Why Sharing Your Child’s Pictures on Social Media Could Put Them at Harm

In the age of social media, it’s tempting for parents to share cute photos and videos of their children online. However, this common practice comes with potential risks that many parents fail to consider. Sharing children’s images publicly could expose them to danger from online predators or impact their digital footprint later in life.

While avoiding oversharing is wise, there are safer ways to let friends and family enjoy photos of your little ones.

The Dangers of Oversharing Children’s Photos Publicly

Posting identifiable photos of your children on public social media accounts creates risks you may not have contemplated. For one, these images could end up in the hands of paedophiles or other criminals seeking to exploit or harm children. It is well known that paedophiles actively seek out photos of children on unsecured social media accounts to distribute child sexual abuse material. Even if you choose to share innocuous family photos, criminals can use these images inappropriately.

Additionally, what seems harmless now may come back to haunt your child later in life. Colleges, universities, employers and others often search candidates online before accepting them. Childhood photos showing embarrassing moments or private family activities could negatively impact your child’s future opportunities if shared widely. Your child has no choice in you posting their photos online. It’s best to consider their privacy and avoid oversharing identifiable photos of minors publicly.

Sharing Photos More Safely with Family and Friends

While discretion is advised for public social media sharing, you can still let loved ones enjoy adorable moments with your children online. Using privacy settings and services designed for family sharing can allow you to share treasured photos safely.

• Limit Access with Privacy Settings – On platforms like Facebook, double-check that your privacy settings for photo albums and posts are set to “Friends only”, not “Public”. Regularly review who has access to your content. Also, ask friends and family not to share photos you post of your children on their own public pages or profiles.

• Utilise Family Sharing Sites and Apps – Certain sites and apps create private, closed communities for family sharing, such as Kapshoo. Users must be approved connections to gain access to your family’s photos. You can also remove users easily if needed. Family members can still fawn over how quickly your children are growing up without increasing their exposure online.

• Strip Metadata from Photos – Before posting any photos of your children, be sure to remove metadata like geotags from image files. Metadata can transmit potentially sensitive information, like exactly when and where a photo was taken. For children’s safety, it’s best to strip out these details before sharing photos digitally.

Educating Teens on Social Media Use

Once your child is old enough to use social media themselves, discuss appropriate sharing and privacy settings. Make sure they understand the importance of being selective about what images they share publicly online. Emphasise that photos posted can have unintended consequences in the future.

While social media makes it easy to share children’s photos with the world, parents should carefully consider children’s privacy and safety first. Avoid over-posting identifiable images of minors publicly. For safer sharing with loved ones, use privacy settings, family sharing platforms and metadata removal to let the important people in your child’s life watch them grow up without unnecessary risk.