Frequently Asked Questions

Try to stay calm and avoid reacting with anger or shame, as this can shut down communication rather than open it up. Use it as a chance to have an honest, age-appropriate conversation about healthy relationships and online content. Surfie's content filtering can help block explicit material going forward, and the activity reports can show you which sites or apps are worth a closer look.

Once Surfie is installed on your child's device, monitoring and content filtering keep working independently of the phone's own screen lock, so a PIN code doesn't block your visibility. It also helps to talk to your child about why the passcode makes it harder for you to help keep them safe.

Install the Surfie Child app before handing the device over, and set up content filtering, screen time limits, and location tracking from the Parent app first. That way, protections are already in place from the very first time your child switches it on.

Surfie's Cross Devices protection lets you manage screen time schedules and limits across every device your child uses, from one account — so you can manage total daily usage rather than tracking each device separately.

Use Surfie's Screen Time Management to set a daily cut-off time for gaming apps specifically, so devices automatically lock once bedtime arrives — no more late-night negotiations.

This is a good opening for a calm conversation with your own child about what they've heard and how it made them feel. Surfie's Social Networking Alerts can also help you stay aware of concerning conversations or content your child is exposed to online.

Surfie's Apps and Games feature lets you view, track, and block specific apps — including gambling-related apps — so you can remove access right away and set rules for future downloads.

Cyberbullying is repeated, intentional harm carried out through digital devices — messages, social media, gaming platforms, or forums — including threats, humiliation, exclusion, or spreading rumours.

Cyberbullies can be peers, classmates, or even strangers. Acting from behind a screen — often anonymously — can make the behaviour feel less consequential to them, even though the impact on the person targeted is very real.

Cyberbullying happens through digital channels rather than face-to-face, which means it can follow a child home, occur around the clock, reach a much wider audience, and often happen anonymously.

Take screenshots as evidence, report the content to the platform immediately, and consider contacting the school or, in serious cases, local authorities. Organisations like Childline South Africa also offer free, confidential support if you need to talk it through. Surfie's Social Networking Alerts can help you catch this kind of content early.

Address it calmly and directly, help them understand the real impact of their actions, and use the moment to talk about empathy and digital responsibility. Surfie's activity reports can help you understand the context before you have that conversation.