'First Day Of School' Photos Of Kids Could Cause Problems: Bergen County Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Early September often means your social media feed will be filled with parents' photos of their children heading back to school, or sometimes moving into a dorm.

But these celebratory photos have risks, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office notes.

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"Are you putting your child or family at risk?," they wrote on Tuesday. "As your child poses for that 'first day of school' picture, BCPONJ reminds you to be mindful of how much information you share online."

Clever predators have used information about children to pose as children online to extort, "sextort," exploit, or scam other children or families.

"Predators could use it to steal your data or deceive your child," the prosecutor's office notes.

Some have blithely referred to the practice of sharing children's photos as "sharenting."

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations have shared these tips:

• Photograph/video your child from a distance or while they're looking away
• Focus on a body part (e.g. just their hand in frame)
• Cover their face with an emoji or blur their face
• Remove recognizable content from the photo (e.g. a school name or logo)

Also:

• Curate your friends list to only those you know and trust
• Set the individual post to only be shared with a select group of people (such as your "close friends" on Instagram stories)
• Keep your profile fully private and remove any personally identifiable information
• Restrict who can send you friend requests, messages, or tag you in content
• Turn off location sharing and remove geotags from posts

More information is here.