The dark side of back-to-school: Why ExpressVPN urges parents to rethink
their online privacy habits

Date:
Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:54:11 +0000

Description:
ExpressVPN and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) are warning parents about the dangers of posting back-to-school photos online, highlighting how easily innocent images can be scraped and manipulated by AI.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter ExpressVPN and the IWF warn against the danger of 'sharenting' 56% of kids feel parents overlook their privacy concerns, research reveals Ahead of back-to-school, parents are urged to rethink their online habits As millions of students head back to the classroom, social media feeds are inevitably flooding with proud first-day-of-school photos. But cybersecurity experts are urging parents to rethink their posting habits, warning that innocent images are increasingly being scraped and manipulated by malicious actors.

While families are often quick to warn kids about talking to strangers and using strong passwords, adults routinely post their children's names, faces, school uniforms, and birthdays with little of the same scrutiny a phenomenon known as sharenting . Now, ExpressVPN the provider behind one of the best
VPN s on the market has partnered with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
to sound the alarm on the modern risks of public photo sharing.

ExpressVPN best easy-to-use VPN ExpressVPN is a secure and easy-to-use VPN, making it a top choice for families and beginners. Its also very fast particularly on Windows thanks to the Lightway Turbo protocol. Subscriptions start at $2.49 per month on the two-year plan. As with most VPNs, theres a 30-day money-back guarantee. View Deal The hidden dangers of 'sharenting' The core concern revolves around the rapid rise of AI "nudification" tools. These easily accessible programs make it trivially simple for criminals to manipulate an ordinary photo.

In July, the National Crime Agency and the IWF explicitly warned that AI is being used to harvest everyday photos including images lifted directly from public school websites to generate child sexual abuse material. You may like 'A cybersecurity disaster waiting to happen' The VPN industry reacts to the UK's teen social media ban Surveillance is not safety UKs device scanning order faces privacy backlash Australia's social media ban shows UK child safety measures are bound to fail and it's not because of VPNs

IWF CEO Kerry Smith stressed the gravity of the situation, deeming it "deeply sad" that parents need to refrain from sharing important family moments because of the risk that those images could be exploited by criminals.

Yet, "Tackling this requires a collective response from families,
government, technology platforms and society as a whole to better protect children online.

ExpressVPN already collaborates with the IWF to combat this material , blocking access across its network to web domains confirmed by the IWF to
host it.

However, experts argue the first line of defense happens much earlier: before a photo is ever uploaded. A school crest on a jumper, a street sign in the background, or a pet's name can all be used to identify a child, locate them, or bypass their digital security questions within hours of a post going live. (Image credit: Future) NEW : Leave No Trace A weekly newsletter on digital privacy and online surveillance. What to read next A spy in your pocket? How the UKs proposed on-device nude image blocking could work in reality Circumvention tool or essential security software? The shifting role of VPNs in the UK VPN deal of the week: Prep for campus with $14 off ExpressVPN and 4 bonus months

Leave No Trace investigates the companies and governments putting our digital freedom at risk and the people fighting back.

Subscribe now to get every edition delivered to your inbox every Friday, launching this September. Setting a new family standard for digital privacy (Image credit: Getty Images) New YouGov research commissioned by the VPN
Trust Initiative reveals a stark disconnect in household privacy.

While 77% of parents worry about their child's online privacy, the worry
isn't one-sided: 56% of children say they are concerned about their own privacy. Yet, the decision of what actually gets posted is largely dominated by the adults, frequently without the child's say-so.

This practice is telling, considering that, as Dr. Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer at ExpressVPN, points out, children learn privacy from the choices the parents make.

"A parent who asks before posting, explains who will see a photo, and accepts the answer is teaching consent far better than any lecture about being
careful online," said Membrey, warning that "Back to school is when the
photos go up fastest, so it's the moment to set that standard."

Membrey suggests families start the school year with a collaborative conversation, answering six key questions: What are we each comfortable sharing about one another? Which family details should stay out of public posts? Who can currently see our profiles and locations? Which new apps, accounts or online groups have appeared this year? What will happen when someone receives unwanted contact or shares something they regret? Which privacy decisions is the child ready to manage independently now? "Sharing
our children's milestones comes from a good place, and no parent should feel bad about it," Membrey added. "The small shift that helps is treating our own posts with the same care we'd want our children to use one day." Today's best ExpressVPN deals ExpressVPN 24 month 1.99 /mth View at ExpressVPN ExpressVPN 12 month 3.49 /mth View at ExpressVPN ExpressVPN 1 month 11.99 /mth View at ExpressVPN Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/the-dark-side-of-back-to-sc hool-why-expressvpn-urges-parents-to-rethink-their-online-privacy-habits


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