Privacy and Access

And while many parents want to share their kids' first day of school snaps with family and friends, a digital safety expert says posting these photos online opens the door to online security concerns.

Yaron Litwin, Digital Safety Expert and Chief Marketing Officer at Canopy, a parental control app that uses artificial intelligence to filter sites on the internet for inappropriate pictures and videos, tells PEOPLE there are potential dangers of sharing photos of kids online such as identity theft or online predators.

"There is a growing awareness of the dangers of 'sharenting,' or over-sharing of children’s pictures and information online. A 2020 study in the UK by Parent Zone showed that the average parent posts about 1,500 pictures of his or her child by the time they turn 5, so this is no minor issue," Litwin begins.

"The downsides of such sharing begin with the potential for the child’s embarrassment later in life and the resulting resentment this can create towards the responsible parent. But identity theft is also a very real threat when information and pictures are presented effortlessly to online criminals," he continues. "A more alarming danger is that the photos will make their way to pedophiles and predators, who may even use the child’s likeness in AI-generated pornography, a recent phenomenon which is spreading widely across the internet."

When it comes to sharing first day of school photos online, Litwin says it's important that parents "carefully consider every photo before uploading it."
"Does it reveal too much information, including background imagery and street signs which can reveal your location? Can it embarrass my child now or later in life?" he suggests parents ask themselves before posting.

"Be very wary of your privacy settings," he adds. "Consider limiting who can see the photos by posting in closed networks like family groups, and turn off location tagging."

In general, Litwin emphasizes the importance of parents having regular and open conversations with their kids about the internet and its potential dangers, including "developing and widespread ones like sextortion and AI-generated deepfakes."

"Our children are navigating an online world which is getting progressively more complex and dangerous. They are also constantly at risk of being exposed to explicit materials, even if they do not seek them out," he says. "Their mental health is negatively impacted by such content, excessive screen time, and social media use."

"Screen time is best kept to a healthy minimum, and use of online devices in children’s rooms and other unsupervised locations should be restricted."

As the school year rolls around, Litwin also recommends that parents set up parenting control settings on every relevant device and app.

(Source: < https://people.com/should-you-share-your-kids-first-day-of-school-photos-digital-security-expert-7692876 >)

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