How personal information is handled on social networks in particular can present an opening for cyber bullies and cyber stalkers. The following tips may help you to protect yourself against this.

• Do not give away any more information online than necessary. Consider sleeping on a post before publishing it. Once something is online, it is almost impossible to take it back.
• On social networks, friends can often see things that are blocked for other people. For this reason, you should not establish "friendships" with strangers that you do not know in real life. Unfriend someone if they get too close to you and you do not want them to receive any further information about you.
• Some instant messengers are connected to social networks, like Facebook. This makes it easy to lose sight of which content you have authorised to which group of people.
• Protect the log-in data for your online accounts, such as your e-mail inbox, social networks or cloud services against access by third parties. Check your security notifications, for example when your account is logged into from an unknown device or when access to data is granted to the underlying e-mail account. Add extra security to these accounts wherever possible using two-factor authentication.

Cyber bullying

• Any photo of you can be manipulated, and it can be done so effectively that the manipulation is not obvious. You should therefore think carefully about which photos your publish or share in social networks or via messengers.
• Break off any heated online discussions or de-escalate them. Do not make the person you are talking to feel that they need to get back at you.
• Talk to your children about cyber bullying and about the significant or long-lasting effects it can cause.

Cyber stalking

• If you suspect that you are being stalked, be wary when this person seeks out opportunities to have access to your smartphone or gives you a smartphone. Stalkerware can be installed in a very short amount of time, and smartphones may also be sold with stalkerware preinstalled.
• Set up a new smartphone by yourself as much as possible. If you need help, only turn to people you trust.
• Protect your smartphone against access by third parties. Make sure that the SIM/USIM PIN and the screen lock of your phone is always activated. Use a PIN, a password or your fingerprint. A lock screen unlocked by drawing a pattern is easy to get round and is not secure. Do not pass this information on, even to any close third parties.
• Some manufacturers of anti-virus programs for smartphones claim that their products can detect stalkerware and notify you of the presence of such programs.
• Be wary if a third party tries to convince you to root your device. This involves granting extended user rights and can allow programs installed to be run quietly in the background.