The words you keep meaning to look up

• 764

  A loose online network that targets children and teens — usually through gaming and chat apps — and pressures them into self-harm and worse. Not something a child stumbles into by accident; something to know the footprint of.

• Age rating

  The suggested minimum age for a game, app or show (PG, M, 12+, 17+, and so on). Treat it as a floor, not a green light — the rating rarely accounts for chat, DMs or livestreams.

• AI chatbot

  A program that talks back like a person — ChatGPT, Snapchat's My AI, Character.AI, Google Gemini. Some are fine for homework; others act like a 24/7 'friend' and can give kids very inappropriate advice.

• Algorithm

  The behind-the-scenes recommendation engine that decides what a kid sees next on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and the rest. It doesn't care whether the next video is helpful or harmful — only whether they'll keep watching.

• Algospeak

  Coded words kids use to sneak sensitive topics past app filters — 'unalive' for suicide, 'seggs' for sex, 'le$bean' and so on. If you spot it, it's a signal to lean in on the conversation, not to panic.

• Android

  Google's operating system — the software that runs most non-Apple phones and tablets (Samsung, Pixel, Oppo and so on). Family Link is Google's built-in parental control layer for it.

• App Store

  The place a phone or tablet downloads apps from — the App Store on Apple devices, Google Play on Android. Both let you require your approval before a child installs anything new.

• Autoplay

  The setting that automatically starts the next video or episode the moment one ends — no tap, no decision. It's the single biggest driver of 'just one more' screen-time blowouts.

• Battle pass

  A paid season ticket inside a game (Fortnite, Call of Duty and others) that unlocks new rewards over a few weeks — designed to make kids play daily so they don't 'waste' what you paid.

• Browser

  The app you use to look at websites — Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox. Most content filters and 'safe search' settings are set inside the browser (or on the account signed into it).

• Catfishing

  When someone pretends to be a different person online — usually younger, more attractive, or a peer — to build a false relationship. Often the first step in grooming or sextortion.

• Cyberbullying

  Bullying that happens through phones, games and apps — nasty messages, exclusion from group chats, spreading photos, pile-ons. In Australia, eSafety can help get serious material taken down.

• Discord

  A chat app built around big group 'servers' and voice channels — huge with gamers, and one of the apps predators use most because strangers can DM kids directly.

• DM

  Short for 'direct message' — a private one-to-one chat inside an app like Instagram, Snapchat, Discord or Roblox. It's the doorway a stranger uses once they've spotted a child in a public space online.

• DNS

  The internet's phone book — it turns a name like tiktok.com into an address your device can reach. A free 'family DNS' service (like OpenDNS FamilyShield) blocks the addresses of adult and dodgy sites before the browser even loads them.

• Family Link (Google)

  Google's free parental-control app for Android phones and tablets, and for a child's Google account. It's where you approve app installs, set daily time limits and manage what they can see.

• Grooming

  When an adult slowly builds trust with a child online — flattery, gifts, secrets, moving to a private chat — so they can exploit them later. It rarely looks scary at first; that's what makes it work.

• Group chat

  A private message thread with several people at once — the modern school-yard. Most of the bullying, exclusion and 'you had to be there' drama now happens inside them.

• Image-based abuse

  When intimate or nude images of someone are shared, or threatened to be shared, without their consent. In Australia, eSafety has legal powers to have this material removed — report it, don't sit on it.

• In-app purchase

  Anything you can spend real money on inside an app or game — skins, coins, extra lives, subscriptions. Turn on purchase approvals so nothing is bought without you tapping OK.

• iOS

  Apple's operating system — the software that runs iPhones and iPads. It's where you'll find Screen Time, the built-in parental controls.

• Livestream

  A video broadcast happening live, with anyone in the world able to watch and comment in real time. Kids can be both the audience and the broadcaster, which is where a lot of the risk sits.

• Loot box

  A mystery in-game prize — you (or your child) pay real money for a random reward. It's gambling with the serial numbers filed off, and it's baked into a lot of the games kids play.

• Parental controls

  The free settings built into devices, apps and Wi-Fi that let you filter content, cap screen time and approve what kids install. They're not a magic wand — they work best next to conversation and shared-space device rules.

• Phishing

  A fake message — text, email, DM or in-game chat — designed to trick someone into handing over passwords, money or personal info. Kids get hit through 'free Robux' offers and account-recovery scams.

• Router

  The little box from your internet provider that gives your house its Wi-Fi. Because everything at home goes through it, changing one setting on the router can filter the whole family's internet in one go.

• Screen time

  The total time a child spends on phones, tablets, consoles and computers each day. The goal isn't zero — it's making sure screens don't crowd out sleep, movement, homework and face-to-face time.

• Screen Time (Apple)

  The free parental-control settings built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac. It's where you set app limits, downtime, content filters and app-store approvals for a child's device.

• Sextortion

  When someone tricks or pressures a child into sending a nude, then threatens to share it unless the child pays or sends more. It moves very fast and mostly targets boys — get help the same night; don't pay, don't delete.

• Skin (gaming)

  A cosmetic outfit or look for a character in a game — no gameplay benefit, pure status. Skins are the main thing kids beg to spend money on.

• Streaming

  Watching or listening to something over the internet in real time — Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, Spotify. 'Livestreaming' is the same idea, but broadcast live as it happens, often with a chat running alongside.

• Telegram

  A messaging app with enormous public channels and very light moderation — a common place for scams, extremist content and grown-ups messaging kids they've never met.

• Two-factor authentication (2FA)

  A second step when logging in — usually a code sent to your phone or email — so a stolen password on its own isn't enough. Turn it on for your child's email and any account tied to their gaming or social apps.

• VPN

  A tool that hides your internet traffic and makes it look like your device is somewhere else. Handy for adults on dodgy Wi-Fi, but kids also use free VPNs to sneak around parental controls and site blocks.

• Wi-Fi

  The wireless internet your devices connect to at home, at school or at the café — provided by a router. Different Wi-Fi networks can have very different filtering, so your kid's phone isn't automatically protected once they leave home.

Missing a word? Let me know and I’ll add it — same plain-English, same mum voice.