Our homes are becoming more and more connected and we are amassing ever larger collections of devices with Internet or Bluetooth capability, for example. Follow the recommendations below to make your smart toys more secure.

Smart toys are becoming a more regular feature in our children's rooms. The same thing that adults find fascinating about smart TVs, light controls or voice assistants is what children and young people get excited about with smart toys such as a teddy bear that can learn or a car controlled by a smartphone. The toys interact with us and have the potential to become a much-loved, valuable member of the family.

What is a "smart toy"?
Smart toys are able to recognise their surroundings and interact with their environment via voice commands, for instance. They fall into two broad and distinct groups: those that can connect to the Internet or other devices and those that work "offline".

Here we have put together the most important information that will allow you to use smart toys responsibly and safely:

Making learning more fun: a tool to help with learning

Smart toys respond individually to children's behaviour and enter into a dialogue with them. These interactive toys can also move independently, for instance, while some can even adapt their behaviour and learn.

Most are not just about playing and having fun, they can really help children to learn. This kind of learning through play is also known as gamification. There are dolls, for example, that can answer a child's questions (similar to a digital assistant) by sending a search request via the Internet and responding with the result. In many cases, these toys have been designed to teach children how to use digital devices and prepare them for the digital world. There are also enhanced toys available that act as a type of diagnostic aid, by trying to detect any learning difficulties a child may have at an early stage.

Smart toys have enormous potential as they open up new opportunities for learning through play – including access to the vast database of knowledge that is the Internet. The aim is to make it easier for children to learn and make them better learners wherever possible.

Smart toys: the importance of critical scrutiny

Although smart toys can indeed have a positive impact on children's learning, that's not all they can do: they could literally become a spy in your child's room. People could use recordings of conversations that contain various pieces of information to work out the places where a child and other family members often visit, their regular habits and what they are interested in. Bear the following safeguards in mind to make sure you are using smart toys safely and responsibly:

• Smart toys are often connected to other devices, e.g. a smartphone or tablet. In this case, you should pay attention to what rights are granted to the toy and its corresponding app, e.g. access to contact details.
• You should only connect a smart toy to a password-protected WLAN. If a network connection is not essential, use the toy exclusively in offline mode.
• You should always set up smart toys in a trustworthy environment, e.g. at home, to prevent secret information like passwords being briefly disclosed and intercepted by unauthorised individuals in that time.
• Before you buy the toy, check that the manufacturer will definitely provide updates for its whole lifespan, whatever that is expected to be.
• Users should regularly check whether updates are available for the toy and install them. Ideally, the toy will have an automatic update feature.
• You should always replace preset codes and passwords with your own, sufficiently strong passwords/PINs.
• You should only enable interfaces on the device, e.g. to a smartphone, if they are needed.
• Before making a purchase decision, check that the toy itself and the associated services have appropriate mechanisms such as encryption in place to protect the data that is generated.
• You should always enable an access protection feature in case the toy falls into the wrong hands.
• The process of pairing the toy with other devices should be secured by displaying a PIN code or scanning a QR code, for example.

Smart toys: smart protection

If appropriate mechanisms are not in place to protect data, this can result in major damage due to doxing, for example. Doxing is a form of blackmail that involves disclosing personal data that a perpetrator has obtained. Attackers can exploit potential vulnerabilities in a smart toy's software to take control of the toy and eavesdrop on its environment or make contact with the child, for instance.

Given the potential for data being stored or misused and, consequently, the child's privacy being infringed, it is the parents who are ultimately responsible for ensuring a connected toy is being used safely.