The aim of this paper is to highlight important changes in conceptions of surveillance and privacy, which are brought about by emerging technological practices in family and school settings. We report from a qualitative study of practices, attitudes and perceptions of the use of digital technologies for interpersonal surveillance between parents and children, partners, and school mates. The findings from our in-depth interviews suggest, for instance, that the use of smartphones in families involve negotiations about the boundaries of trust and intimacy in parent-child relations which can sometimes lead to strategies of resistance or modification. Also negotiated is the management of children’s exposure to perceived risks, drawbacks and harmful influences caused by the use of digital technologies. In the paper, we identify examples of the way the deep infiltration of technology into contemporary life leads to new challenges to parenting and growing up which need critical attention.