Been noticing my 9yo (yes, she texts a bit through iMessage with family) getting random messages from unknown numbers. Nothing creepy so far, just app notifications and marketing stuff getting through. But it's freaking me out. Should I be worried about predators or am I being paranoid? She knows not to respond to strangers. What do other parents do about this?
You're not paranoid, you're a parent of a kid getting text messages. That deserves some attention. Set up a filter, let her know the deal, move on.
App notifications getting through to iMessage is pretty common and not predator stuff. BUT - good time to lock down her settings anyway. Have you checked what apps she has or if iCloud is synced to other devices?
At 9 she's at the age where you DO need to be thinking about digital safety but also random marketing isn't the thing to worry about. Worry about her actually connecting with people she doesn't know. Those are the ones to catch.
This is one of those things where you're not paranoid but also probably doesn't need to be a huge worry yet. Marketing spam is annoying not dangerous. Maybe just set up a quick check-in where she shows you weird messages?
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Might be worth a casual talk about not responding to unknown numbers and how to tell the difference between notifications and actual people texting. Less about scaring her, more about building her filter.