A child’s first day of school is a big moment in any family’s life, so it makes sense when parents choose to share the occasion online.

But while it may be a great way to keep distant family and friends in the loop, the Australian Federal Police have issued a warning, saying you never know the intentions of those looking at your child’s photos online.

The school uniform is an easy way for offenders to find out where the child goes to school, along with any geo-tagging.

The AFP have warned that offenders can easily groom children if they know specific details.

Issuing a statement ahead of the 2021 school year, AFP Commander of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Child Protection Operations Hilda Sirec said police regularly seized images of children held by online child sex offenders.

And urged parents to review their privacy settings to ensure they were the set to the highest possible privacy functions.

“There’s no reason why parents and carers cannot continue to take those wonderful happy snaps and post them online,” Commander Sirec said.

“However, we are urging parents and carers who are sharing those images to make sure they’re using secure privacy settings and only sharing images with people they know and trust.”

Commander Sirec also warned offenders use the information included in posts to start grooming kids.

“It is more important than ever to ensure parents, carers and our young people are educated about online safety. The increase of children being online during the pandemic year has also meant offenders have more opportunities to target potential victims,” Commander Sirec said.

Safety tips from the AFP include:

  • Keep your child’s personal information including full name and age private
  • Ensure the background of photos or videos doesn’t give away your address or location, (and don’t post your location or ‘check in’)
  • Avoid posting photos in school uniform
  • Only share images of your children with people you know and trust
  • For community accounts, consider having a closed group with approved members and ensure you have strong privacy settings in place.

Reporting online child abuse:

  • Call Triple Zero (000) if you believe a child is in imminent danger, or visit a local police station
  • If you believe your child is experiencing issues online collect evidence such as screenshots or photos of content, block the user and report the issue to the app/platform/website