Online sharing of photos has become so commonplace that it would be considered abnormal not to post the photos from your sister’s baby shower or your summer vacation to Disneyland. Sharing keeps our loved ones informed about what we are up to, and often allows us to receive flattering feedback on our content. With the introduction of Twitter came hashtags, which Instagram then retrofitted to visual content. Now most of our shared personal content gets published with at least one hashtag, if not more. For many, sharing photos is a feel-good affair.
But, police are warning parents of a certain danger that can arise from this beloved online activity.
Parents, of course, share a lot about their kids on the internet. So much so that by the age of two, over 90% of children have an online presence. Photos with hashtags attached litter Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other public social media sites. There’s even a term for it: sharenting.
The problem is that certain hashtags are being used by pedophiles to track down photos depicting children in the nude. The criminals then go on to amass a library on their computer of these photos – which were collected legally from the public internet sphere. Seemingly innocent potty training photos, bath time scenes, or poolside images with searchable hashtags to them could easily fall into sinister hands. In some cases, predators have even stalked children they found in photos online. The Child Rescue Coalition (CRC) has launched a campaign called Kids for Privacy with a list of keywords to avoid when sharing photos of children. The CRC also recommends setting social media settings to private so predators can’t easily find and save photos of your children.
More than just avoiding certain hashtags or changing privacy settings, a better solution would be to stop sharing photos of children on such public social media sites entirely and switch to a social network that is rooted in privacy. Go2s is a free, community-building platform that is the perfect place for parents to share as much content about their children as they wish. It is completely private and allows for a safer network. Really! You, as the user, are in charge of who can see what information. Accepting a friend’s request to connect gives you access to their profile but doesn’t automatically give them access to yours.
Unlike other social media sites that are constantly mining and collecting your personal information, Go2s will never collect user data. And, because it’s a private platform, that means no one else can access your data and information, either – unless you explicitly give them permission to do so. On Go2s, users have full control of what they share and exactly who can see the content. Keep sharing what you love with the people you care about and leave out all the rest. Sign up today.