For years, many parents have shared pictures of their children online but covered their faces with emojis, hoping to protect their privacy. Celebrities and everyday families alike have used smiley faces or hearts to hide identities, believing it was a safe way to celebrate their kids.
However, cybersecurity experts now say this is a false sense of security that can put children at risk. Covering a face doesn’t stop others from figuring out who the child is. Details like backgrounds, clothes, timestamps, and locations can be pieced together to reveal a lot.
Lisa Ventura, a cybersecurity expert, told The Independent that putting emojis on faces offers almost no real privacy protection. What seems like hiding is actually “security theatre,” pretending to be safe when it’s not. Technology can even remove emoji stickers to reveal hidden faces, making it easier for predators to access these photos.
The bigger problem is not just one photo but the many images parents post over time. Multiple posts can reveal school names, routines, favorite places, and neighborhoods, creating a detailed picture that criminals or bullies could exploit.
Christoph C. Cemper of AIPRM warned NetMums that oversharing kids’ details can lead to identity theft or fraud that might go undetected for years. Innocent photos can also be stolen and used to harass or exploit children.
Another major concern is that children cannot consent to their pictures being posted. Once online, photos can remain forever and resurface during college admissions, job searches, or relationships. Ventura said kids deserve the right to control their online presence when they’re old enough.
Experts suggest safer ways to share family moments, such as private group chats with trusted people, encrypted messaging apps, or cloud albums only accessible to relatives. Parents can also take photos without showing faces or photograph children from behind.
A good rule to follow, Ventura says, is: if you wouldn’t give a physical photo of your child to a stranger, don’t post it online. Because posting it publicly is essentially doing just that, with the risk of permanent, unintended use.
While emojis may hide a face, they don’t hide the information every photo leaves behind. Protecting children’s futures is worth more than a few likes or comments.
If this article raises awareness, sharing it can help keep more kids safe, not only now but for the years ahead.
