Has your social media feed been flooded with adorable back to school photos? It’s that time of year again and it’s become tradition for many families to post pics of their kiddos heading off for their first day holding a chalkboard sign. But cyber security expert Cathy Pedrayes has a message for those sharing their kids’ milestones on the Internet.
“What not to post on social media? The first day of school chalkboards,” she says in a TikTok video. The kids’ cute faces are welcome, but Pedrayes cautions against revealing too much personal information on those custom signs. “If it just says first day, that’s not terrible, but some of them have the child’s name, teacher’s name, school, favorite sports or activities and maybe you don’t want a bunch of strangers knowing that,” she explains.
Part of the problem, according to Pedrayes, is that people don’t realize how much they overshare on social media. Posting your kids’ school uniform or sports uniform reveals where your kids are most days of the year, which she points out is “vulnerable” information. She suggests avoiding details including names on backpacks or lunchboxes, house numbers and license plates in photos as well, warning, “A lot of cyber criminals do use that information.”
Source: Today
Photo: Getty Images