Is It Safe to Post Photos of Your Kids?

Q. I saw a report on YouTube by the Kansas City, Mo., NBC Action News affiliate saying that people can track my kids' location using their online photos. Should I be scared?

A. Our take on this video is that, while it does raise awareness of safety and privacy issues, it's designed to scare parents rather than educate them. Is there an epidemic of people tracking your kids using their online photos? The police officer interviewed by the reporter wasn't even aware of this issue, which would indicate no.

That said, it's best to be cautious about posting pictures of your kids on the Internet (and teach kids not to post photos publicly as well). And take the time to understand how the GPS function on your phone works.

But you don't need to be afraid to take photos of your kids and post them to a private photo album that's shared by a small group (say, your family). If you use privacy settings, no one can access those photos -- or the location of where they were taken -- except the people you designate. The report explicitly states this, but not before trying to scare parents!

Do keep in mind, though, that anything you post online is never 100% secure, and by posting photos, you're creating a digital record that can last a long time. If you do take safety precautions, you'll need to weigh that risk against your desire to share your photos.

New technologies are going to be coming out all the time -- and your kids will most likely be the ones to introduce them to you! If you approach new technology in a way that helps you understand it, you can figure out ways to use it appropriately ... or decide to wait on it.

Here are the key things to keep in mind when posting photos from your cell phone:

Turn off your device's location services. Due to privacy laws, programs must first ask you whether you want to have the device access your location in order to "geo-tag" the photo. You can select "no," or you can just go into your device's settings and turn off the GPS function altogether (but then your device can't use mapping programs).

If you're going to post photos online, use a secure site. Photo-sharing sites like Picasa and Flickr have privacy settings that allow you to restrict who you share the photos with. Only share photo albums with known users -- like a girl scout troop or your family members, for example.

Don't add any identifying information to photo captions. No names, addresses, locations, birthdates, etc.

Better safe than sorry. If you have a legitimate fear that someone might be targeting you or your kids, don't enable them by posting any private information online -- and go to the police!

Get more information on location services.