their own profile on at least one social network.
Still regarding behavior, 61 percent of the respondents’ children engage in exposure practices, such as sharing personal and family photos, tagging locations and family members.
Exposure includes posting photos in places visited by them (40 percent of respondents) and wearing a uniform or tagging their schools (33%).
Diana Troper warned that, according to Brazil’s Data Protection Law, information made available on open profiles could only be collected with users’ consent.
“We know that photos and information such as visited places shared on social media can create a map of vulnerabilities, which can be exploited by fraudsters and other malicious people,” she pointed out.
Most parents and guardians of minors (86%), the survey notes, agree they should educate their children about data protection to avoid future problems. But 73 percent of them are unaware of the risks of actions that could result in data leaks.
Risks
Risky behavior, the survey says, includes clicking on links or opening email attachments without confirming their origin, using shared computers and public Wi-Fi networks, repeating the same passwords across several accounts, downloading and installing apps of questionable origin, and using physical credit card details online apps (instead of generating temporary virtual cards).
“Digital awareness and education are the pillars for protecting future generations in the online environment,” says Diana Troper. She recommends users to keep accounts closed in order to avoid potentially dangerous exposure.
