One in three children talk or play online with strangers and half say bypassing parental controls is ‘easy’, the Information Commissioner’s Office has warned.

Its online survey of more than 4,000 children aged eight to 17 and their parents found that 36 per cent of youngsters interact with people they only know online – or not at all.

Among 14 to 16-year-olds, this figure rose to 40 per cent, the survey found.

The research, by the UK’s data regulator, revealed a ‘significant gap’ between parents’ perception of how much control they had over their children’s online activities – and the reality.

It found 52 per cent of children said they were able to bypass age checks for online services, and 31 per cent of parents admitted to having helped their offspring do this.

While 91 per cent of parents reported using controls or monitoring tools, 41 per cent of children said they had tried to circumvent them.

When asked how difficult bypassing parental controls was, 49 per cent said it was ‘easy’

Katie Searle, ICO director of children’s strategy, said: ‘Children today are growing up in an extraordinary digital world, and it’s completely understandable that many parents feel like they’re one step behind.

‘Children who discuss online privacy with their parents on a weekly basis are more likely to feel that privacy settings keep them safe. Frequent, open conversation works.’

One in three children talk or play online with strangers and a fifth are able to bypass parental controls, the Information Commissioner’s Office has warned (file picture)

In addition, in-depth interviews with 30 children aged eight to 17 and their parents found many families were feeling overwhelmed by how to handle the digital world.

One mother of a 10-year-old girl said: ‘So many times I activated a parental control account, and [she] just created different fake accounts.

‘I tried to put on some parental controls and then she made a new account with any email, it’s very easy.’

Meanwhile, an eight-year-old child interviewed by the researchers said he was uploading multiple videos of himself to YouTube using his full real name and showing his full face.

One of them was recorded without his shirt on.

He would also share updates about what he was doing, including the football matches he was planning on attending.

He had 64 subscribers – most of whom he did not know – and one stranger repeatedly wrote under his posts: ‘I don’t care.’

Another boy pressed a button on his phone by mistake and inadvertently shared his precise geolocation data with 141 vendors and 71 ad partners.

The ICO is now running a ‘switched on to privacy’ campaign to help families navigate children’s lives online.

It is advocating ‘not for switching everything off’ but for ‘staying curious, staying connected, and checking in regularly.’