Your child’s safety is in grown ups hand, one innocent photo is there forever, that is your digital footprint. Let’s talk about the dangers of doxxing and stalking when posting those ‘first day of school’ photos.
What is 'Digital Footprint?'
The danger of online behaviour is a recent topic, when your parents took a photo of you on your first day of school it was to pop in a photo album with the date, not to put on Facebook or Instagram for a distant relative to see and share to.
Remember being at school, carving you and your best friend’s name into the table during a Maths lesson, it’s there forever, just like your digital footprint when you post something on social media. Online safety is harder to maintain, post something anytime, it is there forever.
The first day of school is exciting, especially when you can reflect how much your child has grown, however, from one single photo, I could find out your child’s school, name, age and have a pretty good guess at what time they will be there.
Doxing is a term to describe anytime someone shares your post, which sounds pretty harmless, right? But could you name every single one of your friends’ followers? This information can be shared in an instant, and in the wrong hands could cause some serious issues.
How to avoid leaking information
Don’t. Leaking one singular photo that seems harmless, could have some serious repercussions for your child that quite frankly, isn’t worth it. Your child’s safety is in your hands. However, maybe you have family members further away, across the world. Here are some tips to ensure your child’s safety, protecting your digital footprint to avoid doxing or stalking.
Get rid of any school logos, which includes a coloured jumper, a white button up shirt with some smart trousers is enough to get the idea. Take it at home, by a blank wall. Do not share your child’s name or age in any photo, keep it simple.
The first day of school is precious, and doesn’t last like your digital footprint, but lets keep your child safe and protect you. There are some real dangers online, even if you have a private account, it takes seconds to repost a story, there is such a thing as deleting it too late.