Search icon

Big Kids

10th Aug 2019

Why you shouldn’t post back-to-school pics of your children, according to an expert

Jade Hayden

back to school

Interesting.

Back-to-school is a big moment for parents and children alike.

September marks the day that kids are finally out of the house and parents can finally get a bit of peace and quiet to themselves.

You know the way it is.

It also marks the beginning of proud parents posting an abundance of back-to-school photos of their children online. Most of the time, these pictures are a great addition to any timeline, but a lot of the time, apparently we shouldn’t be sharing them at all.

That’s according to an expert anyway.

Here’s why:

Raj Samani, chief scientist at Cyber security company McAfee, has said that child predators can easily access these photos of the children online and use them to locate the child.

A grim enough thought.

The Daily Mail reports parents should be “more careful” about what they post.

Samani said:

“These sorts of images can be used to gather personal information such as school, location, a child’s full name, or even birth dates to paint a picture of who they are.

“Parents must think twice about what they share on social media, their privacy settings and who they allow in their social network – before it is too late.”

He also added that if parents are going to share photos of their children online, they should make sure their location is not turned on, that there are no visible landmarks in the photo, and that their privacy settings are strict.

Lots to consider.