Year 7 · Autumn 1
Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Digital footprint and privacy settings
TheoryTopic 19 Digital life, law and ethics
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
You will learn to
- Explain what a digital footprint is and why it can last for years.
- Identify the personal details that one post or photo can give away.
- Use privacy settings to make an account private and hide your location.
- Decide if a post is safe to share, using the 'school stage' test.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Success criteria
You have got it when you can say:
- I can say what a digital footprint is in my own words.
- I can spot at least three personal details in a sample post.
- I can name two privacy settings I would change, and say why.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Retrieval starter
Questions from before. Write your answers, then show them.
- Last lesson
Which makes a password hardest to crack?
A Adding lengthB Adding ! at the endC Swapping o for 0
A. Adding length
- Last lesson
The best defence against SQL injection is…
A Validation and parameterised queriesB A longer passwordC A firewall
A. Validation and parameterised queries
- Last lesson
A fake bank email asking you to log in is…
A Brute forceB A wormC Phishing
C. Phishing
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Key words (1 of 2)
- digital footprint
- The trail of everything you do online.
- Phishing
- Fake messages that trick people into giving details.
- Computer Misuse Act
- UK law (1990) that makes hacking and spreading malware crimes.
- Data Protection Act
- UK law (2018), with UK GDPR, controlling how personal data is used.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Key words (2 of 2)
- Copyright
- Automatic legal protection for original creative work.
- Open source
- Software whose code anyone can see, change and share.
- Ethics
- AI that is biased because its training data was. Cameras that keep us safe and also watch us. The digital divide: who is left out when everything moves online. Screen time and sleep. Practise arguing both sides.
The explanation · step 1 of 1
Your digital footprint
Everything you post, like or search leaves a trace: your digital footprint.
- Ask: would I be fine with a teacher or future boss seeing this?
- Keep private: address, school, phone, passwords, live location.
- Photo metadata can show exactly where it was taken.
- Set accounts to private.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Quick quiz · 1 of 3
An email link says 'brightwell.example' but hovering shows 'brightwe11-login.xyz'. This is…
- A Safe because it has HTTPS
- B Normal for banks
- C A red flag: the real address is different
C. A red flag: the real address is different
The visible link text can say anything. The real address is what matters.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Quick quiz · 2 of 3
A photo is licensed CC BY-NC. Can a company use it in a paid advert?
- A No: NC means non-commercial
- B Yes, if they credit the creator
A. No: NC means non-commercial
NC forbids commercial use, even with credit. They would need to ask permission.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Quick quiz · 3 of 3
Most of a smartphone's lifetime carbon footprint comes from…
- A Making it
- B Recycling it
- C Charging it
A. Making it
Mining and manufacturing are the biggest part, so keeping a phone longer helps most.
Year 7 · Digital Citizen · Lesson 2 of 5
Exit ticket
Answer on paper before you go. Then check.
Logging into a friend's account 'just to look' is…
A Fine if you don't change anythingB Against the Computer Misuse Act
B. Against the Computer Misuse Act Unauthorised access is an offence by itself (section 1).
Copyright in the UK…
A Is automaticB Must be registered
A. Is automatic Original work is protected as soon as it's made.