What is a digital identity? A parent‑friendly guide
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Key takeaways
Your family does more online than ever — school portals, gaming accounts, group chats, telehealth, banking, and more. Each click leaves little bits of information behind. Put together, those bits form a digital identity. Understanding what that means (and how to protect it) can help kids and parents use the internet safely and with confidence.
What is a digital identity?
A digital identity is the collection of data points computers use to recognize a person or thing online, from email addresses and device IDs to login credentials and verified facts like your legal name or age. Tech leaders describe it as the profile or record systems rely on to tell one user from another and decide what each is allowed to do.
Put simply: Your child’s digital identity is how apps and websites know it’s them.
Digital identity vs. digital footprint
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You may have also heard of the term “digital footprint.” Here’s the difference between your digital identity and your digital footprint.
Digital identity: The structured data used to identify and authorize someone, such as a verified email, a passkey, date of birth, or school ID number.
Digital footprint: The trail of actions that add up to insights about a person such as social media posts, likes, and search history. Footprints can become part of a digital identity over time.
What makes up a digital identity?
These pieces often work together:
Identifiers: Unique labels within a system, like a username, email, phone number, or device ID.
Credentials: Proofs you present to sign in, such as passwords, passkeys, security codes, or biometrics (fingerprint/face).
Attributes: Facts about you such as your name, age range, school or employer role, or parent/guardian status.
Behavioral signals: Patterns like typical login times or locations that help systems spot unusual activity.
For example: Your teen’s gaming service knows them by a username (identifier), checks a passkey (credential), and uses their saved age to filter content (attribute).
How verification works
When you sign in, most apps check three things:
Who you are: your email or username that identifies you.
Can you prove it: a second step that confirms it's really you, like a password with a code, a passkey, or Face ID.
What you can do: the actions your account is allowed to take, like view grades or make a payment.
You might also see “Sign in with Apple” or “Sign in with Google.” Many apps use these trusted sign in helpers to keep things simple and secure. For money or health, sites may ask for stronger sign ins.
Some schools or states issue digital IDs, like a digital student ID or mobile driver’s license, to help you prove only what’s needed.
Everyday uses of digital identity
Digital identity helps services know it’s you, protect your information, and tailor what you can do.
Signing in to email, social apps, and school portals with the right permissions.
Shopping and payments with age checks and fraud prevention built in.
Education to access classes, assignments, and records securely.
Healthcare to view test results, message providers, and manage appointments.
Government services to file taxes, renew licenses, and apply for benefits. Many countries also use digital ID programs.
Risks to watch for kids and teens
Identity theft and fraud are rising as more of life moves online. Here are a few things to watch out for:
Account takeover: Stolen passwords let someone into school or social accounts. Turn on multifactor authentication and change passwords fast.
Phishing and scams: Fake messages try to steal codes or push you to click bad links. Slow down, check the sender, and never share one time codes.
Synthetic identity fraud: Criminals mix real and fake details to open accounts in a child’s name. Consider a credit freeze where available and watch for unusual mail or bills.
Oversharing: Public posts can reveal school, routine, or location. Make profiles private and remove personal details.
Protecting your digital identity
⚡ Keep your family’s identity safe with Greenlight Family Shield. Get alerts for suspicious activity, restoration help, and dark web monitoring.* Plus, enjoy up to $1M identity theft coverage and $100K deceptive transfer fraud protection**—for everyone in your family, teens to older adults.
Family checklist to protect digital identity
Take these precautions to protect your family’s digital identity.
Use a password manager to create unique, long passphrases for every account.
Turn on multifactor authentication with passkeys or an authenticator app for email, school, and banking first.
Set device security with screen locks, auto updates, and biometric sign‑in on phones and tablets.
Tighten privacy on social and gaming by making profiles private and removing school, birthdate, and location details.
Spot phishing by slowing down, checking the sender, and never sharing one‑time codes. Verify unexpected requests over a trusted channel.
Review connected apps and permissions each quarter and remove anything you don’t use.
Update software on phones, browsers, and apps to patch security flaws.
Monitor money with transaction alerts and consider a credit freeze for kids where available.
Back up essentials like photos, homework, and documents to a secure cloud or external drive.
Add identity theft protection with monitoring and restoration support for adults and teens.
Protect your $ and family. Keep everyone's safety and finances in check with Greenlight — the all-in-one educational money app. Try Greenlight, one month, risk-free.†
This blog post is provided "as is" and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Some content in this post may have been created using artificial intelligence; however, every blog post is reviewed by at least two human editors.
*Premium monitoring services are offered by Experian
**Insurance offered by Acrisure, LLC is provided by ACE American Insurance Company and its U.S.-based Chubb underwriting company affiliates. www.chubb.com. Additional details can be viewed here. See link for policy information. Insurance Products are not insured by the FDIC or any federal government agency and are not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, any bank or bank affiliate.
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