Sharenting: How Can I Safely Share About My Kids Online

You do not legally have to ask your child for their consent to share photos or videos of them but involving them in decisions about what to post or share will give you the opportunity to demonstrate good practice. 

• Avoid sharing photos or videos that contain personal details, such as full names, personal contact information, or uniforms that identify schools, local teams or even identifying features in front of your home, or other things that may reveal your child’s location.
• Avoid adding comments to photos or videos that identify locations, for example street addresses, or the name of your child’s school.
• Make sure schedules of your child’s activities are not shared online.
• Only share with people you really know and trust. Rather than posting to all your friends on social media, you can be selective and use the privacy settings to limit who can see them. Also, be aware that if one of your friends likes or comments on your picture or video, it may also become visible to their friends.
• Always check with other parents before posting, sharing or tagging images or videos that include their children. Unchecked sharing can potentially lead to exploitation or manipulation, compromising the child's privacy and safety.
• Remember that the information, photos and videos you share contribute to your child’s digital reputation, and they may be seen forever.

Most digital photos and videos contain hidden information about the time, date and GPS coordinates of where the photo or video was taken. This information, called ‘metadata’, is stored in the properties of the photo or video file. Sometimes the metadata can be accessed if the photo or video is downloaded. Some social media platforms automatically hide or remove this data, so double-check and find out how much information you are sharing.

Check the location settings on your device (this is usually in the ‘settings’ app) to know which apps are using geo-location and turn them off or limit the function. 

Some social media sites give themselves the right to copy and use your photos and videos. Their Terms and Conditions or a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities should outline how they manage sharing your photos, videos and information. Review these terms carefully before making any decisions about whether you consent to photos or videos of your child being posted.

• At school or club events, the organisation should be able to provide details of their social media policy or photography/recording policy.
• In public places, it’s generally OK to take a photo or video unless you do so in a way that is offensive or creates a nuisance for those around you. However, you can show kindness and respect to others by always asking before taking photos or videos that might include them.
• When an event takes place at a private place, people can enforce rules about photography and videos, so you should consider asking for consent before taking photos and videos.
• Consider ways to share photos and videos other than social media. Other ways that may give you more control when sharing photos and videos include:

• emailing
• texting via your mobile phone network (SMS or MMS)
• using a password-protected online service such as Google Drive or OneDrive