What should you never share with someone you build with online?

Your address, your school schedule, private documents, passwords and financial details. None of them are needed to make something together. Use platforms a parent or guardian has approved, keep the work in the shared file and nothing else there, and involve an adult before you meet anyone from online in person.

What the book says

Word for word from printed page 36. Nothing is cut, and this is the only part of the page written by the author.

Why this happens

Collaboration is a normal reason to ask for details, which is exactly why it is used as one. A request that would look strange from a stranger looks ordinary from a project partner.

It also arrives gradually. Each single question seems small next to the one before it, and there is no moment that obviously counts as the line.

What to do instead

Run a 20-minute build call, bring one goal, and end with one task per person. That needs a shared document and nothing else.

Keep a rule you do not renegotiate mid-conversation: no address, no schedule, no passwords, no payment details, ever, for any reason given.

Who to talk to

A parent or guardian before any in-person meeting — this one is not optional.

Tell an adult straight away if someone asks you to keep the friendship secret, moves you to a private app, or asks for anything on the list above. Those three are the pattern, not bad manners.

If none of those is available, an adult here also counts:

• A parent or guardian
• A teacher, or a school counselor
• A coach or club leader
• A librarian
• A youth worker
• A brother or sister over 18

Going around the gate is the failure, not the clever move. And if the adult you ask says no, that is information about timing — not about you. There is more on how that conversation tends to go on Race Control, for parents.

No secrecy around money, meetings, identity documents, or pressure. A legitimate opportunity can survive an adult review and a night of sleep.