Oversharing on back to school social media posts could put your child's safety at risk

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Posting your child's back to school photos on social media is a popular way to mark the new school year, but experts warn it could make your child a target for predators.

Many families have a ritual of sharing pictures of their kids with first day of school signs. These blackboards often share the child's full name, grade, school, teacher, and interests.

Clarksville Police Major Jason Tackett warned that predators and scammers can then get ahold of that information.

"Once it's posted on the internet, it can't be taken back," Tackett said. "Just be careful about no names, no dates of birth, if your house is visible in the background, make sure your address is blurred."

No matter your privacy settings or friends list, he said it’s best to keep personal information on the internet to the bare minimum. This also applies to children's bios on social media platforms.

Tackett said to remember that "on Instagram and Twitter, you can post what school you go to and your age. It's not too hard for a predator to then find you."

Don’t share your child’s age, full school name, grade, teacher’s name, or identifying features — such as height or weight. Also, don’t give out any details that could be used in passwords or as security question answers.

"Be aware of your personal data. It is very valuable, and it's important you don't accidentally give that information away to someone who could use it against you," Tackett said.

If you’re going to take pictures to document these milestones, make sure to blur out the sensitive information.

"Your friends, your family.. they don't need to know who that picture is. They know it's their niece or their sister or cousin," Tackett said.

He also suggests sending the cute photos directly to friends and family.

More back to school coverage: