5 reasons to reconsider posting that photo online
Katrina Foster is a finance and technology expert with Choosi. In this piece, she takes us through a few reasons you might want to reconsider posting that photo online.
Posting a photo of you and your family on a holiday may seem harmless but you could potentially be leaving your home vulnerable to strangers looking to take advantage of your getaway. A recent study by CoreData and Choosi revealed 85.8 per cent of internet users are worried about matters of privacy on the internet. When it comes to sharing photos on your social media channels, it’s important to differentiate photos you should post online and those you shouldn’t.
Here are five times you should rethink posting that photo.
1. When posting photos of family and loved ones
Every parent or grandparent loves taking photos of their kids. It’s natural to want to share the memories that matter most to us. A good rule of thumb to follow is to make lists of people who are allowed access to view certain photos and then sharing the images selectively with them. This can be done through Facebook’s privacy settings. Another way to share your images is to use social messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram which have encrypted security and allow you to share the moments you cherish with exactly the people you know and trust.
2. When posting photos while you’re on holiday
No wifi? No problem. With global roaming available, it’s even easier to share photos while on the move. You don’t have to wait to get home, transfer all your photos to a computer and then show them to the people you love. However, a photo of you sipping cocktails on the beach tells people you are away, making your home an ideal target for burglary. Another way your vacation photos can make you a target is that it increases the risk of someone following you in the hope of robbing or otherwise harming you. A great way to avoid this is by disabling geotagging on Facebook and not indicating where you are located or have ‘checked in’.
3. When posting photos of your home
While we all love where we live, it isn’t advisable to post photos of your home from the outside. Allowing people to see what your home looks like can help them figure out where the entrances and exits are.
4. When posting photos of important documents
Sure, that old passport or driver’s licence has a pretty hilarious picture of you on it but it’s also a sure-fire way for inviting identity theft. If you’ve made your profile public, forgers from all over the world can gain access to your information and possible gain access to your bank account. Avoid posting photos of any documents with your identity on it, even if it’s as innocent as a boarding pass.
5. When posting photos of people at your workplace
You’ve just celebrated a colleague’s 60th birthday and you want to show the world the cake you brought into the office. While it may seem like a fun photo to post, photos like this can lead to leaks of important business information. A file or a report with client information on it or a screen showing important business information can potentially lead to a compromise of critical business information.
A photo may take seconds to upload and publish but it stays online for a lifetime. Consider the long term consequences of uploading a photo the next time you hit ‘publish’.
For more information, you can visit the Choosi blog here.
This article is for general information only. You should seek formal financial advice on your specific circumstances.