Think before sharing ‘first day at school’ images online, say gardaí

Gardaí have urged parents and guardians of schoolchildren to take precautions when posting online photographs of their child returning to school, warning of the risk of exploitation by paedophiles and other criminals.

Online abusers are browsing social media platforms “for any information they may use to contact and possibly exploit children”, Sgt Ber Leetch, crime prevention officer at Henry Street Garda station in Limerick said.

As children return to school this week, she said: “I have received a couple of photos from proud parents of their children in uniform — that’s fine — but some parents also post these photos to social media platforms” and she advised them of potential risks.

Sgt Leetch said parents should take a number of security steps if circulating such images.

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“If you are posting a photo of your child in their school uniform online, restrict who has access to the images and where they are posted,” she said.

“Also, sanitise the images of identifying content, this means you should blur the school logo and make sure the child’s name and address is not visible on their schoolbag.”

Sgt Leetch said as “an additional layer of protection, you could turn off the location data on your phone”, which would offer some protection against criminals having information about locations their child frequents, particularly their school or home.