Back-to-School Photos: 7 Things Parents Should Check Before Posting Online

The first day back at school is one of those moments when many of us automatically reach for our phones to capture. Whether it’s a brand-new uniform, the first day at secondary school, or simply another year older, back-to-school photos have become a lovely way to mark how quickly our children are growing up.

Of course, photographs are only one small part of getting ready for September. My back-to-school checklist for UK parents covers everything from uniform and school bags to routines and helping children feel emotionally prepared.

But before uploading that doorstep photo to Facebook or Instagram, it’s worth taking a few seconds to look at exactly what else you might be sharing.

Parents are being reminded to think carefully about the information contained in back-to-school photos, particularly as advances in artificial intelligence create new concerns around how photographs of children can be manipulated online.

IT expert John Pepper, CEO and founder of Managed247, also warns that seemingly innocent family posts can gradually build up a surprisingly detailed picture of a child’s life.

You don’t need to stop sharing those proud-parent moments altogether, but a few things are worth checking before you hit post.

1. Is Their School Identifiable?

The most obvious giveaway is often the school uniform itself.

Badges, logos and distinctive colours can make it surprisingly easy to identify the school your child attends. The school may also be revealed by a sign, building or landmark in the background.

The NSPCC advises parents to make sure photographs, videos and accompanying captions don’t identify their child’s school.

If you still want to share the photo, consider cropping the image or covering or blurring the school badge before posting it.

2. Does the Photo Reveal Where You Live?

The traditional back-to-school photo is often taken outside the front door, which means there may be far more information in the background than you realise.

Take a closer look for:

• House numbers
• Street names
• Recognisable landmarks
• Car registration plates
• Neighbours’ houses
• Signs or business names

John Pepper explains that even an ordinary school-run photograph could reveal information about a child’s location and routine without parents noticing.

Before posting, look beyond your child and check the entire photograph.

3. Are You Sharing Too Much on a First-Day Board?

I love seeing the little first-day-of-school boards showing children’s ages, year groups and favourite things, but it’s worth considering how much personal information we’re putting in one place.

A child’s first name, age, school year, school name, teacher and hobbies might not seem particularly sensitive individually. Put together, however, they provide a much more detailed picture of that child.

If you use a first-day board, perhaps keep the more detailed version for your family photo album and use a simplified one for anything you’re sharing publicly.

4. Have You Checked Your Location Settings?

Sometimes it isn’t the photograph itself that reveals where you are.

Location tags and information attached to social media posts can potentially reveal places you and your children regularly visit.

Check the location and privacy settings on both your phone and the social media platform you’re using, and think carefully before tagging your home, your child’s school or places they attend regularly.

5. Who Can Actually See the Photo?

This is probably something many of us overlook.

When we’ve used the same social media account for years, our friends and followers lists can become much bigger than we realise.

Before sharing photographs of your children, check whether your account is public or private and have a quick look through who follows you.

If your child is beginning to use social media themselves, my guide to helping tweens navigate their first social media account covers privacy, location sharing, strangers online and other things families should discuss.

Even with a private account, remember that someone else could potentially screenshot or reshare an image, so it’s still sensible to limit the personal information included.

6. Have You Asked Your Child?

This is something I’ve become increasingly conscious of as my own children have grown older.

A photograph that we think is adorable might not be one our child wants their friends, classmates or potentially anyone online to see.

The NSPCC recommends checking that children are happy for photographs to be shared. It’s also a simple way of modelling the behaviour we’d like them to follow when they’re posting pictures of friends themselves.

And if there are other children in your photograph, check with their parents or carers before sharing it online too.

7. Could AI Change the Way We Think About Sharing Photos?

This is perhaps the part parents need to think about differently now.

AI technology can manipulate photographs and create extremely realistic images. Alongside concerns about AI-generated and altered images, Sussex Police provides advice for parents on protecting children from online risks, while the NSPCC also advises parents to be aware that images of children can be altered to create false, misleading or harmful material.

John Pepper says this doesn’t mean families should stop sharing photographs and videos completely.

Instead, he advises being more mindful about what we make publicly available and who can access it.

That’s an important distinction.

For most families, the answer isn’t to delete social media and never share another photograph of our children. It’s simply to become a little more deliberate about what we share.

These conversations are becoming increasingly important as children spend more of their lives online. I’ve also looked at how parents can prepare for proposed changes to under-16 social media use in the UK, including privacy, digital identity and safer online habits.

A 30-Second Check Before Posting

Before uploading your next family or back-to-school photograph, ask yourself:

• Can anyone identify my child’s school?
• Can they work out where we live?
• Have I revealed their full name, age or regular routine?
• Is there identifying information in the background?
• Is the location tagged?
• Do I know who can see this post?
• Is my child happy for me to share it?

It takes less than a minute but could dramatically reduce the amount of personal information you’re putting online.

Sharing Family Moments Without Oversharing

As parents, we’re naturally proud of our children. Taking photographs and sharing milestones with the people we love is part of family life, and online safety advice shouldn’t make parents afraid to do that.

For me, the important thing is becoming more aware of the information contained within a photograph.

Crop out the school badge. Move away from the numbered front door. Don’t include every detail on the first-day board. Check your privacy settings. And, particularly as children get older, ask whether they’re comfortable with you posting the picture at all.

Those tiny changes let us keep celebrating the moments that matter while giving our children a little more control over their digital footprint.

The first few weeks of a new school year can bring plenty of emotions too. If your child is finding the transition difficult, I’ve shared seven practical ways to help with back-to-school anxiety.

Editor’s Note: This article was inspired by online safety advice shared with Mummy Matters by IT expert John Pepper, CEO and founder of Managed247, alongside guidance from Sussex Police and the NSPCC. The article has been independently written and edited for Mummy Matters to help parents make informed decisions about sharing photographs of their children online.

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