Cyberbullying: What Parents Can Do (Practical Guide)

If your child is being cyberbullied, the right moves are simple: listen without punishing, save the evidence before anything is deleted, block and report inside the app where it is happening, and loop in the school if the kids know each other in real life. You do not need to be a tech expert to handle this well — you need a plan.

We are the editors at Getshure, a small American publisher that writes plain-English guides on family online safety. Below is the practical playbook we give parents when cyberbullying lands in their house, plus how our book and app can take some of the weight off you.

What counts as cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is repeated, hurtful behavior aimed at a child through phones, games, apps, or social media. It can look like:

• Mean or threatening group chats and DMs
• Fake accounts that impersonate your child
• Embarrassing photos or videos shared without permission
• Edited or AI-generated images used to mock or humiliate
• Being deliberately left out of group chats or game lobbies, over and over
• Doxxing — sharing a kid's address, school, or phone number
• Public comment pile-ons, especially on short-video apps

One rude comment is not cyberbullying. A pattern of targeting, or a single act that is severe (threats, sexual images, doxxing), is. Treat both seriously, but respond to the pattern with structure, not panic.

Signs your child may be dealing with it

Kids rarely walk up and say, "I'm being bullied online." They usually show you first. Watch for:

• Sudden changes in phone habits — hiding the screen, turning it off when you walk in, or refusing to use it at all
• Mood crashes after being on a specific app or game
• Not wanting to go to school, especially Mondays
• Trouble sleeping, stomachaches, or new anxiety
• Dropping friends with no explanation
• Deleting accounts they used to love
• Searching for things like "how to make an account private" or "how to delete comments"

Any one of these can have other causes. A cluster that shows up together is worth a gentle conversation.

The first conversation: what to say (and not say)

How you react in the first five minutes decides whether your kid will tell you anything else for the next five years. Aim for calm, curious, and on their side.

Say things like:

• "Thanks for telling me. That took guts."
• "This is not your fault."
• "You are not in trouble, and I am not taking your phone away as a punishment."
• "Can you walk me through what happened? Start wherever you want."
• "What do you want to happen next? I'll tell you what I think too, and we'll figure it out together."

Avoid:

• "Just ignore it." (They can't — it's in their pocket.)
• "Why were you even on that app?"
• "I'm going to call that kid's parents right now." (Not before you have evidence and a plan.)
• "If this keeps up, no more phone." (Now they will hide the next incident from you.)

Your goal in this first talk is one thing: stay the person they come to. Everything else can wait an hour.

Save the evidence before you do anything else

Messages, posts, and accounts can disappear in seconds — either because the bully deletes them, your child deletes them in distress, or the platform removes them. Before you block, report, or respond, document.

1. Take screenshots of every message, post, comment, username, and profile page. Include the date and time if the app shows it.
2. Capture the URL or profile handle, not just the content. Schools and platforms need the account, not just the words.
3. Save videos by screen-recording them if you can't download them.
4. Create a simple log: a note or document with date, platform, who, and what happened. One line per incident is fine.
5. Back it all up to a place your child cannot accidentally delete — a parent's phone, a cloud folder, or email it to yourself.

A private, locked photo vault helps here. The Getshure app includes an encrypted vault protected by Face ID or a passcode, so sensitive screenshots are not sitting in your child's regular camera roll where a friend might scroll through them.

Block, report, and lock down the accounts

Once you have evidence, cut off the access.

1. Block the bully on every platform

Not just the one where it started. Kids move the fight across apps. Block on messaging, the main social app, games, and any shared group chats.

2. Report inside the app

Every major platform has a "report" option on posts, messages, and profiles. Use it. Choose "bullying," "harassment," or "threats" as the reason. Reports are reviewed by the platform and sometimes result in the account being removed.

3. Tighten privacy settings

• Switch accounts to private
• Turn off comments from strangers
• Limit who can DM or tag your child
• Remove location sharing from posts
• Review the follower list and remove people your child does not actually know

4. Consider a short break from the app

Not as a punishment — as a rest. A week off a toxic group chat is often more healing than another round of blocking.

For step-by-step settings, see our guide on parental controls on iPhone and Android.

When to involve the school

If the bully is a classmate or a kid from your community, loop in the school — even if the incidents happened off campus. Most US schools have anti-bullying policies that cover online conduct affecting the school environment.

How to approach it:

1. Email the counselor or principal and ask for a meeting. Email creates a paper trail.
2. Bring your screenshots and your simple log.
3. Ask specifically: "What is the school's process from here? What will be done, and when will you follow up with me?"
4. Ask what support the school can offer your child — a check-in with the counselor, a seating change, a lunch buddy.
5. Request a written summary of what was agreed.

If the school is unresponsive, escalate to the district. Keep everything in writing.

When to involve the police

Call local law enforcement if the situation involves:

• Credible threats of violence
• Stalking or doxxing (publishing your child's address, school, or phone number)
• Sexual images of a minor — including AI-generated or edited "nude" images
• Extortion ("send money or I'll post this")
• Hate-based targeting that crosses into criminal harassment

For sexual images of a minor, you can also report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, and use takeitdown.ncmec.org to help get images removed from participating platforms. Our guide on AI fake nude images of kids walks through this in more detail.

For online crimes more generally, you can file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and report consumer harms to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

If your child is the one doing the bullying

It happens. Group chats escalate, jokes go too far, a kid piles on because everyone else is. If another parent or the school tells you your child is on the other side of this:

• Resist the urge to defend first and ask later. Ask for the evidence.
• Have the hard conversation at home, calmly. Focus on the impact on the other kid, not just on getting caught.
• Require a real apology — in writing, reviewed by you — if the other family is open to it.
• Set clear consequences at home that match the behavior, not a blanket phone ban.
• Watch the group chats for a while. Peer pressure is real, and your kid may need an exit.

Take care of your child's head, not just their phone

Cyberbullying wears kids down in ways they do not always name. Check in on sleep, appetite, mood, and school. If you see signs of anxiety or depression that are not lifting after a week or two, talk to your pediatrician or a counselor. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24/7 by call or text — tell your kids the number exists, even if you hope they never need it.

A parent checklist

• Listened without punishing or interrogating
• Took screenshots and saved profiles, URLs, dates
• Created a simple log of incidents
• Backed up evidence outside my child's phone
• Blocked the account on every platform
• Reported inside each app
• Tightened privacy settings together
• Emailed the school (if classmates are involved)
• Contacted police or CyberTipline if there are threats, doxxing, or sexual images
• Scheduled a follow-up check-in with my child in 3–5 days

The book we wrote for this: "Keep Your Family Safe from AI"

If you want this on your shelf instead of scattered across browser tabs, our hardcover Keep Your Family Safe from AI ($29) is written for parents who are not tech people. It covers cyberbullying, group chat drama, AI-edited images, sextortion, screen time that actually works, what to say at different ages, and how to set up the main apps and devices without a fight.

It's plain English, hardcover, and ships from the US in about 3–5 business days after your order ships. Free US shipping on orders of $40+. If it is not useful to you, return it within 30 days of delivery for a refund. See full terms on our refund policy page.

How the Getshure app helps on the ongoing side

A book handles the strategy. The Getshure app, included with every Getshure protection plan, handles some of the day-to-day:

• Encrypted private vault — Face ID or passcode-locked storage for screenshots and evidence, separate from your regular camera roll.
• Photo Guard — reverse-image search to find where your child's photos (or edited versions) are showing up online.
• Breach check — see if your child's email or passwords have shown up in known data breaches, which is often how bullies get login info.
• Data broker removal — sends removal requests to people-search sites that publish home addresses and phone numbers. Each site decides if and when it removes a record.
• Scam Shield — identifies likely scam and spam callers and helps block robocalls, useful when a bully or stranger starts harassing by phone.
• Family location sharing — a simple way to stay connected without constant texting.
• Phone security score — plain-English steps to tighten the phone.

No app blocks every message or removes every photo. But these tools cover the practical tasks that would otherwise eat your weekend. On Android, the app is on Google Play. On iPhone, use the download link in your Getshure order confirmation email. See how to activate after your order.

Why you can buy from Getshure with confidence

Getshure is operated by MetaWise Enterprises, LLC, a Delaware company (file number 10336625). We are based at 11772 W Sample Rd, Ste 103, Ofc 240, Coral Springs, FL 33065, and you can reach a person at (754) 812-1679, Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern, or email contact@getshure.com.

Plans are clearly priced ($9.99, $29.99, or $79.99 today, then $29.99 every 30 days until cancelled), with a reminder email about 3 days before each renewal. You can cancel in one step, and every plan charge, renewal, and add-on is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. More on our company and how to verify us.

Your next step

If you want the full playbook in a book you can hand to your spouse or leave on the kitchen counter, order Keep Your Family Safe from AI. If you want the app tools working in the background too, pick a Getshure protection plan and sign in on your phone today. Questions first? Call us at (754) 812-1679 or email contact@getshure.com — a real person will answer.