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Caregiver is very nice and takes care of my parents who are in their 90s. Parents live in my house. When she asked for my WiFi password I was taken aback. Isn't she supposed to be helping my parents? I know there is a lot of downtime when parents are sleeping but I feel uncomfortable giving out my password. Not sure how to handle this. I need to educate myself on how I can better respond to her request.

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What is it you want her to do while your parents are napping or watching TV or anything else where she isn't really needed to actively help them? I know that when I had a caregiver for a 6 hour block of time she helped my mom shower, toileted her as needed and served her lunch, then mom napped the rest of the time. That left her with at least 4 hours, so she did a lot of vacuuming. I would have gone stir crazy.
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Unless you expect the caregiver to be offline for the whole of the time she spends at your parents' house, she needs the WiFi password doesn't she? - like I'd know, I'm not going to be winning any techie of the year awards, that's for certain.

If you're concerned that she might spend time playing Angry Birds that she ought to be giving to care, maybe just clarify a few ground rules about what online activities are and are not acceptable while she's on duty.
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Having Wifi password allows her to get internet access. I don't believe she can access any of your files on your computer unless she knows how to hacks into them. I doubt she does because if she's that tech savvy, she could be making a lot more money working in tech industry instead of care taking the elderly.
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It keeps her from using her data package while she/he is in your home. And if she lives away from your neighborhood there is nothing for which she can use your password.
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That question would have made me bristle. Seems intrusive. The price you pay her includes elder care. There's not a clause in the contract for web surfing while client sleeps. I would just say it's a protected line for only those residing in the house. Of course, if she found another wifi nearby to access and check social media or get the latest news when my loved one doesn't have immediate needs, that would be OK with me. Just don't tell me, don't be obvious, and don't ask me to supply that service.
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I had to read the other comments first. Caregivers, paid caregivers, are not supposed to clean your house. So cwillie's comment about vacuuming doesn't float.

Is she asking to use your computer or just your WiFi. There is a difference. I would have no qualms about giving my WiFi password (I've shared with visiting family) - but I don't allow anyone else to use my computer(s) or tablet(s).

Since I was a 24/7 caregiver for my DH - I needed the downtime with my computer/tablets or I would have gone bonkers. You can only watch them breathe just so much or go crazy.
While DH said I could watch TV while he slept, I preferred to keep the house dark & quiet for him. We both 'lived' in the living room when he was no longer able to sleep in our bed.

As long as your caregiver is ready to 'drop everything' when called, I see no problem with spending time online and unless you are extremely limited, it shouldn't affect you. If you are limited, just ask that she not download anything; say you're worried about infecting your network with viruses.

I hope my 2-cents worth helped.
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It would bother me that she asked. Possibly without cause.
But with all the admonishment on not giving out passwords you could simply say you have been advised not to share that information.
You raise an interesting point that there is a lot of down time. Why not allow the caretaker to take on more responsibilities?
Is your caretaker through an agency? If so, there may be limits on what she is contracted to do.
While your password might allow her access to the network, I don’t think it would allow her access to your information. But I’m not an expert. That’s just my opinion.
I think I would go over whatever contract you have in place and see if I couldn’t find her acceptable activities.
I know when you have a good caregiver fit, you don’t want to rock the boat. :(. Sorry I’m not much help.
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demstress, everyone needs a break every now and then. I am at work right now but here I am on the forum but can drop that quickly if need be.

My Dad had caregivers around the clock. He didn't mind them being on their smartphones or tablets as they were doing the work that was needed. Of course, my Dad was still using "dial up" for his computer so no WiFi. The caregivers realized that quickly so some bought something to add to their tablet to get the Internet.
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This is an interesting issue. I'm going to take an opposite position to the majority, and bring in the legal issues.

If you allow her to use your password, theoretically you could be responsible for actions she takes online, for sites she visits. Almost every site these day has a TOS, some of which are very onerous and create indemnification liability for the user.

Most people just ignore the issue of indemnification. The only ones I know who don't are legal or business people, who realize that an indemnification provision if activated, and if suit is involved, can bankrupt the user. When I was a contract negotiator, the indemnification provision was always the most difficult and challenging provision to negotiate.

I won't deny that it's difficult to keep a caregiver active while someone is napping or resting, but there must be something you can find for her to do - cooking and freezing meals, for example. But this really turns on the specific reasons for which she was hired.

Is this caregiver privately hired or through an agency? What were the scope of duties? I had a 3 page work scope that I gave to the agency before hiring; we reviewed it and agreed that all tasks, including housekeeping and cleaning, were w/I parameters. (Another agency wasn't hired b/c the assessment nurse rejected literally everything that I suggested, including refilling the oxygen moisturizer bottle.)
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There you go. Indemnification liability.
There is the reason you have to reluctantly say no.
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I wouldn't want anyone to use my computer. It already gets messed up so easily and I would probably end up having to take it to my computer man to straighten out again.
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97YearOldMom, thank you.
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I feel you may be OVERTHINKING her request for your WiFi password while she is in your home taking care of your parents. It is a 'normal' thing for caregivers to 'get on the internet' with their cell phones when they have down time and your parents maybe sleeping or watching TV etc. It's like reading a book or magazine. You were smart to ask your question.
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tacy is correct. Your router most likely has a button on it that sends a signal to a device to allow the device to link to a Wi-Fi network without having to know the password.
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Whether the caregiver is allowed to use your internet access is up to you, but it doesn't give them access to your computer or any of your files. (And if they're a hacker, gaining access to your files has nothing to do with your wifi.)  That said, CM does make a good point (which I hadn't thought of), in that anything the caregiver does using your internet service could potentially become your legal responsibility - for example, if they are illegally downloading copyrighted music or videos.  Not pirating movies (or whatever) on your IP is kind of a "trust" thing with ANYONE you allow to access your wifi, including family, friends, and neighbours. 

The other thing that might matter is that the person with your wifi password is using up your bandwidth. If you have a bandwidth cap (this is the part of your plan that allows you to use 30GB or 100GB or however much data you use per month), then you have less bandwidth left for yourself and your family to use. Why this matters is that things like videos (Netflix, HBO Go, YouTube, etc.) use up a LOT of bandwidth. So theoretically, if a caregiver is using your bandwidth to watch Netflix every day, they could eat it all up pretty quickly. Once your allotted bandwidth is used up, you either have to pay extra (overage fees can be huge), or your provider will "throttle" your bandwidth, limiting your internet access altogether.  It is reasonable to ask anyone using your wifi to NOT use it for video/music streaming or downloading. 

I do give the wifi password to the respite workers, BUT....we have an unlimited internet plan (because we have internet-based TV and mom watches a lot of it), and I don't mind what they do when mom is asleep, which is most of the time the worker is here. It would be pretty boring for them otherwise, and I know phone data plans can be very expensive, compared the cost of home internet. 
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Put this request in context: hotels, cafes, MOST organizations give out their local wi-fi password to customers. I get my brother's, my friends' passwords every time I visit them long enough to need the info. This is normal these days. She only wants to access internet... and why shouldn't she? There is no legal liability for her actions just from accessing Internet via the local wi-fi.
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In my area Comcast (Xfinity) has WiFi that customers can use when they are away from home. My cousin got a little box that he has for that purpose.

I agree that giving her your password could allow for illegal downloads that you could be fined for. Had this at my work. Our installer forgot to password our WiFi. On weekends someone was able to access our WiFi and download pirated movies. Comcast contacted us and gave us a certain time to PW our WiFi.

I have relatives visit and ask for my PW. I don't think its an unusual request. I would stipulate that it is only be used when her duties have been done.

When it comes to aids cleaning. Aids thru Homecare agencies that are doing physical therapiy, do not clean, do dishes, etc if there is another capable person living in the same place. They r there for the patient. For private agencies, you pay for certain duties. So the aides do what you are paying for. You hiring a private person, its up to the contract you both have agreed to.
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Thank you all for your knowledgeable responses. The caregiver has worked in my house for eight months now and this is the first time she asked to use the WiFi. During downtime she has been looking on her iPhone so I assumed she had access to the internet. That is why it was perplexing why she would ask for my password. Dorianne brings up an important point about bandwidth usage. Also I don't want to monitor someone downloading videos or music streaming. It seems that overseeing everything in the house is a huge undertaking and having to monitor what the caregiver is doing on her iPhone is just one more thing. I like to look at all sides and the reasons why. I thank you all so much for your wonderful responses!
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Ali, have you read the TOS for all the sites you visit? There CAN BE liability for using sites if participation is required. Read the TOS for sites that you visit if you don't believe me.

Especially read the TOS for Microsoft sites. Read the TOS for newspaper sites with popups advising that you inherently agree to the TOS simply by reading the articles on their sites.
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Hotels, cafes, and most other places with public wifi throttle their own bandwidth to make pirating nearly impossible (like, you'd have to sit there for days, maybe weeks, to get one movie). The only place I know of (at least locally) that doesn't throttle bandwidth is the public library (but it might still take you awhile to get a movie, just because of all the people using the same bandwidth at once).

In any case, when companies like movie distributors go after users for illegal downloading, they tend to go after individuals with personal accounts, not business accounts with public wifi.

I am writing this as someone who may have, ahem, pirated some movies and TV shows in her day.  One day I got a warning notice from my ISP to stop downloading a certain show and to delete all the copies I had.  So I don't do it anymore, and I certainly don't do it now that I'm using mom's internet!  And this is in Canada, where I'm lucky enough that our internet providers won't give our personal information to companies or lawyers trying to secure copyright.

Edit:  personally, though, I feel people should have more concern about their kids or grandkids illegally downloading (because young people often don't think it's a big deal) than their caregivers, who are usually bonded through their agencies and probably wouldn't dream of risking their jobs just to pirate movies....especially when it's pretty easily done at home using a VPN (virtual private network). 
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Do you pay for your internet as a 'package'?
If it has a limited time/download, then I would say "Sorry, but no".

If it is unlimited and she is using her own device, I see no problems.
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OK guys, here's too much information from the techie perspective.

Depending on how you setup your router and declared your network on your computer, giving the wireless access password may or may not risk compromising the data on your laptop. Routers have at least two passwords - the admin password (used to control router functions including security) and the connection password used to connect to the default/primary SID. That little WPS button doesn't work if the admin has disabled it - it's designed to be used where the router is physically secured. No app is going to break the password if it's setup correctly either (at least not for a couple of years). Of course if the admin password is still set to the default, then all an app has to do is determine the router type and log right in as the admin with the known and published default password.

My router is setup with two SIDs (network IDs) each with its own password; one is for MY use that has top priority on bandwidth and the second guest setup only gets what bandwidth I'm not using. The kids use the "guest" where every device and URL is logged and there are limits on usage and a list of sites that cannot be accessed at all. My personal network is declared a "home" network on my laptop so I can see printers, tablets, and other devices. I would not use the "home" declaration if _anyone_ else was on that network; windows provides much better default protections for "public" networks.

I work from home and need my network to be secure so I spent the time to setup a second "guest" network. I do not recommend you consider this. If you decide to share the network with your care giver and you have concerns over the security of your data, make sure your network is declared "public" on your computer.

One very good method of protecting your laptop is to turn it (or at least the wireless) off when you are not sitting in front of it. Together with a password or fingerprint lock, that leaves your computer fairly well protected unless your care giver is a devoted hacker. You are much more likely to compromise your data by clicking on an email link (and downloading/installing a virus) than having a guest break in using your network.

BTW - if a guest uses your network for illegal purposes, including pirate downloads or viewing child porn, you could become the target of a local/state/federal investigation and need to "prove" you are not the guilty party. That's not difficult if you're willing to allow the authorities to scan your computer/smart phone, but it is a pain.

Hope at least some of that is helpful.
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When my parents first moved in, we were so flustered we gave the CG access to our laptop.. no problems, but he would forget to delete his history! Lots of dating sites and looking for another job! And our long time CG used our internet with no problems.. sometime I even have to look stuff up on the fly at work . Like new drugs,, reactions etc!
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Since the caregiver had been using her phone for the internet access in the past, but had not asked for your WiFi password, she probably just figured out that she’s running out of minutes. This happened to me when I use my iPad at moms NH while she’s napping. My DH busted me for exceeding our monthly minutes and I had to try to figure out how to get onto their guest network. Which I found out didn’t work in her room, so I’m back to racking up the minutes. You might just ask her why she wants the password. It might be something as simple as overcharges for minutes. If so, and you like the caregiver but are hesitant to share the password, maybe just offer her the $20 overage charge as a little perk. Just a thought.
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There's no harm in giving the WiFi password. I have a lot of my friends p/w. That way when I visit them I don't have to ask every time I want to go on line. It automaticaly signs me in.
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Having the caregiver working non stop is wrong. Caregiver should take advantage of the down time and take a break them selves. Don't burn out your Care giver especially if they're a good one they're hard to find. Believe me I've been there done that.
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I wouldn’t worry about giving the code from a security standpoint. All it would allow is for the caregiver to use their device and not pay extra in data which can be very expensive. I like the idea of having a discussion about ground rules. If your parents are napping and she is not giving care and she wants to play a few levels of candy crush then she can go right ahead. Maybe she wants access so she can go onto the internet and play videos or music for your parents. It is a bit brazen to come right out and ask for the code. Most would just wait for you to offer. If you really like the caregiver and they do a good job then I don’t see any harm but you could have a chat with them about your expectations and that as long as they are doing this when your parents are sleeping then you’re ok with it.
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I vote for giving her the code if you like her and want to keep her and don't want to lose her to the family down the street that will give her the password without even thinking twice about it. Good caregivers are like precious gold, like magical unicorns, like four-leaf clovers, like... Well, I'm running out of similes here but you get the idea. I think if she has been getting all needed tasks done and your parents are happy, I wouldn't begrudge her a little free internet.
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Maybe she wants to be able to receive a FaceTime from her family or grandchildren while your loved one is napping. I would have no qualms about sharing my password to WiFi.
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Just give her the password. You like her she takes good care of folks, you want to keep her. Realize the internet is a great resource when caring for the elderly. That is why we are all here isn't it? Hand held devices can be slow and unreliable. Let her use your WiFi.
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