Police in McHenry County are warning parents about oversharing information about their children on social media as kids return to school at the start of the new school year.
The Huntley Police Department said on Saturday that many area schools are resuming classes this week.
The department said it is expected to see a flood of back-to-school images on social media feeds in the coming days.
“While pictures with back to school signs are a fun way to capture moments and milestones each year, please take some time to think about what information you are revealing about your kids online,” police officials said.
Parents commonly post photos of their children on their first day back to school with the children holding posters with information about themselves.
“Imagine a stranger took a picture of you child and then began asking questions and taking notes: What’s your name? How old are you? What school do you attend? Who is your teacher? What is your favorite color? What is your weight? How tall are you? What is your favorite food? What do you want to be when you grow up? What activities are you in?” the department said.
“This would probably make you uncomfortable as a parent, right? Posting pictures with these signs is essentially the same thing, only with a much larger audience,” the department added.
Parents are reminded that once an image is shared online it can go anywhere no matter what their social media privacy settings are.
“We are not trying to take away the joy of sharing these special moments with your friends and family. We just want you to consider what information you really want broadcasted about your kids before you make that adorable back to school post,” Huntley police said.