How to keep your kids safe when posting back to school photos

Alberta Mounties are reminding parents to be cautious when sharing photos of children as they head back to school.

While many parents love to share photos celebrating their child’s first day of school, those photos can contain sensitive information, the RCMP said.

Predators can use your child’s full name, grade, age, and school to build a false sense of trust with your child, police added.

Leah Plunkett is the author of Sharenting, a term that refers to how parents and trusted adults share digital information about children, and a faculty member at Harvard Law School. She spoke to CTV News Edmonton from her home in New Hampshire.

“If you share a picture of your child for the first day of school and they have their unicorn backpack or their Baby Yoda binder, you are sharing with the world things that are important to your child. Things that are meaningful to them,” she said. "And unfortunately there are folks, sometimes even within our own networks, we may not even realize it as parents, who could use that information in ways that are unfair or even predatory towards our children.”

Plunkett encourages parents to skip back-to-school photos on social media altogether, but if you do want to share those images, she has some tips.

“I encourage you not to use your child’s full name, do not include their exact age, I would obscure any identifying information about where your home is located, and I would strongly consider not being crystal clear about their exact grade or their school location.”

On top of that, police also suggest parents have conversations with their kids about stranger danger and outline safe words and how to identify trusted adults.

Advice for children includes not giving out personal information to someone you don’t know, have an adult review any photo before you post it online, and if you feel uncomfortable with an interaction or activity, tell a parent or trusted adult.

“We want to ensure that the start of this school year is a safe one. By being aware of the photos and details we are posting online, we can reduce the risk of our children’s personal details being used to exploit their safety and well-being,” said Cst. Lauren Mowbray, Alberta RCMP in a written release. “Children look to us as adults to act in their best interest – both online and in their day-to-day lives.” 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb.