Photo:Getty

Rear view of elementary age boy waiting to get on school bus. His classmates are loading the bus in the background

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Back-to-school season is an exciting time as kids head back to the classroom — and parents don’t want to miss out on getting the perfect photo of their little one’s milestone.

And while many parents want to share their kids' first day of school snaps with family and friends, a digital safety expert says posting these photos online opens the door to online security concerns.

Yaron Litwin, Digital Safety Expert and Chief Marketing Officer atCanopy, a parental control app that uses artificial intelligence to filter sites on the internet for inappropriate pictures and videos, tells PEOPLE there are potential dangers of sharing photos of kids online such as identity theft or online predators.

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Little Asian girl with school uniform and school satchel holding a “My First Day of Kindergarten” sign at home

“The downsides of such sharing begin with the potential for the child’s embarrassment later in life and the resulting resentment this can create towards the responsible parent. But identity theft is also a very real threat when information and pictures are presented effortlessly to online criminals,” he continues. “A more alarming danger is that the photos will make their way to pedophiles and predators, who may even use the child’s likeness in AI-generated pornography, a recent phenomenon which is spreading widely across the internet.”

When it comes to sharing first day of school photos online, Litwin says it’s important that parents “carefully consider every photo before uploading it.”

“Does it reveal too much information, including background imagery and street signs which can reveal your location? Can it embarrass my child now or later in life?” he suggests parents ask themselves before posting.

Back to School - Children wait to board their school bus.

In general, Litwin emphasizes the importance of parents having regular and open conversations with their kids about the internet and its potential dangers, including “developing and widespread ones like sextortion and AI-generated deepfakes.”

“Screen time is best kept to a healthy minimum, and use of online devices in children’s rooms and other unsupervised locations should be restricted.”

As the school year rolls around, Litwin also recommends that parents set up parenting control settings on every relevant device and app.

source: people.com