The growing culture of “sharenting”, where parents regularly share photos, videos, and personal moments of their children online, is now raising serious questions around privacy, digital safety, and long-term online exposure. While it builds community and documents memories, it creates a digital footprint for children without their consent, raising significant privacy, safety, and ethical concerns.
A new joint study by Kaspersky and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) highlights how parents across Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Egypt are becoming increasingly aware of these risks, with age, confidence, and gender emerging as major factors influencing safer online behavior.
The study, titled “Small Shares, Big Risks: How Parents Assess Threats and Cope with Sharing of Children’s Data”, explored the psychological and behavioural drivers behind how parents manage their children’s digital privacy while using social media platforms.
Conducted using 152 online responses from parents across Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, the research was co-authored by Trishia Octaviano, Senior Manager – Cybersecurity Education for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, and Associate Professor Jiow Hee Jhee, Deputy Director at SIT’s Teaching and Learning Academy.
The Growing Risks of Sharenting
In today’s hyperconnected world, many parents document their children’s lives online from infancy onwards. While sharing parenting experiences helps create support networks, preserve memories, and exchange advice, cybersecurity experts warn that oversharing can unintentionally expose children to digital threats including identity theft, profiling, tracking, cyberbullying, and misuse of personal information.
The research focuses on how parents perceive these risks and how confident they are in protecting their children online. One of the key findings is that parents who believe they are capable of managing online threats are significantly more likely to adopt safer digital habits.
The study refers to this as “coping appraisal”, essentially how parents evaluate their ability to respond effectively to online privacy threats.
Confidence Drives Safer Online Behaviour
According to the findings, perceived self-efficacy, or parents’ confidence in their own ability to protect their children’s data, emerged as the strongest predictor of safe sharenting behaviour.
Encouragingly, the majority of parents surveyed expressed confidence in implementing practical digital safety measures. Around 85% said they could avoid posting personally identifiable information such as birthdates, school names, or home addresses. A similar percentage also believed they could avoid sharing potentially embarrassing images of their children online.
Additionally, 84% stated they were capable of limiting access to their social media posts to close family members and trusted friends, while 83% said they could refrain from posting identifiable personal details altogether.
The study also found growing awareness around technical privacy protections. About 80% of parents said they could disable resharing permissions, while 78% believed they were capable of removing metadata and geotagging information from photos and posts.
These findings indicate that many parents are not only thinking about who sees their posts, but also how far the content can spread and what hidden digital information it may contain.
Parents are also becoming more conscious about involving children in online decisions. Around 82% of respondents said they believed they could seek their children’s consent before posting content about them, while 84% felt comfortable discussing digital privacy issues with family members and friends.
Age and Experience Matter
The study further revealed that older parents generally perceive fewer barriers when adopting privacy-protection measures online.
Researchers noted that the “response cost”, the perceived effort required to manage privacy settings or use secure platforms, decreases with age. In simple terms, parents become more comfortable navigating digital tools and implementing online safety measures as they gain experience.
The findings suggest that maturity and parenting experience contribute to stronger awareness of digital vulnerabilities and a greater willingness to act proactively.
Commenting on the results, Trishia Octaviano explained that parents naturally become more perceptive to risks over time, both online and offline.
She noted that continuous cybersecurity education and media literacy training remain essential regardless of age or gender, as online threats continue to evolve rapidly.
Mothers More Likely to Practice Safe Sharing
The study also highlighted notable gender differences in online parenting behaviour.
According to researchers, mothers demonstrated stronger intentions to protect their children’s privacy online compared to fathers. This was linked to stronger coping appraisal perceptions, meaning mothers were more likely to believe both in the effectiveness of privacy measures and in their own ability to implement them safely.
Researchers suggest that maternal protective instincts extend naturally into digital environments, leading to more cautious and deliberate sharing habits on social media.
Associate Professor Jiow Hee Jhee emphasized that while sharing family moments online can foster connection and emotional support, it can also expose children to hidden risks that many parents may overlook.
He stressed that protecting children’s digital footprints begins with everyday decisions made by parents and guardians.
Cybersecurity Initiative for Children
In India, Kaspersky has recently partnered with KidZania India to launch a Cyber Investigation Centre in Delhi and Mumbai. The initiative is designed as a role-play experience where children aged six years and above participate in simulated cybersecurity investigations involving phishing, identity theft, and cyberbullying cases using Kaspersky’s digital security tools. Children completing the activity receive a personalized Kaspersky Cyber Investigator card recognizing their achievement as young cyber defenders. As part of the collaboration, visitors purchasing KidZania tickets online will receive complimentary Kaspersky Premium trial subscriptions, while annual pass holders receive extended trial access.
Practical Tips for Parents
The study concludes with a strong recommendation for parents to regularly review their digital habits and privacy settings. Experts advise parents to:
- Delete unused online accounts
- Keep social media profiles private wherever possible
- Review privacy settings regularly
- Avoid posting sensitive or identifiable information
- Disable geolocation and remove metadata from photos
- Avoid revealing children’s schools or frequent locations
- Monitor children’s online activities actively
- Use parental control and digital safety tools
As sharenting continues to grow globally, the report serves as an important reminder that every online post contributes to a child’s long-term digital footprint. While social media offers opportunities for connection and storytelling, cybersecurity experts warn that protecting children’s privacy must remain a priority in the digital age.
