Four in every five children hide inappropriate internet activity from their parents according to a recent study. 

Of the 400 parents and teenagers surveyed, one in three British parents make no effort to track what their child does online whilst 50 per cent admit they are confident they could track their child’s internet activity with ease. 

Behaviours like minimising internet browsers, clearing internet history and the creation of private email address are all clever tactics employed by young people in order to keep their parents from discovering their online activity. 

30.5 per cent of teenagers admitted using websites their parents would disapprove of, 25 per cent admitted searching for nude images or pornography whilst 19 per cent admitted downloading illegal or pirated music and 6 per cent had used the internet to buy alcohol or drugs. 

It was also found that less than a third of parents set controls on their child’s smartphone and only 12 per cent know the security password allowing them access to the device.

21.5 per cent of parents admitted their children are more tech savvy than they are with 11 per cent of children admitted to knowing how to turn off parental controls. 

“We believe the data will come as quite a shock to some parents, and we hope it will encourage them to take immediate action to protect their children,” EMEA CTO Raj Samani told the Telegraph. 

“It is clear that a huge gap exists between what teens are doing online, and what parents are aware of. Parents must take an active role to ensure their teens are practicing safe online behaviour.”