A simple photo can quickly become part of a child's permanent digital footprint, prompting experts to urge parents to think before they post anything online. (Envato Elements pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Seven years before she ever imagined deleting them, Harsha (not her real name) created Instagram and TikTok accounts to document every milestone in her daughter's life.Like many first-time parents, she and her husband simply wanted a digital scrapbook - a place to celebrate first smiles, first steps, and birthdays with family and friends. Some posts attracted hundreds of thousands, even millions, of views."I always thought that one day, when my daughter was old enough to understand social media, I'd hand the accounts over to her," Harsha told Bernama.Instead, she shut them down.Two months ago, Harsha discovered someone had created a fake social media account using her daughter's photographs, reposting them alongside disturbing and offensive captions."I had to lodge a police report because someone had misused my daughter's photos and videos," she said.
"I was worried they could be used for scams or even sexual exploitation."Deleting the accounts meant losing years of cherished memories. "But for my daughter's safety, I knew I had no choice."Harsha's experience reflects a growing phenomenon known as "sharenting" - parents sharing photographs, videos and personal details about their children online, often long before those children are old enough to understand or consent.For many families, it's simply a way to keep loved ones updated or preserve memories. But as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly sophisticated, experts say even seemingly innocent images can be copied, manipulated and reused in ways parents never intended.Unicef Malaysia chief of child protection Saskia Blume said most parents share photographs out of love, not realising how easily those images can spread beyond their control."The digital environment has changed," she said.
"Images shared online can be copied, scraped, manipulated or misused without a family's knowledge or consent, especially as AI tools become more accessible."She said responsibility should not rest solely with parents, urging social media platforms to build stronger privacy protections and make children's accounts private by default.Permanent digital footprintConcerns about sharenting extend beyond fake accounts.
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