My Trail Online: What Stays
Before you share, take another look. What you post online can be copied and may stay. Let’s practise choosing what to keep private.
For parents: a one-page guide — dinner questions and a postcard without a screen.
01Remember
What do we do before sharing something personal?
Pause and ask a grown-up.
What should a useful rule from IB-07 tell us?
What to do and why.
What could you ask about a picture from IB-04?
Who made it, and what are they trying to tell me?
02Story
Mila is a fictional child. She draws a kite and wants to show her picture. She puts her favourite book beside it. “Here is what I like!” she says. Then she notices other things in her pretend post.
At the edge of the paper is a name tag. Her bag has a school badge. Notes about a street and a birthday have been left beside the drawing. Mila pauses. She wants to share her picture, rather than these details. “What do I actually want to show?” she asks herself.
Mila imagines someone who sees the post making a copy and showing it to someone else. Later she removes her own post, but in this story the copy is still there. She decides to review her post before sharing it. She can still show her drawing.
With a parent, Mila prepares a new version: she keeps the drawing and her favourite book, and hides the personal details. She checks the whole picture again. “This is what I want to show,” she says. The story and all its objects are made up. Now you can help Mila.
03Worked example
Mila wants to show a drawing. Try keeping the drawing and favourite book, provided there are no personal notes on them. Hide the name tag, school badge, street and birthday. Check the background too. If you are unsure, ask a parent before sharing.
04Try it now
This is a practice activity, not a real post. You type nothing. The activity sends and saves nothing and works without internet. There are no points, timer or rankings.
1 · Predict
Predict: if Mila removes her post, what could happen to someone else’s copy?
2 · Run: prepare Mila’s post
Press a detail to hide it. Press it again to bring it back. Then preview your version. All labels are made up; do not enter your own details.
Who could see this?
Post
Someone who sees it
Someone shown a copy
This is a possible route, not a promise about who will see a post. A copy may remain after the first post is removed.
3 · Change
Change: bring back a personal detail and preview again. What would a copy show now? Then hide it again. You are not sending a real post here.
05No screen: the postcard test
Draw a postcard with a made-up picture and greeting. Leave out addresses and real names. Before giving it to a parent, ask: “Would I be happy if the whole street read this?” If not, change the postcard. This is a paper activity; do not mail it.
06Make your own
On paper, finish this sentence in your own way: “Before I share, I ask myself: ...” For example: “What will be visible in a copy?” Show your sentence to a parent and explain your choice. Leave out personal details.
07What I learned
- What I share can be copied and may stay.
- Before sharing, I can hide personal details and check the background.
- If I am unsure, I pause and ask a parent.
Check yourself
1. Mila removes her post. What might remain?
2. What would you suggest Mila hides?
3. You feel unsure before sharing. What do you choose?
You have this skill when you can suggest what to keep private and explain why a copy matters.
08I have a question
Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.
The form is loading… If it does not appear, write your question on paper and show it to a parent or teacher.
·Sources
- Title: My Trail Online: What Stays (DB-IB-09) · Author: Children’s Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original fictional story, activity and picture, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Practical suggestions for reviewing a post before sharing; no statistics or legal claims.
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.