  This paper introduces an educational tool for classroom use, based on
explainable AI (XAI), designed to demystify key social media mechanisms -
tracking, profiling, and content recommendation - for novice learners. The tool
provides a familiar, interactive interface that resonates with learners'
experiences with popular social media platforms, while also offering the means
to "peek under the hood" and exposing basic mechanisms of datafication.
Learners gain first-hand experience of how even the slightest actions, such as
pausing to view content, are captured and recorded in their digital footprint,
and further distilled into a personal profile. The tool uses real-time
visualizations and verbal explanations to create a sense of immediacy: each
time the user acts, the resulting changes in their engagement history and their
profile are displayed in a visually engaging and understandable manner. This
paper discusses the potential of XAI and educational technology in transforming
data and digital literacy education and in fostering the growth of children's
privacy and security mindsets.
