Summer is a tempting time to share photos of your children with friends and on social networks. But there are a few basic rules you should follow to make sure these pictures don't fall into the wrong hands.

Whether shared with family on WhatsApp, with friends on Snapchat or with a community of followers on Instagram, parents love to share moments of fun with their children on social platforms. But this can have a more sinister side. Today, child pornography forums the world over thrive on photos (original or edited) of children and teenagers "stolen" from the Internet. This is why it's important to raise awareness about the risks of "sharenting," or parents sharing images of children on the Internet.

While some parents take "sharenting" to the extreme by creating dedicated YouTube channels or Instagram accounts (before the age of 13), most parents innocently post photos online, without realising that these can easily be misappropriated. While there's no question of forbidding parents from posting photos of their children online, it's important that parents realise that once their pictures are posted on these networks, the photos no longer belong to them, and anyone can get their hands on them, to more or less malicious ends.

The golden rule is therefore to set up your accounts so that you only share photos with people you trust. For example, it's a good idea not to make public any account displaying this type of image. It's also a good idea to sort through your contacts and only keep those you know in real life. The fewer people who see these photos, the lower the risk of them being leaked or shared too widely. Parents should also make their contacts be aware of the need to ensure that they themselves do not share these images without their consent. If wider sharing is inevitable, don't hesitate to blur children's faces (or hide them behind an emoji). As far as captions are concerned, it's essential not to give away too much information about the child, particularly their identity or location.

Note that over a certain age, parents can ask their child's opinion directly on whether or not they want a particular photo to be shared online.

 - AFP Relaxnews