Is it OK to post photos of my baby on Facebook?

By Sharon Miller Cindrich
Tuesday, March 29, 2011

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Parenting

Q: Is it OK to post photos of my baby on Facebook?

A: Facebook can be a great way to share baby news and milestones with friends and family across the country.

The reality, of course, is that the Internet is a public place. Photos placed online have the potential to be lifted, copied, forwarded and altered without your permission. To reduce the risk of this, tighten privacy settings and consider your connections.

Review your Facebook friends. If you've been collecting friends for a while, you may have hundreds of friends, including old flames, work colleagues and folks you don't even really know. Consider removing those you don't know personally. Go to "Friends," click "Edit friends" and click the small X to the right of a friend's name to remove.
Update privacy settings. Set the photo sharing options on your Facebook to friends only. This will allow only those folks who are your friends to see your photos. Remember that friends can still copy those photos, print them and send them in an e-mail. However, your friends' friends and the general public will not be able to easily see your photos.
Customize photo album privileges. Facebook allows you to customize exactly who can see your photo albums. To customize photo privileges, go to your privacy settings and choose "Customize settings." In the "Things I share" category, scroll to the bottom of the section to the link "Edit album privacy for existing photos." You can then select specific people you want to allow to view each album you create.
Stay covered. Baring your baby's bottom may seem sweet to you, but it might attract unwanted attention and be exploited in the wrong hands. Think before posting tub shots and nudie pictures.

This article appeared in the March 2011 edition of Chicago Parent.