Warning for moms and dads about facebook

[castleink]

I was horrified to see my daughter's picture in Google images when I searched on my name. Apparently since the profile pictures used in Facebook can be viewed by all (without having to login to an account), they are also being crawled and indexed by search engines. I found my kids pictured strewn across the internet, for all to see. So beware parents, when you are deciding on a Facebook profile picture, use one of yourself. Chances are excellent that your profile picture will be publicly available on more than just Facebook. It's fine to load your kids pictures into your account, just don't use them as your profile picture. Pictures within your account, behind the login wall, are protected.

[puddin_pops_mama]

You can edit your privacy settings so this doesn't happen.

[NaomiK]

Happens for myspace too. You always take a risk when posting ANY pictures anywhere on the internet. I think we all know that here :)

But like puddin_pops said, check your settings

[big-mouth-burgher]

That's why I just don't put pictures of myself or my kids anywhere on the internet. Who knows who will end up viewing them and what they are doing with the picture. I live the "better safe than sorry" motto.

[dragonfly81]

I agree that it is risky to post pics on the internet cuz others can see them. But It is too much fun to show off my kids to friends and family so easily that I just decided not to worry too much about it. I don't put nakie photos of my kids up, nor do I have my address listed at all, but I try to remind myself that 99% of the people on the internet are just like me, and won't even notice the pics if they saw them. As for the other 1%, I just pray that no one ever pays enough attention. Plus we have guns in our house. :)

lol

[CheeryMama]

That's what I was going to say. You can hide profile pictures from searchers, so only "friends" can see them. Check out your FB privacy settings.

[sarahlink38]

Hi, I am not sure if this thread is still active but I would love to hear opinions from moms like me. I have two teens that uses facebook. Is it ok for teens to jon on this sites? I am afraid they might get cyberbullied. I am not very good with computers, I would like to know what kind of settings should I use to keep my kids profile on private. Is there a need to install parental cntrol software also?

[MP_W]

@sarahlink38 Good question! I think its okay, so long as the teen isn't unsupervised. There is a free facebook app that can help with this called GoGoStat Parental Guidance. It notifies the parent when unsafe behavior is detected on the child's account, but doesn't have the parent look at things where no danger is detected. Its simple to use, and you don't have to download anything to your computer. Here is the website> http://www.gogostat.com/Home/Parental
hope this helps!!

[sarahlink38]

@MP_W: I am able to check out the site you gave me. Thank you!! =) Are you using this website also? What do like and not like about it? Aside from the fact that it is for free, which is great, lol. I have a friend recommending Social Shield to me. Have you heared of it?

[MP_W]

@sarahlink38 Yup Im using it :-) Some of the best things about it are that it only gives you notifications on posts that could mean unsafe behavior. Its good to be able to give kids privacy but be informed of when something possibly dangerous is happening. I've heard of social shield, what does your friend say about it?

[sarahlink38]

@MP_W: According to my friend social Shield enables parents to monitor exactly what their kids are doing while visiting online social networking sites around the Web. It also alerts parents when any adult tries to add your child as a friend on any social network. Says you can also view all the photos that are being posted about your child online. You also get an alert whenever your child discusses any type of risky behaviors or risky topics online.

[mamaj120]

If you update your Facebook privacy settings so that only friends can view your pictures, they shouldn't be indexed by search engines anymore.

[sarahlink38]

@mamaj120: Hi. =) Would you consider using parental control softwares to monitor your kid's online activity?


If you update your Facebook privacy settings so that only friends can view your pictures, they shouldn't be indexed by search engines anymore.