Caregiver asked for my WiFi password. Why would she ask if she is watching my parents and isn't this a security concern?

Oh for Pete's sake! Give her the darn WiFi Password. If you can't trust her with that, then why are you trusting her to properly care for your parents? O.o

There are several issues mixed up here. ‘Trust’ works in the circumstances you know – it isn’t sensible to trust anyone on everything in any circumstances. Do you trust your carer to focus on the job, and only to use the internet for ‘down time’? That’s an important question. Do you trust the carer not to find how to hack into your computer, get a friend to sit outside in a car doing the same thing, or get involved in a major scam you might have some liability for? You probably know enough about the carer to know if that’s highly unlikely, though making sure that you don't use the same password for wifi and the computer is good advice. Do you think she might use up all your download allowance so that your bill goes up? That can be handled. You can phone your internet provider and ask if you usually use most of your download allowance. If you don’t, the carer’s extra use won’t increase the bill. If you do, it might cost you more, but you can make an agreement that the carer pays for the extra.   The most important question is your parents’ care.

Most new routers allow for two WiFi networks so you can make a “guest” network and give her thatbpassword and keep yours a secret. You can even schedule it to be off when she is not on duty.

Bottom line if you don’t want to give her the password offer to set it up for her and you enter the password on her device.

Never, ever give out any private protected info to anyone. Let your caregiver bring their own devices.

I would not give the password to my wifi to someone who was working in my home. I pay for a package that is suitable for our family and don't want to add to that for others convenience. If they asked I would just tell them it is only for family members living in the home. If they pressed me I would have to tell them free wifi is not included in our agreement. Yes, use of your network does put you at some risk assuming the person is tech savvy and nosy, or less likely, has ill intent... they can access your home network and any shared files on devices there. That requires a level of skill any ten year old has but most adults might find foreign. LOL You could also be on the hook for illegal activity done from your IP address that is traced back to your home. Worst case scenario is you get raided, your computers & devices would be taken and those would be checked. Of course, they'd find nothing illegal accessed from those, you'd list all people who have your IP address and that would most likely be the end of it. I don't feel responsible for providing entertainment for anyone who works in my home. They know their job and what it entails and they're not children soooo they don't get to make their problem into my problem.

If they are working for an agency, I doubt that asking for your password is according to the agency policy. If they are hired from an agency through a social program like Medicaid, the rules are even more strict. Perhaps a review of the specific agency's policies would be a good idea here.

If it doesn't matter as some of you say and it is good only in the house, why do you have a wifi password in the first place?

redgrandad - because the signal strength is often strong enough for a neighbour or someone nearby (even a passer-by outside) to use your wifi. They could use up all your bandwidth, or use your IP for illegal purposes (like accessing child porn or illegal downloading).

If you click on the wifi icon on your device or laptop, you can see a list of everyone whose wifi is "in range" of your laptop/device.

The icon will look like this, if you're not familiar:
cdn2.iconfinder.com/data/icons/flaticons-stroke/15/wifi-rounded-3-512.png
or:
simpleicon.com/wp-content/uploads/signal.png

The wifi accounts you see listed belong to your nearest neighbours' home/business internet accounts, or to nearby smartphones that are being used as wifi hubs (meaning they're using their phone data plan to connect other devices to the internet), or to nearby devices that have a wifi stick (a USB plug-in similar to a flash drive, but for accessing the internet anywhere, like you would on a smartphone).  If any of these wifi accounts are not passworded, you could connect to the internet through them. And if you can see their account, they can see yours. 

(I actually shared a wifi account with a neighbour in my building for a few years - half the cost for each of us!  It worked through two concrete block walls.)

Thank you all for a very spirited discussion on the WIFI password question. I have two caregivers, one during the week and one on the weekend. Both have been here for eight months. This is the first time that the weekday caregiver asked for this. The weekend caregiver has not asked so far. Both caregivers are on their phones during downtime.

One other thing not mentioned here is that you should have a secured network. It still surprises me how many people leave their networks open to be available to anyone in the local vicinity of it. There should be a padlock next to your WiFi network name. And do not use the password provided by the router. Change it! You are fooling yourself if you don’t think people won’t do harm. Maybe not this person but in this day and age of hackers and identity theft...be smart and safe. All you have to do is a google search to see what people can do with your WiFi password. I would not do it. Let them use their own data. You don’t truly know anything about these hired caregivers.  It is always amazing when a neighbor is interviewed whose neighbor murdered someone and they always say what a nice quiet guy they were.  (In other words "you never really know a stranger"). 

I didn't see this mentioned (though it could have been), but you can enter the password for her on her device rather than actually give it to her. Yes, it will be remembered on her device and allow her to access whenever she is in range - which should be fine if you trust her. (And presumably you do, as she is watching your parents.) But that way, you needn't worry about her giving your password out to anyone else. Which isn't likely a concern, either - but I suppose you don't know everyone she does, and at least in theory it is being a bit safer. Just a thought.

Whether or not home caregivers want and expect to use the Internet often depends on how they are hired. If they are employees of an agency, then the agency typically does not allow its employees to use the Internet, phone, T.V., ... for personal use while working. If home caregivers are contractors, then the agency can't tell them how to do their jobs. It's up to you to set the rules.

Many people who hire home care agencies have never had the experience of being managers. They [people who hire home care agencies] either mistakenly assume the home care agencies are responsible for telling the home caregivers how to do their [home caregivers] jobs or they [people who hire home care agencies] expect the home caregivers to tell them [people who hire home care agencies] how they [home caregivers] are supposed to do their [home caregivers] jobs. Many home caregivers take advantage of this and may even expect it after awhile.

Think about it. How many times do you see others using the Internet for non-work purposes while they are working? The only times I've seen this done is when people have desk jobs and they answer the phone or text to give a short reply or tell the person they will get back to them during the next break.

These are the main issues I have found with allowing caregivers to use their phones as entertainment during work hours:

1. Paying insufficient attention to the patient (which can be very dangerous for the patient depending on the circumstances).
2. Encouraging the patient to sleep during the day, which is contrary to what the patient should be doing, especially if s/he has Sun Downers or sleep issues.

I, myself, have never asked home caregivers to do light housework because my MIL was very difficult to take care of. But light housework is typically included in the job description of home caregivers. This can include doing laundry for the patient, going food shopping for the patient, or preparing food for the patient.

BTW, it sounds like you are doing the right thing. Caregivers should be allowed to be on the phone only during their breaks (except if they get an emergency call or text of course). 

Because she would rather not use all her data and she is sick of her phone battery dying because it is constantly searching for WiFi. Not a security risk unless she has mad computer skills and questionable morals

The only possible reason I can see that you wouldnt let her have yoir password is if you use the same password for everything and if thats the case, you need a crash course in risk assessment. in any normal job you get breaks when you can take care of things on line.

I have a guest network set up on my router, separate from the network I use. Anyone using it doesn't even have to know they are on the guest network. It is just a network name and password without capabilities except for internet access. I used to be a network administrator in my previous life, in the tech industry for 45 years.

Lol, jeannegibbs, it's so true. I was a temp for a few years and it goes on EVERYWHERE. Not only on people's personal phones, but also on the company computers. I've seen women browsing wedding gowns, men watching sports replays, people booking their holidays, looking up recipes, reading celebrity gossip, checking the news, diagnosing their children's illnesses.....being online at work is certainly nothing new.

At one corporation where I temped, one of the team members took time every afternoon to pull up Jason Mraz's bouncy tune, "I'm Yours," on YouTube (on the company computers) and call out "Chair dance!"  We'd be literally rolling, spinning, and swiveling our desk chairs around the room to the music.  Data entry is one of the most monotonous jobs in the world - it was a nice, fun little energy boost that woke us all up during the afternoon "slump."

Expecting a worker to be nothing but a total drudge on the job is a recipe for receiving a resignation.

I feel that it is a normal enough question to ask about wi-fi password's these days but your situation is definitely a sensitive one. It bothers me that she didn't know not to ask for your password out of fear of you thinking she was doing something else on the clock than caring for your loved ones. I think there is a time and place for everything and if she is well established with your family and been there for a while, having a respectful discussion about your feelings in regards to whether her using your wi-fi or providing her own internet service would be appropriate. If she isn't established and just asked nonchalantly I would wonder where her head was at. I also know its important not to expect everyone to be as respectful as you would hope they would be and everyone has been through different things in life, causing different thoughts and views on what is correct or not. It's your home, do what makes YOU comfortable.

www.eldercarelink.com/In-Home-Care/a-good-in-home-service-has-a-cell-phone-policy-for-caregivers.htm

Speaking of YouTube, I used to play YT videos for mom. She loved them, a great diversion. America's Got Talent the young girls singing, baby animals, crazy cats, you name it, was a great distraction for mom when she was losing it, or not. She loved it!

Keep in mind that your wifi password is not the same as your computer password, or at least it shouldn't be. If you use the same password for everything, change your wifi password to something you can share with visitors. Make sure it's something that neighbors can't figure out since anyone within range can see your wifi network. It should be random and include punctuation. That said, I think it's VERY important that your caregiver be able to access the internet. It's not only to help her/him keep her sanity during down time, but it's also important for accessing information related to caregiving. For example, if the person she cares for is on a new medication, she should be able to research potential side effects so she knows what to watch for. You won't find that on a prescription bottle. It also helps answer questions for a wide range of things. When my mother asks what kind of bird is on her windowsill or how old is Betty White, I like being able to help with her curiosity. It's good for both of us.

Where we live, the wifi password is easily obtained by reading it off the router, usually on a sticker on the side. As to asking for a password that is not easily accessible, I think this all depends on the relationship you have with the caregiver. One of the most consistent caregivers came from Home Instead. She cared for both of my parents for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for about 5 years prior to them going in the nursing home (at which point she retired). She was so good, that we called her Super Woman because she was the only one strong enough to muscle my father into the bath. I heard she used to be a weightlifter! Anyway, we were all so grateful to her that we would have given her anything she asked.

I agree with Garden Artist. Also with this day and time she may not be tech savvy, but what is to say that she won't give the password to someone who is. This is nothing against the caregiver but now days you cannot be too careful.

Does she not have a smart phone. Most have access to the internet and I know our cell phones have a Wi-Fi hot spot that takes care of that problem.

I would have to say do not give it to her. I do not give any of my passwords to anyone other than my honey.

I think spending time on the Internet is a very common pastime for aides in my observations since 2010. In the past our prior aide had young children overseas and spent many hours in her free time on it but mom seemed to be in good care and actually enjoyed seeing the kids onscreen. She has since moved away to be with her family here in the US. So during that time the she worked at mom's the password was given out to relievers. Since she left over a year ago we cancelled the Internet charge which has saved mom money. The aides since then use their own data on their cell phones and it has not been an issue since. (In mom's case the only reason we had the Internet was for that aide. There is no computer in the house.)

Nope no WiFi password , my mother’s caregiver asked me for it ..I said no. She’s there to watch my mom not play candy crush ...

whenever i went by anyone, i brought my own stuff with me, not b dependent on anyone elses.

Just a quick warning to all that say your password is on your router, that should be changed or your system is not secure.

I only read one page of answers, most of which are ignorant and insane. WiFi is merely to attach HER device to internet without using a cellular data plan I'm sure.

OFFER TO KEY THE PASSWORD for her. You do not need to provide it. That would be the nice thing to do and does not create any sort of contract, ability to get into your computer (which I would hope is password protected) or any other such nonsense.

Business Software Specialist.
If I visit someone for more than 2 hours, I ask for one.

Yvonne W

Sorry, this is wrong as well as not very polite. They do use your data allowance if they are using your wifi.

Keying in the password might not be secure. For example, I can find the WiFi password on my Windows computer:

WiFi icon on taskbar - Network & Internet settings - Wi-Fi tab - Change adapter options - Wireless Network Connection - Wireless Properties - Security tab - Show characters

Don't some with a have a guest sign in?