Data protection for children and youth

A lot of information called personal data is collected on you when you use the internet, social media or the apps on your phone, or play video games. Personal data is also collected for your hobbies and at school and many other places. 

This website has tips for protecting your data:

  • How is your data collected?

  • What can you do to make sure that you and your data are safe?

  • What rights do you have to your data?

Learn the key data protection terms

Data protection means keeping your personal data safe and secure. Protecting your data is important to make sure no one can use it the wrong way. For example, someone could order things online with your name and address or create a fake profile on social media and pretend to be you. 

Personal data means data about you. Personal data is data that can be used to identify you and that tells something about you. 

The following are examples of personal data: 

  • Name
  • Birthday
  • Home address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Photographs and videos showing you
  • Voice (voice messages, for example)
  • Information about what sites you have visited online, what videos you have watched and which applications you use 
  • Location data (when you share your location in an app or when a game shows where you are, for example)
  • Health data (data about your medical conditions or visits to a doctor, for example)

Personal data processing means everything that is done with your personal data, for example at your hobbies or school, in online games, or by social media services and healthcare workers. Everyone that collects your data must protect the data, or take care of data protection. 

Why is my data collected and why is it needed?

Your personal data is collected, saved and used for many different purposes. 

  • Your hobbies need your or your parents’ contact details so that they can contact you and give you your practice schedule. 
  • Your school saves your grades and keeps track of your attendance. 
  • Your hobby or your school may need to know what medical conditions or allergies you have to make sure practicing and going to school is safe for you. 
  • Doctors take notes of your medical conditions so that they know later what treatment you have been given. 

Did you know?

Apps, games and websites collect a lot of information about you when you browse the internet, play games on your phone or game account, use social media, or buy something from a webstore. 

  • Apps save your data when you make a user account and give your contact details. 
  • Social media services keep track of the photos and videos you post and the comments you make on other people’s posts. 
  • Websites and apps can track how long you spend using them and what you do on them.  
  • Mobile games save data on everything you buy in the game.

What are cookies?

Websites usually use cookies to collect data on visitors. Cookies are like little trackers online. Websites usually ask you to either accept or reject cookies, or you can choose which cookies you want to accept. When you only accept essential cookies, your data is better protected.

You have several data protection rights 

You have the right to know why your data is collected

Whenever your data is collected, you must be told why the data is needed and what will be done with it. Your data can be collected at your hobby or when you start using a new app with your phone, for example.

You have the right to know how your data will be used, and it is not allowed to use the data for other uses without your permission. Many services have a webpage titled Privacy Notice or Privacy Policy, which explains the uses.

You must be told 

  • Who collects and keeps your data
  • What data is collected
  • Why your data is needed 
  • How long your data is needed and when it will be erased
  • Whether your data will be given to others
  • How you can use your data protection rights
  • Who you can contact if you have any questions   

You have the right to ask what data has been collected about you 

You can ask to see the data collected about you. You can ask for your data from anyone who has your data, such as your sports club or a gaming company whose game you have played on your phone. For example: 

  • You can ask your sports club to tell you what data it has saved about you so that you can check that the data is correct.
  • You can ask a social media service to send you all the data it has collected about you.
  • You can ask a gaming company which levels you have played and what you have bought in the game.

You have the right to correct data that is incorrect

If you notice that there is an error or something is missing in your data, you can request that the data is changed.

You have the right to have your data deleted

In some situations, you have the right to have your data deleted or erased. This means that your data will no longer be used after the deletion. For example: 

  • If you quit a hobby, you can ask the hobby to delete your data, because they no longer need it. 
  • If you bought something from a webstore in the past, but you no longer want the store to keep your data, you can ask the store to delete all data about you. 
  • If you no longer use an app, a game or a social media account, you can ask the service to delete your data. You can also delete your profile yourself. 
  • If you subscribed to an email newsletter in the past, but no longer want to receive it, you can cancel your subscription. This means the sender of the newsletter must delete your data.  

The data is deleted after it is no longer needed. Your data cannot always be deleted immediately, because sometimes it is still needed for something mandatory. 

All your data cannot always be changed or deleted even if you want it. Some data must be kept for a very long time. For example, sports clubs, schools and health stations must keep certain data that they have collected about you. That is why you cannot ask them to delete all data about you. 

Did you know? 

Children and minors can also make these requests themselves. You do not need permission from your parent. If you want to know what data has been collected about you, you can ask to see the data yourself. You can also check that the data is correct and ask that any incorrect data is corrected. Of course, you can also ask your parents for help. In some cases, parents can make requests for their children, but it is not always allowed. 

More information for parents and guardians:

Article on the tietosuojaharrastuksissa.fi website: Data protection is a fundamental right for minors – what does it mean?

Protect your data and stay safe!

Pay attention to where you give your personal data. In many situations, you can decide what data you want to give about yourself. In these cases, you should think about where and to whom you want to give your photos, phone number, home address, or other personal information.

Do not get scammed! A lot of scams happen online or through phone calls. People can pretend to be other people online. A scammer can ask you to send photos, to tell your online banking credentials during a phone call, or send a message with a link that leads to a scam website. Scammers can spread your data and use it for wrong purposes without your permission. Always think before you give your data to others.

Tips for using the internet safely

  • Do not tell your passwords to others.
  • Do not tell your online banking credentials or your or your parent’s credit card number or pin code to anyone. 
  • Never send photos or tell your home address to people you do not know.
  • Only share your social media posts with friends, never publicly to everyone.
  • Watch out for scam websites! Always check that the website or webstore is real and reliable.
  • Check the privacy settings of apps.
  • Only install reliable and safe apps from your phone’s app store.
  • Do not open strange links you receive as messages.
  • Remember that when you post something online, it is difficult to have it removed entirely.
  • Ask an adult to check whether a website or service is safe and if you can use it. 

The Office of the Data Ombudsman is here for you

If you need help with checking, deleting or changing your personal data, you can always ask the Office of the Data Ombudsman to help you. We make sure that your personal data is processed correctly.

A law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) says that special care must be taken to protect the personal data of children and young people. The best interest of children must always be put first. Our duty is to make sure that your data protection rights are respected.

Contact us

You can contact us by email or call us. Our contact details are:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone service: tel. +358 29 56 66777. Our telephone service is open from Tuesday to Thursday between 9 am and 11 am.

More information:

Contact details of the Office of the Data Ombudsman

Know your rights

Tietosuojaharrastuksissa.fi: Information for children and young people