10 Essential Tips to Protect Your Baby’s Privacy from Day One

From the moment your baby is born, their personal information can be vulnerable to hackers and cybercriminals. Every photo, social media post, and digital record a baby is included in combines to create their digital footprint. New parents may find that sleep schedules and diaper changes take up most of their daily routine. But off- and online protection for a newborn is just as crucial. Even before your baby utters, “Dada” or “Mama,” their personal data can be collected and shared by data brokers and bad actors online. Whether online or offline, your child’s personal details can be vulnerable to unexpected exposure. The good news is that you can take proactive steps to protect your child’s online information. You can help to safeguard their privacy before they’re old enough to control their own online and offline security. Explore these 10 essential tips to protect your baby’s privacy right from the start. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) , every year over 1 million children in the U.S. are victims of identity theft. And that number continues to increase. A study from Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab even found that children are 51 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than adults. Fraudsters love to snag the identities of anyone under the age of 18, including babies. They can use them to open lines of credit, obtain government benefits, and more by using spotless records. Successful identity theft can go undetected until kids reach adulthood and apply for their first loan, rent their first apartment, or attempt to open a line of credit. A digital footprint contains the electronic collection of personal data from digital devices and online activity, and can impact anyone. The digital footprint of an adult is often created by their own online activity and the digital devices they use. However, as life becomes increasingly interconnected, everyone has a digital footprint— even babies. Digital footprints contain both passively collected data (like location tags and browsing history) and intentionally collected data from posting information through photos, videos, emails, online reviews, and more. Medical records, social media posts, and devices used in the Internet of Things (IoT) may all contribute to a baby’s digital footprint. If you post a photo of your baby on social media and include their name, birthday, and location, that will become part of your baby’s digital footprint. Other examples of a baby’s digital footprint can include: Even the most protective parents might long to show their kids off to their friends. You might post a series of newborn photos to social media without even giving it a second thought. Even when you utilize security and privacy settings on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, the identifying data you share about your kids can be exploited. Bad actors could gain access to your baby’s personal information through a cyberattack on a medical institution or through social media. And it could cause financial and reputational issues for your child as they grow older. Examples of the risks that a baby’s digital footprint could be exposed to include: Some struggles your child will face are largely out of your control. However, parenthood is about protecting your babies as much as you can. It’s also about equipping them with the tools to grow up as safely as possible. Here are 10 proactive tips to help you protect your baby’s digital privacy and give you the peace of mind you deserve. It’s only natural to want to show off the irresistible cuteness of your baby to friends and loved ones who may not get the chance to meet them in person. Nevertheless, it’s crucial that you use caution when posting your child’s photos, videos, and personal information online. Ensure your security settings are adjusted to share your posts only with the people on your friends’ list. If you have connections that you haven’t thoroughly vetted, refrain from sharing your baby’s name or face in photos and videos. Don’t share their birthdate or other confidential information that you don’t want to fall into the wrong hands. Digital nesting is a relatively new term used to describe the establishment of digital boundaries, memory management systems, and safeguards to protect your baby’s online presence. These parental guidelines should be implemented before your child is even born. As a parent, you can create strict guidelines to determine what information you’ll share about your baby online, how you’ll store any digital memories, and what protections you’ll have in place to prevent identity theft and oversharing. Make sure you share these guidelines with other family members who may be tempted to post photos and videos of your child. Don’t use “check-in” or “location tagging” features on social media. Check your smartphone camera to turn off its geotagging option. Here’s how to turn geotagging off: Apps like Instagram and Canva may ask for access to your location and your camera roll. Avoid granting permission to any apps that do not have strict privacy safeguards in place. Cyberattacks like phishing and social engineering scams cast a wide net and can target anyone, including new parents. Even if an email or private message seems to come from someone you know, a bad actor may pose as a friend to gain information about your baby. If you don’t recognize an email address, or your social media friend insists they had to “create a new profile,” chances are a scammer has targeted you and is trying to emotionally manipulate you into sharing information. You can protect your baby’s digital privacy by using extreme discretion when sharing photos, videos, or personal information through email or private message. Ensure all of your digital accounts are protected with strong passwords and regularly update these passwords. For example, PROUDDAD123 may reflect your love for your baby, but it’s an easily hackable password. A strong password will be at least 8 characters long and contain a combination of lower and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. A password manager like LastPass can store these passwords for you, so you won’t have to remember them between feedings and diaper changes. Two-factor authentication (2FA) has long been used as an extra layer of cybersecurity protection. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is even better, and can help protect your baby’s digital privacy. 2FA requires two forms of identity verification to sign into an account. For example, a strong password and a one-time code that’s sent via SMS message or email. MFA requires at least two (and often more) forms of authentication. For example, a strong password, a one-time authentication code, and a biometric identifier like a fingerprint or iris scan. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) cloaks your IP address and encrypts all of your Internet traffic. A VPN is great privacy tool to protect your baby’s sensitive information. It allows you to browse the Internet anonymously and keep advertisers from tracking your activity. A VPN like NordVPN or Surfshark can also reduce the risk of cyber threats like malware and phishing attacks. It also blocks prying eyes from accessing your baby’s digital footprint. You won’t have to worry about your baby surfing malicious websites. But it’s a good idea to have parental control settings in place to restrict their Internet access as they grow older. By firmly setting these digital boundaries while your child is still a baby, you can increase their cybersecurity protections against predators and cyberbullies. Parental control settings can control app and purchase permissions, manage location, camera, and microphone access, monitor online activity , and limit your child’s screen time. Give your baby space to develop an identity apart from online use. And safeguard their personal information by taking proactive, protective measures. Create a digital literacy plan to implement as your baby grows into childhood. Educate yourself on the benefits, dangers, and risks of child Internet use. Monitor your child’s Internet use (both supervised and unsupervised). Discuss the dangers of misinformation and cyber threats. And model healthy digital device use (for example, limit your own screen time). Protecting your baby’s privacy may feel like one more responsibility in an already overwhelming season of life. But it’s one that pays off for years to come. Safeguarding your baby’s privacy today lays the foundation for their digital security tomorrow. With a few mindful choices, you can limit risks, protect their identity, and give them the freedom to grow up with a safer online future. For more essential tips to protect your baby’s privacy, visit the What Is My IP Address blog or listen to the Easy Prey Podcast available to stream on your favorite podcast platforms. You can also download Chris Parker’s excellent book on digital privacy, Privacy Crisis: How to maintain your privacy without becoming a hermit for a comprehensive guide to protecting you and your loved ones online.