# danger from online photographs



## Svetlana_fc (Sep 24, 2010)

Unbelievable, but when photos are posted online, they can reveal our personal information - like exact address, type of camera used, school the child goes to etc. I want to share with everyone the New York Times article called "Web photos that reveal secrets". I don't want to post a link (not sure that it's allowed), but you can easily find it by Google. I have 2 children, and each has a computer, and each loves to post photos online and tell the world what they are doing. So, should I assume I have to put restrictions? Has anyone heard anything about this? I do not want strangers to know so much about my family. Ideas?


----------



## A Mom's Love (Sep 21, 2008)

Interesting. I'll have to read the article. . .


----------



## Mom2M (Sep 23, 2006)

wow, I had no idea! I just read the article. I think it should be ok to post the link so here it is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/te.../12basics.html
very creepy

Oh yeah, it only happens when you are using pictures from cell phones so if your kids are using pictures just from their regular cameras it's ok.
If they are from the cell phones, I would restrict it unless you can figure out how to disable the geo tags which might be easy depending on what phone you have.


----------



## MadameXCupcake (Dec 14, 2007)

Its not all phones or all cameras.
Some phones do have this ability and you would need to disable the geotags. Since this has been in the news so much lately I imagine a quick google or call to your provider should let you know if your phone even does this and if so how to disable it.


----------



## Theoretica (Feb 2, 2008)

It's easy to disable geotagging. I don't though, because I think it's a cool feature. I'm not sure I really understand what the fear is based on, honestly. I've seen it a lot, but what's the real possibility of danger here?


----------



## Svetlana_fc (Sep 24, 2010)

Right - disabling geotags seems possible, but you can't always remember to switch that off. Plus, what about children? I found some software - Geotag Security (again, no link posting). I tested photos in one of our computers, and was unpleasantly surprized at how many we had. I had no idea!


----------



## cschick (Aug 28, 2007)

If you are using photo software on your computer to process the images, you also want to check what meta tags are are added by that program. Many commonly-used pieces of software (Adobe photo software, MS Office tools) add meta about your computer into the metatags of their documents. For example, Office will ask you your name and company during the installation process and does add that information into the meta tags for any word document produced on your computer.


----------



## Jaxinator (Dec 28, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Theoretica* 
It's easy to disable geotagging. I don't though, because I think it's a cool feature. I'm not sure I really understand what the fear is based on, honestly. I've seen it a lot, but what's the real possibility of danger here?

My guess is that Mr Creeper can see the photo, know what little Timmy looks like, and can figure out that the photo he took was at Pleasantville Middle School by the geotag. From there Creeper can find him at school, say something like "Hey, Mom sent me to get you" and he can use random things from the photos he saw. (Friends names through tags, siblings, sports teams)
Or, as in the NYT article, someone would be able to see where you live, and if you post something like "going to the shore this weekend", know that you're not going to be home.

Apparently facebook doesn't have this problem, seems to be the biggest with Twitter, I don't use that, so I don't know what kind of settings it has.

OP, I think restrictions on things like Facebook need to be on the highest privacy settings, meaning only friends can see anything posted, certainly not friends of friends, and possibly make a group of close friends, you don't have to show photos to the entire friend list. (actually, I think I'm going to do that with my profile.) Also, only friends with people who they know IRL. I don't know their ages, but maybe make a rule where they need to show you what photos they're posting, and you can decide if they can post it, or if they need to blur something out like a car plate number. No posting specifics, something more like "Spending the evening with Mary" vs "Going to see This Big Movie with Mary later this evening at the mall".


----------



## MichaelsSahm (May 11, 2006)

On Facebook you can go on your friends wall and see what status your friend commented on, what picture they commented on and see that picture of someone you don't know.


----------



## anj_rn (Oct 1, 2009)

The pics allow people to garner information including locations about your child that they might not share onlime. For example, the child posts a pic of his friends online and one is an a sports uniform that says pleasantville lions. The child might not divulge info, but someone could google the team and find out where they are and then post comments to the child that seem more personal (OMg I think I met your friend so & so who plays football. Were you at the game last week? It was so awesome when.....) The information can be garnered off the web, but makes it sound like it is another kid who was at the game.

It is one of the principle ways sex offenders target children. We do not post online pics at all for this reason. My hubby is in information security and one of my best friends is a probation officer for sex offenders. Between the stories the 2 of them have shared, I am very careful about posting info on line.


----------



## SubliminalDarkness (Sep 9, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MichaelsSahm* 
On Facebook you can go on your friends wall and see what status your friend commented on, what picture they commented on and see that picture of someone you don't know.

Only if those people allow "friends of friends" to view that.


----------



## MichaelsSahm (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SubliminalDarkness* 
Only if those people allow "friends of friends" to view that.

I was able to view pictures of many people who has it set on friends only, when after viewing the picture I clicked on their name, it was locked. I could only see the friend request and send message button!


----------



## Theoretica (Feb 2, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *anj_rn* 
It is one of the principle ways sex offenders target children.

No it isn't.

The large majority of the time, an abuser targets someone they already know and have regular contact with. An abuser is MUCH more likely to be a family member or close friend, than to be a random stranger. MUCH.


----------



## SubliminalDarkness (Sep 9, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Theoretica* 
No it isn't.

The large majority of the time, an abuser targets someone they already know and have regular contact with. An abuser is MUCH more likely to be a family member or close friend, than to be a random stranger. MUCH.

Agreed. This "stranger danger" thing is SO overblown. Yes, I am cautious when it comes to my kids and strangers. But I fully realize that in all likelihood, anyone who might abuse my child is someone I already know and trust to some degree. That's just reality.


----------



## ErinYay (Aug 21, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SubliminalDarkness* 
Agreed. This "stranger danger" thing is SO overblown. Yes, I am cautious when it comes to my kids and strangers. But I fully realize that in all likelihood, anyone who might abuse my child is someone I already know and trust to some degree. That's just reality.

^^THIS.

If anything, it's teens who are at risk of cyber-stalking and bullying via geotags, not little guys.


----------



## Svetlana_fc (Sep 24, 2010)

What makes me more worried is that if I myself can at least think about this safety and disable the function, or remove geotags from my own computer (I mentioned I found free software - Geotag Security), but I cannot tell the children every day to think before posting online. And they LOVE sharing all types of things with the world. I wish there were more information on the topic so that people would be more aware of the fact that when posting things online they may attract the attention of weird strangers. I have only found very few articles on the topic at the Geotag Security web-site. I won't post any links, because I don't want this message to be taken for spam, but they can easily be found online.


----------



## ErinYay (Aug 21, 2008)

You do the best you can.

IMO, it's more "risky" to live in fear of a very, very, VERY unlikely thing happening (stranger tracking kids down) than to carry on a normal, uninhibited childhood.

"The Gift of Fear," while not without its downsides and weak points, is a great book for reminding parents that listening to their gut is the most important thing in keeping kids safe.

As parents, we tend to focus on big things we can't control, like stranger abductions and SIDS, but we don't worry about things we have control over, like car/bike/pool safety, heart disease, etc.

For example (I don't have the exact stats in front of me) 40+ kids and babies this year have already died because they were forgotten in their car seats and were accidentally left to overheat to death. Compare this to the 60 deaths in kids aged 0-4 who were the victim of gun deaths (including homicide). We worry a LOT about gun safety, but it's only September, and nearly as many little ones have died because of one tragic, forgetful day than have died because of guns.


----------



## carmel23 (Jul 21, 2006)

I control the photos of my kids on line for a different reason. In my line of work I am exposed to a lot of unsavory images online. People take images of children and digitally alter them. That is why I don't like photos of my kids online.


----------



## Essie (Oct 9, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mom2M* 
wow, I had no idea! I just read the article. I think it should be ok to post the link so here it is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/te.../12basics.html
very creepy

Oh yeah, it only happens when you are using pictures from cell phones so if your kids are using pictures just from their regular cameras it's ok.
If they are from the cell phones, I would restrict it unless you can figure out how to disable the geo tags which might be easy depending on what phone you have.

What a relief! we have no camera cell phones!


----------



## Svetlana_fc (Sep 24, 2010)

I don't have a cell phone camera, but when I tested my photos saved on the hard drive, lots contained geotags which were removed. I think some cameras have those things as well - we simply have no idea!


----------



## Theoretica (Feb 2, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SubliminalDarkness* 
Agreed. This "stranger danger" thing is SO overblown. Yes, I am cautious when it comes to my kids and strangers. But I fully realize that in all likelihood, anyone who might abuse my child is someone I already know and trust to some degree. That's just reality.

Yep. And the geotag feature, I think, is cool. I also have yet to see an explanation of why we 'should' be afraid of this feature that holds any true credibility of risk.

_"That which we do not understand, we either worship or fear."_


----------



## SubliminalDarkness (Sep 9, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Theoretica* 
Yep. And the geotag feature, I think, is cool. I also have yet to see an explanation of why we 'should' be afraid of this feature that holds any true credibility of risk.

_"That which we do not understand, we either worship or fear."_

Yes, what is anyone going to figure out that they couldn't figure out anyway? That there's children at a park? At a store? That children live in a certain home? That's not exactly private information.


----------



## Essie (Oct 9, 2004)

creepy!


----------

