AI Should Make You Rethink Sharing Your Kids’ Photos Online

This is a common experience: From a toddler taking their first steps to a daughter losing her first tooth and the inevitable first-day-of-school photo, you’ll want to share all the best moments. Sharing these milestones in an era dominated by Instagram, Threads, and Facebook is akin to digital scrapbooking. It’s how we keep distant relatives in the loop and celebrate the joys of parenthood with our community.

However, the digital landscape has shifted beneath our feet. Parents sharing too much about their kids online (“sharenting”) has been discussed for a while. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) makes it even more complicated.

If you have a public profile or a large following on social media, it might be time to take a second look at your privacy settings. Here is why AI and the evolving internet landscape mean we need to rethink how we share our children’s images.

The End of the “Friends and Family” Era

A decade ago, a photo posted to Facebook likely stayed within your circle of friends. This day, platforms like Threads and Instagram are designed for discovery. Public profiles aren’t completely visible to people you know; they are indexed by search engines and scraped by data companies.

When you post a photo of your child on a public platform, you aren’t just sharing a memory; you are releasing data. In the age of AI, that data is more valuable and at greater risk than ever before.

The Risks: What Happens to Your Child’s Image?

1. The Rise of “Deepfake” AI

This development marks the most important technological advancement in recent history. AI tools can now take a single high-quality image or a short video clip and use it to create a “deepfake.”

Deepfakes can manipulate your child’s image. This creates fake videos showing them doing or saying untrue things. Some use this for harmless fun, but the troubling truth is that malicious people exploit these tools to make content that is non-consensual and harmful. Once an image is scraped from a public Instagram or Facebook profile, parents lose all control over how that likeness is manipulated by AI.

2. Digital Identity Theft

We often think of identity theft as something that happens to adults with credit cards, but “digital kidnapping” and synthetic identity theft are rising threats for minors.

By the time many children reach age 13, they already have a massive “digital footprint” created entirely by their parents. AI-powered scrapers can pull a child’s name, birthdate (Typically seen in “Happy Birthday” messages shared online.), and location to build a profile. This information can be used years later to open fraudulent accounts or bypass biometric security systems that rely on facial recognition.

3. Stolen Images and “Role-Playing”

There is a disturbing trend on some corners of the internet where strangers “steal” photos of children from public accounts and repost them as if the children were their own. This is often referred to as digital kidnapping.

In more malicious cases, these images are curated into galleries on third-party sites. When your profile is public, anyone can download a photo of your child at the beach or in the bathtub and move it to a part of the internet where you can no longer protect them.

4. Child Exploitation and the “Dark Web”

It is a heavy topic, but one that is necessary to discuss. Law enforcement agencies globally have warned that photos shared innocently by parents—such as kids in swimsuits, gymnastics leotards, or even just playing in the backyard—are frequently scraped and shared on exploitative forums. AI makes it easier for predators to search for, categorize, and even “enhance” these images, turning a suburban memory into a tool for exploitation.

How to Protect Your Child in the AI Age

You don’t have to disappear from the internet entirely, but a “privacy-first” approach is now essential. Here are some practical steps to safeguard your family:

• Go Private: Ensure your Instagram, Facebook, and Threads accounts are set to “Private.” This is the simplest and most effective way to ensure only people you trust see your children.
• Audit Your Followers: Periodically go through your “Followers” or “Friends” list. If you don’t know who someone is in real life, remove them.
• The “Vague-Book” Rule: Share the milestone, but not the face. Consider posting photos where your child’s face is turned away, covered by an emoji, or blurred. You can still share the joy without sharing the biometric data.
• Avoid Location Tags: Never tag your child’s school, your home, or their favorite park in real-time.
• Check Your “Old” Photos: Remember that Facebook and Instagram have been around for a long time. Go back and delete old public albums or change their privacy settings to “Only Me” or “Friends.”
• Ask for Consent: As your children get older, ask them if they are okay with you posting their photo. This teaches them about digital boundaries and privacy from an early age.

A Final Thought

As parents, our primary job is to protect our children. In the 1990s, that meant teaching them to look both ways before crossing the street. In the 2020s, it means protecting their digital likeness from technologies they aren’t yet old enough to understand.

The internet never forgets, and AI is making its memory more powerful every day. By being more intentional about what we share on social networks, we can ensure our children grow up with the privacy and security they deserve.

Is it time for a social media spring cleaning? Your child’s future self might just thank you for it.