{"id":116161,"date":"2021-01-19T13:44:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T21:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"\/blogs\/?p=116161"},"modified":"2025-08-20T04:22:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T11:22:31","slug":"the-connected-lives-of-babies-protecting-first-footprints-in-the-digital-world-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/the-connected-lives-of-babies-protecting-first-footprints-in-the-digital-world-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Connected Lives of Babies: Protecting First Footprints in the Digital World, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Connected Lives of Babies: Protecting The First Footprints in the Digital World, Part One<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A baby can leave their first footprints internet even before they\u2019re born.<\/p>\n

The fact is that children start creating an identity online before they even put a little pinky on a device, let alone come home for the first time. That \u201cHello, world!\u201d moment can come much, much sooner. And it will come from you.<\/p>\n

From posting baby\u2019s ultrasound pic to sharing a video of the gender reveal celebration, these are the first digital footprints that your child will make. With your help, of course, because it\u2019s you who\u2019ll snap all those photos, capture all those videos, and share many of them on the internet. Yet even though you\u2019re the one who took them, those digital footprints you\u2019ve created belong to your child.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s something for us to pause and consider during this wonderful (and challenging!) stretch of early parenthood. Just as we look out for our children\u2019s well-being in every other aspect of their little lives, we must look out for their digital well-being too. Babies are entitled to privacy too. And their little digital lives need to be protected as well.<\/p>\n

The connected lives of babies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Babies lives are more connected than you might think. Above and beyond the social media posts we make to commemorate all their \u201cfirsts,\u201d from first solid food to first steps, there\u2019s digital information that\u2019s associated with your child as well. Things like Social Security Numbers, medical records, and even financial records related to them all exist, all of which need to be protected just like we protect that same digital information as adults.<\/p>\n

Likewise, there\u2019s all manner of connected devices like Wi-Fi baby monitors, baby sleep monitors, even smart cribs that sense restlessness in your baby and then rocks and soothes those little cares away. Or how about a smart changing table that tracks the weight of your child over time? You and your baby may make use of those. And because all these things are connected, they have to be protected.<\/p>\n

This is the first of two articles that takes a look at this topic, and we\u2019ll start with a look at making good choice about purchasing \u201csmart devices\u201d and connected baby monitors\u2014each pieces of technology that parents should investigate before bringing them into their home or nursery.<\/p>\n

Buying smart devices for baby, Part One: Connect with your care provider<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a new parent, or as a parent who\u2019s just added another tyke to the nest, you\u2019ll know just how many products are designed for your baby\u2014and then marketed toward your fears or concerns. Before buying such smart devices, read reviews and speak with your health care provider to get the facts.<\/p>\n

For example, you can purchase connected monitors that track metrics like baby\u2019s breathing, heart rate, and blood-oxygen levels while they sleep. While they\u2019re often presented as a means of providing peace of mind, the question to ask is what that biometric information can really do for you. This is where your health care provider can come in, because if you have concerns about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), that\u2019s a much larger conversation. Your provider can discuss the topic with you about and whether such a device is an effective measure for your child.<\/p>\n

Buying smart devices for baby, Part Two: Do your security research<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another question to ask is what\u2019s done with the biometric data that such devices monitor. Is it kept on your smartphone, or is it stored in the cloud by the device manufacturer? Is that storage secure? Is the data shared with any third parties? Who owns that data? Can you opt in or opt out of sharing it? Can you access and delete it as needed? Your baby\u2019s biometrics are highly <\/em>personal info and must be protected as such. Without clear-cut answers about how your baby\u2019s data is handled, you should consider giving that device a hard pass.<\/p>\n

How do you get those answers? This is another instance where you\u2019ll have to roll up your sleeves and read the privacy policy associated with the device or service in question. And as it is with privacy policies, some are written far more clearly and concisely than others. The information is in there. You may have to dig for it. (Of note, there are instances where parents consented to the use of their data for the purposes of government research, such as this study<\/a> published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.)<\/p>\n

Related, here\u2019s the advice I share on every connected \u201csmart\u201d device out there, from baby-related items to smart refrigerators: before you purchase, read up on reviews and comments from other customers. Look for news articles about the device manufacturer too. The fact of the matter is that some smart device manufacturers are much better at baking security protocols into their devices than others, so investigate their track record to see if you can uncover any issues with their products or security practices. Information such as this can help you make an even more informed choice.<\/p>\n

Secure your Wi-Fi baby monitor (and other smart devices too)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

An online search for \u201chacked baby monitor\u201d will quickly call up several unsettling stories about hackers tuning into Wi-Fi baby monitors\u2014scanning the camera about the room at will and perhaps even speaking directly to the child<\/a>. Often, this is because the default factory password has not been changed by the parents. And a \u201cdefault password\u201d may as well be \u201cpublic password\u201d because lists of default passwords for connected devices are freely available on the internet. In fact, researchers from Ben Gurion University looked at the basic security of off-the-shelf smart devices found that, “It only took 30 minutes to find passwords for most of the devices and some of them were found only through a Google search of the brand<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

The three things you can do to prevent this from happening to your Wi-Fi baby monitor, along with other connected devices around your home, are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Change the default password.<\/strong> Use a strong and unique password<\/a> for your baby monitor and other devices.<\/li>\n
  2. Update.<\/strong> Check regularly for device updates, as they often harden the security of the device in addition to adding performance upgrades.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n