Why parents might want to rethink sharing those cute back to school snapshots online

Another day, another cute kid posing in front of their door in an oversized uniform, but according to experts, those obligatory back to school snapshots currently flooding your social media feed could be putting children at risk.

That’s why the NSPCC have issued a warning to parents urging them to think twice before sharing to social media.

The child protection charity wants to remind proud parents to be mindful of how much information they could be revealing in the school snapshots they share online.

While posting a sweet snap of your little one’s first day of school may seem innocent enough, the charity are warning that important information could be given away about your child’s location from their school logo or crest.

“Thinking about what you are sharing in that photograph, you’re often sharing a name but also how old your child is,” CyberSafeIreland CEO Alex Cooney told the Irish Independent.

And not only do those photos unwittingly reveal where your child goes to school, but also where you live —especially if you don’t turn off your geo-location settings.

“That’s a lot of information to be putting out in the public domain,” Cooney continued.

Plus tightening up your privacy settings won’t guarantee the photos aren’t shared online by family or friends.

Then there’s the thorny question of consent.

A spokesperson for the NSPCC told Metro that every time a photo or video is posted of a child, a ‘digital footprint’ is created which can follow them into adult life.

“It is always important to ask a child for their permission before posting photos or videos of them,” the spokesperson advised.

“For very young children, think about whether they would be happy for you to post or if it will embarrass them. If you aren’t sure, it’s best not to post.”

The warning comes after last year it was revealed that an 18-year-old from Carinthia, Austria was suing her parents for posting embarrassing and revealing photos of her on Facebook for the past seven years.

In the UK, a recent survey by Nominet found that the average parent will have posted 1,498 pictures of their children on social media by the time the child turns five.

The same survey also revealed that 85 per cent of parents had not reviewed their Facebook privacy settings in more than a year, and 79 per cent wrongly believed strangers could not see pictures of their children.

Vicki Shotbolt, CEO and founder of The Parent Zone, commissioned by Nominet to conduct the study, said: “As this research shows, getting to grips with the privacy settings of our favourite social networking sites isn’t easy but parents could cause future embarrassment for their children – or worse, if they don’t take care. With children growing up in an increasingly digital world, we need to ensure we are one step ahead of possible risks and dangers and have a good understanding of how to avoid them.”

The NSPCC and Metro have put together some advice for parents about sharing snapshots of their children online:

• Make sure that there isn’t anything in the photos or videos which could allow a child’s location or identity to be recognised, such as school logos or signs, road names, or names of clubs that your child attends.

• Turn your privacy settings on so that only people you are friends with can view your profile and photos, and turn off your geo-location settings so that your followers can’t work out where you and your child live and visit.

• If you want to upload an image that shows other people’s children, make sure that you seek permission from their parents and the child first.

• Before sharing an image, think about the first of our PANTS rules – privates are private and children’s bodies belong to them so don’t post pictures showing body parts that are normally covered by underwear.

More details can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk/pants.

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