Something interesting happens when you have a child. It’s a life changing event! A tremendous accomplishment. Each day, the child does something new, or delights us in unexpected ways. In the age of social media, there’s an understandable urge to share all this cuteness with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram. 

Being parents ourselves, we get it. And you’re not alone: recent research from Twingate found that 79% of parents post pictures of their children to social media. The Pew Research Center reports that 82% of parents who use social media say “they have posted photos, videos or other information about their children on these sites.” 

Of the respondents to the Twingate study, more than 42% post a couple of times a week. Perhaps even more remarkable is the 25% of parents who report maintaining a separate Facebook account just for their children.  . 

Clearly, this behavior has gone mainstream.

Understanding the privacy implications

The question is, do parents understand the implications and potential risks of posting pictures of their children online? According to the same Twingate research cited above, more than 33% of parents don’t keep their social media accounts private. What many parents forget is that sharing publicly on social networks without the right privacy settings might expose your kids—or your whole family—to risks you might not have considered.

First of all, keep in mind that what goes online can stay there forever. It’s likely you won’t have as much control over it as you would like, especially when the content is re-shared by your friends. Just think, how many friends are we talking about? 100, 200, or 500? This number might skyrocket if you don’t place restrictions on who can see your post. And even if you delete a post later, someone might have already downloaded your photo to their local machine.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying you should stop sharing your happy memories online completely. But before you do, make sure you check the privacy settings every time you post a photo or a video of your child.

Check your privacy and share settings

How’s that done? Create a special group containing only family members and possibly some of your closest friends (Facebook). If possible, disable the re-sharing options outside of this group. That way, your posts can only be seen by the people you have selected.

Additionally, avoid posting anything that might compromise the integrity of your child now or later in life. For you, virtual reality is still clearly separate from the offline world, but your kids will likely grow up in an environment entirely connected to the internet, blurring the boundary between offline and online.  

Educate your child about the potential risks and lead by example, showing them how to handle sensitive information online. Start with your social networks profiles, and remember that, some day in the future, your kids will have their own accounts and be able to see all the baby pictures you posted of them way back when.

Don’t be cautious with just pictures and videos of your child, but also with other details the post could give away. You don’t want information such as your kid’s school, their extracurricular activities, or even your home address to end up in the wrong hands. 

Finally, for a safe online experience, keep an eye on what your kids do with their devices. ESET Internet Security allows you to limit their online and gaming time, helps you find out what they’re up to in cyberspace, and block websites with inappropriate content. Uniquely, it also gives kids the opportunity to ask for permission to play or browse longer, or to visit specific websites.