APPLETON — Celebrating the new school year with photos of your student heading back to class is a time honored tradition.
But in the age of TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, their are dangers, too.
Appleton police this week cautioned parents to be mindful of the information about their children that they share on social media.
While these pictures are a fun way to mark the start of the school year, police say they often reveal information about your child you may not want others to see.
Some of the items of concern can be information about the child’s school name, classroom, grade and specific interests your child has.
All of this information can be used by predators, scammers and other people to exploit you and your child.
No matter your privacy settings or friends list, it’s best to keep personal information on the internet to the bare minimum.
Here are a few items we would suggest leaving off your post:
1. School Name
2. Age
3. Teacher’s name
4. Identifying features (height, weight, etc.)
5. Overly personal information (think items used in passwords or security question answers, etc.)
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