School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or answer. Progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you write your own name on it after downloading.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. Retake it as many times as you need. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
- This unit teaches what personal information is, why some of it is powerful, and what to never share. It builds on the Cyber Security Awareness unit: that one taught passwords; this one teaches the information itself.
The lesson
Part 1. What personal information is
Personal information — grown-ups shorten it to PII — is any information that can point to one specific person: you. Your full name, birth date, home address, school, a photo of your face, and the number on an ID card all count.
Some pieces point to you all by themselves. Others point to you only when put together. Your first name alone could be a thousand people. Your first name plus your school plus your team photo is exactly one person: you. That is the most important idea in this unit: pieces combine. A game, a form, or a stranger in a chat rarely asks for everything at once. They collect a piece here and a piece there — until the pieces build a picture of a real person who can be found or impersonated.
Part 2. The most powerful pieces — what to never share
Some information is so powerful that you should never share it online, in a game, in a chat, or with anyone who asks by message:
- Your full name together with where you live or go to school — that combination can locate you.
- Your exact birth date, home address, and phone number.
- Any ID number — from a school ID, a passport, or any card with a long number.
- Passwords and the codes sent to your phone. Codes are for your eyes only.
- Photos of documents — report cards with ID numbers, letters with your address.
- Your live location. Keep location sharing off except, if your family uses it, with a parent or caregiver.
Why so strict? This information does not expire. A password can be changed; your birth date cannot. What is shared at twelve can be used at twenty.
Part 3. Where your information lives — and who holds it
Your information does not live only in your phone. Your school holds records about you. A doctor's office holds health records. A team, a club, a game company, and every app on your phone hold pieces too. The grown-ups who run those places are supposed to protect what they hold — the law requires many of them to guard it carefully and to tell your family if it is ever lost or stolen. The Data Breaches unit explains what that kind of letter means.
Your part is simpler: notice what you hand over. When a game asks for your birth date, ask whether a game needs it. When an app asks for your location, contacts, or photos, that is a request for personal information — and "no" is a complete answer. Asking a parent or caregiver before a new form or account is not babyish; it is what careful adults do with contracts.
Part 4. Tricks that collect information
People who want your information dress the request up:
- Quizzes and "find out" games that ask your birth date, your first pet, your street — questions that are also password-reset questions.
- Fake giveaways that need your address and phone number "to send your prize."
- A friendly new contact who asks, one small question at a time, where you go to school, when practice ends, and whether your parents are home. Together the answers are a map (Part 1).
- Messages claiming to be your school, a game, or a delivery company asking you to "confirm" personal details. Real organizations do not collect information this way — stop, do not click, verify with a trusted adult.
The pattern to recognize is pressure plus pieces: anything rushing you to hand over information before you can think.
Part 5. Your rules — and what to do when something goes wrong
Keep these rules where you can see them:
- Never share the Part 2 list. Not for a prize, not for a game, not because someone says everyone does.
- Pieces combine. Before answering any question about yourself, ask what it adds to the picture.
- Ask before you fill. New account, new form, new app permission — check with a trusted adult first.
- Private accounts, known people only. Accept contacts you know in real life.
- If you already shared something, tell a trusted adult today. Sharing by accident is fixable fastest when adults know early, and you will not be in trouble for telling. Adults can change passwords, tighten accounts, and ask what a school or company holds.
If someone keeps pushing for your information or makes you feel unsafe, that is an adult problem now: tell a trusted adult, block and report, and call 911 if you are in danger. Text HOME to 741741 or call or text 988 any time.
Words to know — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
- Personally identifiable information (PII) — information that can identify one specific person, alone or combined.
- Direct identifier — information that points to one person on its own, such as an ID number.
- Sensitive personal information — identifying information whose misuse can do serious harm, such as ID numbers and passwords.
- Private information — facts like your school, address, routine, and live location that others do not need.
- Location sharing — an app feature showing others where your phone is; a map of your life.
- Trusted adult — an adult who believes you, does not hurt you, and will act to help you stay safe.
- Data minimization — collecting only the information a purpose needs.
- Phishing — a fake message impersonating a real organization to trick you into revealing information.
Myths vs facts — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
- Myth: One small fact about me cannot hurt anything. Fact: Pieces combine. A name plus a school plus a schedule is a map to one person.
- Myth: A quiz game asking fun questions is harmless. Fact: Quiz questions often match password-reset questions exactly.
- Myth: A private account means nothing I share can spread. Fact: Screenshots travel. Anything you send can be copied in a second.
- Myth: Only strangers want my information. Fact: Requests also come dressed as games, giveaways, and delivery messages. The costume proves nothing.
- Myth: If I shared something, I should hide it. Fact: Telling a trusted adult early is how sharing gets fixed. You will not be in trouble for telling.
Think it through — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
The situation: Milo, 13, gets a message from an account with a game logo: he "won" a rare item, and the account needs his full name, home address, birth date, and a photo of his school ID "to verify age." The offer expires in one hour.
Walk it through: (1) Name the pieces (Part 1): name, address, birth date, and an ID photo combine into a complete identification of one child — and the ID photo alone is on the never-share list (Part 2). (2) Name the trick (Part 4): a fake giveaway plus a deadline; the pressure exists so Milo cannot stop and think. (3) Milo's moves (Part 5): do not reply or send anything, screenshot the message, block and report, and tell a trusted adult today. A real prize never requires an ID photo from a child in a chat.
Cases & codes to study — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
The law itself — read the real words
- 5 U.S.C. § 552a (U.S. Code) — the Privacy Act: rules federal agencies follow for records about people, including your right to see records about yourself and ask for corrections. Read it: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title5-section552a
- 201 CMR 17.00 (Massachusetts regulation) — requires holders of Massachusetts residents' personal information to protect it under a written security plan. Read it: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/201-CMR-1700-standards-for-the-protection-of-personal-information-of-ma-residents
Where to read the real thing, free: The U.S. Code at uscode.house.gov (https://uscode.house.gov); Massachusetts regulations and laws at mass.gov (https://www.mass.gov) and malegislature.gov (https://malegislature.gov).
Try this — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
- ☐ Location sharing is off in my apps, except with a parent or caregiver if my family uses it.
- ☐ I can list the never-share pieces from memory: full name with school or address, birth date, address, phone, ID numbers, passwords and codes, photos of documents, live location.
- ☐ I checked one app's permissions and turned off access it does not need.
- ☐ I know which trusted adult I would tell first if I shared something by accident.
Resources to keep — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
- 911 — in danger now.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type than talk.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is pressuring you for information or hurting you.
What you earned / what's next — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
✅ PII — Personally Identifiable Information complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can say what personal information is, explain how pieces combine, list what to never share, spot information-collecting tricks, and work the steps when something is shared by accident.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — PII — Personally Identifiable Information
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. Your information belongs to you. You know which pieces are powerful and how to keep them in your own hands. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: Return to the Topic Library for your next Year 1 Foundations unit.
Sources
- CS406: Information Security — Saylor Academy (https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.php?id=29839) — open courseware checked for information-security and access-control basics.
- Foundations of Information Systems, Chapter 6 — OpenStax (https://openstax.org/books/foundations-information-systems/pages/6-summary) — open textbook checked for data privacy and data security concepts.
- 201 CMR 17.00 — Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth — Mass.gov (https://www.mass.gov/regulations/201-CMR-1700-standards-for-the-protection-of-personal-information-of-ma-residents) — the Massachusetts rule requiring holders of personal information to protect it.
- Title 5 § 552a (U.S. Code) — the Privacy Act: agency duties and individual access and amendment rights for federal records.
Your Progress — On Your Device Only
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- define personal information (PII) and explain how separate pieces combine to identify one person;
- list the pieces of information that should never be shared online or by message;
- name where personal information is held and what the holders are supposed to do;
- recognize quizzes, giveaways, friendly questioning, and fake messages as information-collecting tricks;
- state the steps to take when information has been shared by accident.
- Study time: Approximately 45 minutes — an estimate covering reading, activities, and the test. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers are not shown; your score is saved only in your own browser on this device, and retakes are allowed.
- Level: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) · Youth school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.