← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

What is safe to share online

Details like your full name, address, school, phone number and passphrase. Keep them secret. A nickname or favourite colour is safe to share. A photo can show your school or street.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6 — Staying Safe Online — Module 29, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6 — Digital Footprints — Module 26

Understanding What is safe to share online in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

What it does: A nickname does not show who you are, but an address tells a stranger where you live. A school sign or street name in a photo can show where you are, so the photo may not be safe to share. Telling people your school helps a stranger work out where to find you. Keep it private. Your passphrase is the key to your account. Never share it with anyone online, even a friend. Your favourite animal is safe to share. Full names and phone numbers are private information, so they do not belong in a public post.

Common mistakes: private[0] is the address, which is private information and must not be shared. The program should share an item from the safe list, so it should be share(safe[0]). A username should not contain your full name because that is private. It should use the safe nickname: username = nickname.

Class: _____________________ · Name: _____________________ · Date: _________

Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

🖨 Print worksheet + answer key Add What is safe to share online to a class →

This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 157–173) and word search (Modules 137–225).

Take this worksheet further — free with Cloodit

Each concept is reinforced from every angle — learned, then applied, then tested.

Learning

Duo

Which one is safe to share online?

Your home addressYour favourite colour

Matches

post("Hi! I'm Ava Nguyen and my phone is 0412 345 678")

↓

This post shares a full name and a phone number, which are private details that should never be posted.

Applying

Meanings

Term

private information

Meaning

Details like your full name, address, school, phone number and passphrase. Keep them secret. A nickname or favourite colour is safe to share. A photo can show your school or street.

Practice

SAFE: nickname, favourite colour

Testing

Gaps

("favourite colour")

Check Answer

Spots

2private = ["address", "phone"]

3share(private[0])

Cloodit turns curriculum-aligned coding content into journeys students work through one biome at a time.

Students earn collectable badges

Over 100 of them, across seven natural biomes.

Study Buddy

Students build a real study resource

Turns their work into revision material ready for Flash Cards and Exam study.

Diamond Dash — one of Cloodit's live, competitive Sprint games

Students lock in with Sprints

Live, competitive practice for the start of the lesson or a teacher-led lesson finisher.

A Cloodit certificate of achievement, ready to personalise and print

Custom printable certificates

Honour your top performers, or encourage a student who's trying hard — ready to print in seconds.

Add to class →

Quick Questions

1. Which one is safe to share online?

A. Your home address

B. Your favourite colour ✓

A favourite colour does not show who you are or where to find you. Your home address is private and should stay secret.

2. Which one should you keep private?

A. Your phone number ✓

B. Your nickname

A phone number lets strangers contact you, so keep it private. A nickname that is not your real name is usually safe to share.

3. Is it safe to tell people online which school you go to?

A. Yes, schools are public so it is fine

B. No, it is private information ✓

Telling people your school helps a stranger work out where to find you. Keep it private.

4. A photo of you in your school uniform in front of the school gate. What could it show?

A. Your school and where you are ✓

B. Nothing, it is just a photo

A photo can show your school or street. Uniforms, signs and gates are clues, so check the background before sharing.

5. Which one is NOT safe to share, even with a friend online?

A. Your passphrase ✓

B. Your favourite animal

Your passphrase is the key to your account. Never share it with anyone online, even a friend. Your favourite animal is safe to share.

Match the Pairs

private information → Details like your full name, address, school, phone number and passphrase that you keep secret online

safe to share → Details like a nickname or a favourite colour that do not show who you are or where to find you

A nickname is safe to share, but your home address is not → nickname = "BlueFox" (safe) address = "12 Gum St" (private)

A photo can show your school or street, so check the background before posting → photo.background = "school sign" # not safe to share

post("Hi! I'm Ava Nguyen and my phone is 0412 345 678") → This post shares a full name and a phone number, which are private details that should never be posted.

post(photo_in_school_uniform_at_gate) → The photo shows the school uniform and gate, so it gives away which school you go to.

Key Term

private information

Details like your full name, address, school, phone number and passphrase. Keep them secret. A nickname or favourite colour is safe to share. A photo can show your school or street.

Fill in the Blanks

1. share("favourite colour")

Hint: Type the function name for the action you take with information that is safe to post online.

2. keepPrivate("home address")

Hint: Type the function name for the action you take with private details like where you live.

3. IF isPrivate(info) THEN keepPrivate(info)

Hint: Type the keyword that links the check to the action that runs when the info is private.

4. IF showsSchool(pic) THEN keepPrivate(pic)

Hint: Type the name of the check that asks whether a photo gives away where you go to school or live.

5. IF info = "address" THEN keepPrivate(info)

Hint: Type the operator that checks whether two values are equal.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A safe = ["nickname", "colour"]

B private = ["address", "phone"]

C share(private[0])

Line C — private[0] is the address, which is private information and must not be shared. The program should share an item from the safe list, so it should be share(safe[0]).

Question 2

A nickname = "BlueFox"

B fullName = "Sam Nguyen"

C username = fullName

D print(username)

Line C — A username should not contain your full name because that is private. It should use the safe nickname: username = nickname.

Question 3

A photo = "school sign behind me"

B if "school" in photo:

C post = False

D print("Safe to share it")

Line D — A photo that shows your school gives away private information. The message should warn: print("Do not share it"), not say it is safe.

Question 4

A safe = ["colour", "phone"]

B private = ["street", "school"]

C item = "colour"

D if item in safe:

E print("OK to share")

Line A — A phone number is private information, so it must not be in the safe list. The safe list should hold things like a colour and a nickname.

Question 5

A nickname = StarKid

B print("Hi, I am " + nickname)

C # Keep my full name private

Line A — Text must be inside quotation marks. It should be nickname = "StarKid", otherwise the program looks for a variable called StarKid.

Student with a class code? Join your class →