Safe Family Photo Sharing: Tips & Tools for Peace of Mind

This article is sponsored by FamilyAlbum, a supporter of Peanut and women alike.

We get it – sharing those adorable baby moments is a must!

Pretty much any pic of a baby is too cute not to share with family!

But navigating the social media maze can be tricky when child safety comes into question.

We partnered with the FamilyAlbum app to dive into why it’s smart to pause before hitting that ‘post’ button and discover the safest ways to share precious family photos with your loved ones.

In this article: 📝

Things to know before posting picture of your baby on social media

Should I post my baby on social media?

You’re not alone in wondering, mama ‒ social media is a big part of our lives now, and when we’re so used to sharing every other big event in our lives, it’s only natural to wonder whether we should post pictures of our children on social media, too.

With the rise of “sharenting”, where some parents choose to share lots of moments with their children, it’s well worth being informed before you make a decision.

Sharing baby’s pictures on social media can be a great way to keep your family and friends updated on their development, but there are some important things to consider.

First off, the online world is huge!

So while your family and friends, and lots of well-wishers will love to see your baby’s special moments, there are some not-so-nice people out there.

It’s also worth knowing that once your child’s photos are shared online (especially if they’re not privately shared) they could be shared anywhere else without you knowing, and once something’s online, it’s near-impossible to take it off.

Ultimately, it’s about finding the balance that feels right for you, your family, and your babe.

Whether you decide to share every baby babble on social media or keep it more private, it’s your choice, mama.

Why not show baby’s face on social media?

One way many Peanut mamas choose to protect their baby’s image online is to hide their face in photos they share on social media.

It’s why you might see someone post a pic of their kids with emojis covering their faces.

Even Mark Zuckerberg, one of the creators of Facebook, hides his children’s faces whenever he posts a snap of them.

By covering baby’s face with emojis or pixelation, you can better protect their identity, privacy, and digital safety.

Should I announce baby on social media?

It’s up to you, mama.

Many moms choose to announce the arrival of their babe on social media ‒ some may hide their face, and others might not.

Some also announce their baby as a private photo on social media, so their friends and family can see the big news.

But even with privacy settings, there’s not really any way to safeguard your baby announcement photo from getting into the wrong hands.

One way some of our Peanut moms announce their baby’s arrival on social media without risking their privacy is to post just a picture of the top of their head, a close-up of their foot, or even their teeny tiny hand.

But whatever way you choose is up to you, mama.

Why do people post pictures of their babies on social media?

People post baby pics for lots of reasons.

It can be a celebration of your babe, how they came into the world, what they’re doing, and how they’re growing up.

And there’s also the pure joy of sharing ‒ it feels good to share good things, and what’s better than a baby?

Psychology comes into play here, too ‒ each ‘like’ sends a signal to our brain, a social reward.

Basically, we like ‘likes’, and, let’s face it, baby posts get lots of likes.

There can also be a sense of affirmation from posting baby pics on social media, but it can go the other way ‒ psychologist Sarah Schoppe said it best: “If a mother is posting on Facebook to get affirmation that she’s doing a good job and doesn’t get all the ‘likes’ and positive comments she expects, that could be a problem. She may end up feeling worse.”.

But, surprisingly, many moms actually post less on social media after having a baby.

We just might see it more often because people like baby pics, so they engage with them more ‒ and the social media algorithms want to show you more posts that other people like, so voilà: more baby pics in your feed.

How do I ask people not to post my baby on social media?

If you decide you don’t want any pics of baby on social media without your consent, it’s all about communicating that clearly to your loved ones ‒ even before baby arrives.

Before we jump into some ways you can ask people not to post pictures of your child on social media, we want to remind you that it’s totally okay to set boundaries.

Whatever you decide, try not to feel guilty about enforcing it ‒ you’re doing the right thing for you and your babe.

Here are some ways you can phrase requesting your friends and family not to post pictures of your child on social media:

• “While we’re over the moon about our babe, we’re trying to keep their online presence super low-key for now. We’d love it if you could refrain from posting pictures of our newborn on social media. Thanks for understanding!”
  
• “We’re cherishing these early moments with our baby, and we’d love to keep them private. Could you please avoid posting pictures of our babe online?”
  
• “We’re taking a scenic route through parenthood, and part of our journey includes a little detour from posting baby pics on social media.”
  
• “Friendly request to help us maintain a digital cocoon for our baby. We’d appreciate it if we could keep the baby pics off social media for now.”
  
• “Pictures are amazing, but let’s keep our baby’s photos in our real-life album, just like the good ol’ days!”
  
• “We’d like to ask you all not to post any pictures of our baby online, please. Let’s leave the heart emojis for face-to-face moments!”

What is the safest way to share baby photos with family?

The safest way to share baby photos with your family and loved ones, if they’re far away, is to use a private photo-sharing app.

And our all-time favorite is FamilyAlbum.

You can decide who joins your group, by invite only, so only your specially chosen VIPs can see baby’s precious moments.

FamilyAlbum is super-easy to use, so even Granddad can figure it out.

And the best part? It’s totally free!

No sneaky subscription fees or hidden charges.

Just photo (and video!) sharing with your loved ones, safe and sound.

Is FamilyAlbum photo-sharing safe?

Absolutely.

Every pixel of the FamilyAlbum app is designed with your family’s digital safety in mind.

Those baby photos and videos are yours, through and through, shared only with the people you invite.

You also have the option to disable downloading your shared baby videos and photos, too, which also means they can’t screenshot them, either (fully disabled for Android users, iOS users will have an error pop-up to discourage screenshotting, since they don’t allow apps to fully disable screenshots).

Plus, when you hit ‘delete’, those photos and videos truly are deleted, totally erased from their servers.

And the data transferred between your phone, tablet, or computer and the FamilyAlbum servers is encrypted and protected by a powerful firewall, secure passwords, two-factor authentication, and SSH key authentication.

And to make sure they’re always safe and secure, they also have regular security inspections, too.

That ticks all the safety boxes for us!

What is the best way to share lots of photos with family?

Hands down, for us, the best way to share lots of photos with family is (you guessed it) FamilyAlbum.

There are no limits to how many photos and videos you share on the app, no annoying “storage full” notifications, and, best of all, it’s totally free.

But with lots of baby photos, things can get cluttered and messy.

Not with FamilyAlbum.

They do the work for you, automatically sorting your photos and videos by month and baby’s age, so you have a full timeline of all your family memories to share with your loved ones.

Want to share printed photos with family? FamilyAlbum gives you 8 free photo prints every month, and you can order affordable photo books with your favorite moments.

There’s no denying that, when it comes to family photo-sharing apps, FamilyAlbum is the clear winner.

In the end, sharing your baby’s pictures online is a personal decision, and there’s no absolute right or wrong answer.

And if you want to use a safe, secure family photo-sharing app, FamilyAlbum is easily our top pick.

So keep snapping those pics, mama, and share those first steps, the gummy grins, and those snoozy nights with your loved ones ‒ those memories are made to be shared.