kakao Privacy Protection Guide

kakao Privacy Protection Guide

We will give you privacy protection guidelines for children and teengers who are using Kakao Services.
Shall we start?

01 Take more responsibility for your personal information
  • Personal information refers to all information that can identify you, including your name, phone number, home address, school, photos, ID and password for websites you have signed up for, etc.
  • You should manage your personal information carefully because they can include many information related to the privacy (name, school, etc) of yourself, family and friends.
  • In particular, personal information should be managed even more carefully for users aged 14 and over because they can decide whether or not allow the use of their own personal information.
  • You should keep your personal information safe and not disclose it to other people because they can be used for fraud, crimes, etc. once leaked.
02 Any child under 14 need parental consent for using service.
  • Children under the age of 14 are deemed unable to fully understand the risks and consequences of personal information processing, and the rights of a user. Thus, a consent of a legal representative (guardian)* is required by law when their personal information is collected.
  • Kakao Services requires the consent of a legal representative when collecting, using and providing the personal information of children or teenagers under the age of 14 for their service use.
* Legal representative: A legal representative is a person who can protect a child or a teenager. A parent or a guardian designated by law (a relative, an attorney, etc) can be a legal representative.
Tips for guardians! Roles of a legal representative (guardian)
  • 01 A legal representative (guardian) is advised to carefully examine the types of personal information to be collected and used before giving consent so that the personal information of a child can be protected.
  • 02 Kakao provides a family account service connecting a guardian to a child to protect the child's privacy.
  • 03 The main user managing a family account must be 19 years old or over, and may create a family account after completing user identification using Kakao Certificate.
    - Learn more about a family account.
03 Carefully read the agreement to personal information processing and the Privacy Policy
  • The Privacy Policy explains how the Service processes personal information, such as collection, use and provision.
  • Please read carefully the agreement and the Privacy Policy when signing up for a service or providing your information.
*You may choose to agree or not agree to optional items for additional services. Please read the details carefully and decide whether you need the service or not.
04 Manage your password safely
  • Protect your password by creating a password that is difficult to guess or crack.
    - Examples of unsafe passwords : 01012345678, password, 1q2w3e4r, qwer1234, iloveyou
  • Here are some tips for creating a safe password.
Tips for creating a safe password!
  • 01 Do not repeat the same letters or numbers, and use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters.
  • 02 Do not use your ID, birthday, phone number, etc. in your password.
  • 03 Set different passwords for each service.
* Please change your password on a regular basis.
  • You can change your password for Kakao Account as follows.
    - Web : Manage Password
    - KakaoTalk : Settings > Kakao Account > Change Password
Tip!

You may also use biometrics (fingerprint, etc) or patterns along with a password to secure your account.

05 Set 2-step verification
  • 2-step verification is a feature that adds an extra layer of security, requiring users to completing a pre-set second verification step when logging in.
  • Once the 2-step verification is set, another person cannot log into your account even if the person knows your account and password.
  • The 2-step verification can be set through KakaoTalk or phone number verification, and you can also set an email for emergency contact purposes just in case that you cannot access your mobile phone.
  • You can set 2-step verification as follows.
    - Web : Set 2-step verification
    - KakaoTalk : Settings > Kakao Account > 2-Step Verification
06 Take caution when logging into shared devices
  • When you log into your Kakao Account or KakaoTalk using a public device (devices used by many people such as computers in schools or Internet cafes), do not check 'Keep me signed in' or 'Auto-Login'.
  • If you select 'Keep me signed in' or 'Auto-Login', you stay signed in until you log out or delete cookies* in the browser.
    In this case, your personal information is more likely to be leaked if you are not using a personal device.
*Cookie: Cookies are small text files tracking information about all the sites you visit. They are called 'cookies' because the trails of data are like cookie crumbs that you have left across the internet.
  • Make sure to log out when you are done using a public device.
  • If you forget to log out of KakaoTalk from a public device, you can log out using the following methods.
    - Web : Remote login
    - Mobile : Settings > Privacy > Manage Devices > Remove the device you want to log out from.
*After you log out remotely, please double-check that the device has been removed from 'Registered Devices'.
07 Check your login history and login information
  • You may check your Kakao Account login history for the past 90 days and the information of devices currently logged into your Kakao Account from the Kakao Account management site.
  • If you find any login or device record which has not been created by you, you must reset your password.
  • You can check your login history and device information as shown below.
    - Web : Manage Login
    - KakaoTalk : Settings > Kakao Account > Login Management
08 Be careful when you give your information to someone else
  • You should never share or send your personal information to a person you don't know because personal information disclosed to a wrong person can be used for illegal activities such as fraud and other crimes.
  • Even when your friend asks for your personal information, you must check if that person is really your friend.
  • Sometimes a person can hack into your friend's account and pretend to be your friend in order to steal your personal information.
Tip!

When a non-friend tries to have a chat with you on KakaoTalk, an orange-colored profile image and a warning message will be shown.

  • When you send photos and files via KakaoTalk, send them to a person who really need them in a private chatroom.
  • Be careful when using a group chatroom because your information can be shared to other people who do not need to know it.
Tip!

You may restrict access to your KakaoTalk information by blocking the KakaoTalk ID search, using the multi-profile feature, or choosing "Hide My Profile" against blocked friends.

09 Delete suspicious emails and links without opening them
  • You should not click URLs included in suspicious KakaoTalk messages, emails and texts and just delete them because they could be phishing* attempts or malicious codes.
  • When you enter personal or financial information from an online screen, always check the URL of a homepage or the sender of an email to see if it is a phishing attempt.
*Phishing: A technology used to steal the information of a user or a company through an email or a messenger.
10 Check the privacy settings when posting articles and photos
  • Always check the privacy settings of your posts because photos and articles posted on the Internet can be copied without your permission and used by someone else for undesirable purposes.
  • Make sure that the personal information of yourself, family and friends is not included in your posts.
  • You should avoid setting the privacy setting to public unless it is absolutely necessary because posts and photos with "Public" settings can be captured or copied by anyone.
  • In Kakao Services, you can set and manage the privacy settings for posts, photos, etc. for each service.
11 Properly address the breach of privacy.
  • In the case of the breach of privacy*, your personal information can be used in crimes. Thus, privacy violation must be prevented in advance.
  • If you discover that your information is disclosed in posts, files, etc. which are available online, or that someone you don't know has your personal photos and videos, please ask your guardian for help.
  • You should never leak or illegally distribute someone else's information because you may be held legally responsible.
*Breach of privacy: Collection, use and provision of personal information without permission, leakage of personal information, misuse, illegal distribution, etc.
  • If any breach of privacy occurs while using Kakao Services, you should report it immediately to prevent additional damages.
    - Web : Reporting the breach of privacy.
    - Mobile : Settings > Support > Contact Us
Tip!

Kakao is taking actions against the breach of privacy which can occur online though 'A Safe Digital World made by Kakao'.

12 Manage your information in the Kakao Privacy Center
  • You can check and manage your information in the Kakao Privacy Center as shown below.
  • Manage MyInfo Check and manage your nickname, profile photo, birthdays, etc.
  • Check your personal information usage Check the status of your information being used and manage your consent.
  • Login Management Check your login history for the past 90 days and current login information.
  • Manage Connected Services Check and manage services that are currently connected to your account.