The hidden dangers of posting holiday photos of your kids online… including how people can find out EXACTLY where they were taken
HOLIDAY season is here - and many excited parents can't resist posting photos of their happy kids frolicking in the sunshine.
But is sharing travel photos of your kids safe? We've asked the experts.
Get Safe Online CEO Tony Neate explained that while the internet can be a great place to share memories, it should be used with caution.
Although snaps of your kids may seem innocent enough, he urged parents to think about the appropriateness of snaps before uploading them to social media.
Tony told The Sun Online: "First of all, the photos have got to be appropriate because those photographs are going to live with that child all their life.
“Any dark characters can get photos – it’s just making sure that the images are appropriate and taken in a family-type environment.
“Think – is it appropriate to take photos of them changing on the beach?"
“Think about the implications of when you put those photos online.”
Will Gardner, the CEO of Childnet International and Executive Board member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, also urged parents to be wary of the content of images they share.
He told The Sun Online: "Check the appropriateness of the picture – something like a picture of your child in the bath wouldn’t be an appropriate thing to be sharing publicly on the internet."
It's also important to check that you are not risking another kids' safety if they are caught in the background of one of your holiday snaps.
Tony urged: “Bear in mind about other people in the photographs.
"Make sure the parents of other children are aware before posting the images because you wouldn’t want your kids to be photographed without you knowing.”
This week, The Beckhams shared a snap of their daughter Harper, and her friends, at a Buckingham Palace birthday party.
One of the guests pictured is Stella McCartney's six-year-old daughter Reiley.
The fashion designer is reportedly "furious" that the A-list family has uploading the snap online without her consent, as it's since gone viral.
Tony also advised parents to be careful about which social media sites they put their snaps on.
It's important to keep privacy settings as strict as possible, to avoid your personal photos from being accessed by strangers.
The Get Safe Online CEO advised: “Keep the privacy settings and the appropriateness of the photographs in check.
“Be very strict on your privacy settings so the images aren’t readily available, make sure to keep these updated.”
The Childnet CEO agreed: “Most of these services have privacy settings and you can control the people or group who you are sharing these pictures with.
“If you’re posting something, it can be there for a long time. It’s important to try and control the group."
Most Read in Living
Another function to keep an eye on is geo tagging, which effectively tells others where the photograph was taken.
Worryingly, you may be unwittingly giving away information about where you and your children have been.
While Facebook has removed this feature, other platforms, such as Instagram, may be pinning your location with your images.
Tony recommends: “I recommend to turn the geo location function off.
“You don’t want people to know where your children are going.
“It’s okay when you’re an adult and can make your own decisions, but take extra care when it comes to your kids.
“Geo location is a really useful feature but think about it when you’re posting pictures on the internet."
Always keep your location private
Will Gardner, child safety expert
When opening up the properties of your photos on your computer, you may notice some Latitude and Longitude coordinates.
If so, the exact place you've snapped the image has been stored.
This means that strangers could potentially find places you frequent by looking at a map.
You can prevent this from happening by disabling location access on your phone, which is easily done when you open up your settings.
Childnet CEO Will Gardner gives his top three tips on sharing photos online
- Think about privacy settings
- Think about the appropriateness of the content you’re sharing
- Think about what personal information might be in those pictures
Child safety expert Will Gardner had similar concerns about geo tagging.
He said: “While we’re out talking to children in school’s we’re urging them to keep their personal information private – whether that be your home address, mobile number and school.
“That message is obviously the same for the parents, who shouldn’t be sharing that level of information on the internet.”
“Location information is VERY personal information, we’d encourage people to keep this very safe.
"If you do share it, be careful to restrict this to a very small group of people who you are close with.”
Need more advice on keeping your child safe online?
Read our handy guide that'll help you rest easy while your kids are using the internet.