The grown-ups’ guide to posting photos online
It’s easy to dismiss the call to ‘stop and think’ before posting any photos online as advice that only applies to reckless teenagers who want to post photos they think make them look cool…but actually make them look stupid. But the issue is more complex than that.
Many mature and sensible people who sincerely believe they are being careful simply don’t understand the risks they are taking when they post photos of themselves, friends or family online. The general assumption seems to be, “if this is an innocuous image and I’m only sharing it on a ‘private’ network, then there should be no problem”. Not necessarily.
Firstly, often the terms and conditions we agree to with our service providers mean that the platforms aren’t as ‘private’ as we’d hope, and often we give up ownership of the images and any rights to have them removed. This has been widely discussed elsewhere.
In this blog I’d like to focus on two potential pitfalls I often see intelligent people with the best of intentions bumble in to : geotagging and the wishes of other people in the photo.
Geotagging: when cyberspace comes to your place
Most phones and digital cameras being sold on the market today use GPS technology to geocode the images. What that means is that you may be unknowingly posting photos on the internet that contain a tag details the location where the photo was taken.
Geotagging is usually set as a default feature assuming everyone wants it and most people don’t even know it exists. Whilst it can be enormously useful technology it’s not set as the default option for our convenience, it’s defaulted because it makes our data more valuable to marketers.
There are manifold implications flowing from this; and to understand the scope of them you must first understand that these location information tags can be read by both humans and machines.
With geocoded information embedded in it, a perfectly innocent picture of a child taken at your local park becomes an invaluable piece of information to a predator stalking potential victims. That is an extreme and rare example but unfortunately from my work with police departments around the world I know it is something that happens and not just paranoia.
And remember, geotagging doesn’t just make us more vulnerable to malevolent individuals, but also the automated data analysis systems cyber criminals set up. Don’t ever assume nobody would bother with your information. It’s naïve to take it personally. Most cyber –crime succeeds by casting a wide net across datasets that engulf hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of individual’s private information and at a very low cost and profiting from the tiny percentage that fall foul.
Oh, and spare a second to remember that most automated data analysis is not commissioned by criminals at all but market-researchers. It’s no coincidence that the ads scrolling down the side of your screen are for the business at your local shops. Be aware that every piece of location data you inadvertently post is another building block in the profile of ourselves we are building for online marketers and criminals alike.
Please, take a look at the settings on your phone or camera and turn off the image geotagging.
On some of the newer cameras this function can’t be turned off so take that into consideration when purchasing a new one, remembering that often the sales assistant won’t understand so you need to be really proactive.
If you’re a twitterer then be aware that tweets can give away a geographical location without you being aware of it too.
Do you mind?
Some people reading this will still be unconvinced that there’s any harm to come from posting photos online, geotagged or not; or decide that the risks are outweighed by the benefits.
If that’s you then all I ask is that you only put yourself at risk.
When you take photos of others, especially of other people’s kids, don’t just assume they feel the same way you do about sharing their image online. Tell them where you want to post it and ask them if it’s OK. If you do geotag your photos disclose this to them. Also, ask their permission before identifying them in the photo by name or any other type of tag.
This stuff isn’t a matter of law – rather a matter of manners, and after all these are your friends, family and colleagues we’re talking about so pay them the courtesy of asking and respect their wishes.
It’s not enough to wait for them to complain and then remove images or tags, once their published on the web it is virtually impossible to be sure all copies have been deleted.And if you are someone who wants to be careful about how your photos are published online then speak up! It can feel awkward initiating this conversation when someone is taking your photo at a party but it’s worth it. Most people who post or tag your photo online will be completely oblivious that you mind and be happy you told them.
Craig Valli is the Head of School and a Associate Professor (Network and Computer Security) within the School of Computer and Information Science and he is a senior researcher in the secau – Security Research Centre at Edith Cowan University. He has developed and teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate levels in computer security and digital forensics. He has over 20 years experience in the IT Industry and consults to industry on network security and digital forensics issues.
