Privacy guidance, not legal advice
This page offers general privacy guidance and cannot judge a specific situation or give legal advice. If you are worried about your child's safety, contact local police, and in the US you can also report child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children CyberTipline.
Is It Safe to Post Pictures of Your Child Online?
The real risks, and practical ways to lower them if you choose to share
Quick answer
No post is completely safe, but the risk varies a lot with who can see it and what it reveals. Sharing with a small trusted group, removing location details, and pausing to think about your child's future feelings all lower the risk.
At a glance
Things to try now
What to do now
- 1Check your privacy settings and who follows you, and remove anyone you do not know well
- 2Turn off location sharing for your camera and social apps
- 3Scroll through your past posts and delete any that show a school, home or embarrassing moment
What to say
- “Before posting, ask yourself: why am I sharing this, and would I want someone to share this about me?”
- “Could my child be embarrassed by this now or later?”
- “Is there anyone who should not see this about my child, now or in the future?”
What to practice consistently
- Pausing to run through a few questions before each post
- Reviewing old posts every few months
- Checking the background of each picture for signs, logos and uniforms
What to avoid
- Sharing images of a child in any state of undress
- Showing your home address, street signs or your child's school
- Assuming a private post stays private, since a viewer may be able to save or pass it on
These are common approaches mentioned in sources and by parents. They are informational, not prescriptive.
What parents say
We haven't published parent perspectives on this topic yet.
What this usually involves
- Asking why you are sharing and who really needs to see it
- Checking who can view your posts and who follows you
- Keeping out details such as location, school logos and routines
- Considering how your child may feel about the post later
- Looking back through old posts from time to time
Related questions
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests asking children and teens for permission and involving them more as they grow.
Common Sense Media suggests closed, invite-only groups or photo-sharing sites that require a login, in place of public feeds.
UNICEF suggests reviewing past posts every few months, deleting what you can, and requesting removal on platforms that allow it.
Related articles on Parent.wiki
Asking Your Child Before You Post
The American Academy of Pediatrics, UNICEF and the Family Online Safety Institute all favor bringing children into posting decisions, with more say as they grow. Very young children cannot give informed consent, so parents still decide for them and can consider their feelings. Asking also shows children how to treat other people's images.
When Relatives Post Your Child Without Permission
Common Sense Media says that unless a post breaks a platform's rules, you generally cannot get it taken down yourself, so clear family rules are the main tool. Some platforms have a privacy route for requesting removal, so check the platform's help pages, though it may not succeed. A polite, specific request usually comes first: delete it, crop your child out, or drop names and location tags. Setting expectations early and repeating them, as the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests, can head off the next post.
How to Talk With Your Child About Shared Memories
Researchers call it elaborative reminiscing: chatting about shared events with open questions, added details, talk about feelings and room for the child's own version. It has been linked to stronger memory, language and emotional skills. It can be learned, and it fits into ordinary moments.
Writing Letters to Your Child for the Future
A future letter does not need wisdom or polish. Research on time capsules suggests that people underestimate how interesting ordinary details will be later, so what your child loves right now is good material. Paper and a digital copy each have weaknesses, which makes keeping both a sensible idea.