Parents are being urged to think carefully before posting back-to-school photographs of their children on social media, amid warnings that seemingly innocent pictures can reveal significant personal information.
With children returning to classrooms, many families traditionally mark the occasion by sharing photographs online.
But a photograph taken outside the family home or school can inadvertently reveal details about a child’s identity, location and daily routine.
Information visible in an image can include school badges and uniforms, children’s names, street signs, house numbers and vehicle registration plates.
Combined with information already available on a parent’s public social-media profile, these details could potentially reveal considerably more than intended.
Check the background before posting
Parents and carers are encouraged to examine photographs carefully before uploading them and consider who will actually be able to see the post.
Personal or identifying details can be cropped or blurred, while social-media privacy settings should also be reviewed to ensure photographs are not unnecessarily available to the wider public.
Where possible, photographs of children should be shared directly with trusted friends and relatives rather than publicly.
The message to parents is simple: a back-to-school photograph may reveal much more than you realise.
Think before you post — share safely and put children’s privacy first.
