Since the advent of the Internet, the world has become smaller than it used to be. We live in a highly sophisticated technological era where privacy has become one of the alarming concerns. The problem is worrying when it comes to children.
With the widespread usage of social media platforms, protecting personal data is likely possible. Parents share their children’s photos or videos without understanding the future consequences; once something is shared on the Internet, it does not belong to the person who shared it.
This guide aims to explore the topic thoroughly and explain the importance of finding reliable services to help remove children data from the Internet.
Why Is It Important to Remove Children’s Data from the Internet?
Children grow up in a reality that did not exist for the previous generations, and digital technologies have not passed by any aspect of life indifferently. Hundreds of Internet users upload their photos, videos, and location information on social media every second, and the data is stored there indefinitely.
This presents a wide array of risks connected with privacy and security, particularly connected with children.
Vulnerability to cybercrimes and exploitation
Children’s information can be used in a malicious way, such as identity theft, online grooming, doxing, and harassment. One can never know what hackers can do with a child’s information.
After publishing, the digital footprint becomes an unerasable part of the data cloud. Hackers do not need mind-blowing technical skills to steal the data since it is open and accessible to anyone. When sharing your child’s location, you risk the latter’s safety. They may become the victim of cyberbullying or even be kidnapped.
There are many other long-term consequences of unreasonable oversharing. Let’s cover them briefly, one by one:
Permanent digital footprint
Whatever is posted contributes to a child’s digital footprint, which remains forever. While posting their funny pictures may seem something innocent, it may still their and follow those children to their adulthood.
The content may hurt their future life unexpectedly, jeopardizing their future career or academic achievements.
Lack of consent
Consent is the most essential problem when sharing children’s data. They must be more mature to understand how their parents use their photos and personal information. They need the autonomy to control how their data can be used, and parents may inadvertently overshare what they would not like or understand.
Identity theft
Children can easily become a target for identity theft since they have clean credit histories, and it is what criminals are looking for. Posting details like birthdates, names, and family information allows thieves to steal a child’s identity without any problem.
The abovementioned arguments are the most superficial issues connected with children’s information sharing. And how to remove children data from the web is one of the most fundamental questions for everyone.
The Social Media as an Amplifier of the Problem
Parents’ social media accounts are the most popular platforms to share their children’s pictures, videos, etc. They like to share and boast about their children’s everyday achievements, feeling that this way, they stay connected with friends, acquaintances, and family members without even doubting the potential risks.
The most alarming issue is that parents do not understand how to adjust social media settings to avoid sharing their children’s information with foreigners. Fortunately, social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook allow users to choose who can see their posts. If something is posted as public information, the content may be exposed to broader audiences.
Moreover, the information one shares on those platforms is collected and stored on the data cloud, which can be used for various purposes, including commercial. When registering, you agree to terms allowing third parties access to your data, which means that after that, the person who published the content is not the only owner of that data.
Re-sharing and viral spread are always out of the control of the uploader. Some videos or posts may go viral and have an impact that the original poster has never intended. Even if the content is later deleted, screenshots or downloads remain permanently.
Finally, with proper safeguards for children and their sensitive information, everything can be correctly used despite the efforts taken later. Realizing the hazards social platforms introduce should make parents and guardians feel more responsible for minors.
Guide on How to Remove Children’s Data from Social Platforms
How to remove children data from social media is the first thing that crosses the uploader’s minds when they realize the dangers that they unintentionally exposed to their children.
Each social media allows users to remove the information they want at any time; as well as with eliminating information about deceased people, you can remove children’s data. However, there are some steps to follow.
Sharing your children’s data from Facebook is possible; you need to apply to the Help Center to report and request to delete your content, mentioning the reasons in detail. You can also request to delete the information you have not uploaded.
For example, if someone posted your child’s picture without your permission, you can report mentioning that “someone posted a picture of my child on Facebook without my permission.”
After some investigation, if your request matches the reality, the content will be deleted.
Instagram has the same policy as Facebook when it comes to content removal. You can ask administrators to delete the content through the support service.
TikTok
TikTok has recently become viral, and many parents use the platform to share funny videos of their children. If you have uploaded the post, you can easily delete it through the settings. If uploaded without your permission, you can report the content through the platform’s Community Guidelines and state that the rules have been violated.
YouTube
You can report and delete your child’s videos using the platform’s Privacy Complaint Process.
What about Google and other Search engines?
Removing children data from Google can be done through the platform’s Content Removal Request Form. If the website is public, you need to contact the webmaster, and some also offer to remove content upon request.
Laws protect your online information, so if you notice that your privacy is being violated, you can sue the website. If some relatives or friends share your child’s information without your permission, you can nicely ask them, “do not post pictures of my child“, and if they do not obey your request, you can press charges against them to understand the risks of their actions.
Teaching parents and children digital literacy is essential in the modern world, teaching them how to use their personal information online and behave properly on social media platforms.
Do You Want to Delete Minor Records from the Internet?
Our company provides expert assistance in removing any type of information from various online platforms and can help you take the necessary steps to protect your online privacy.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information and professional support.
Why to Apply to NonDetected for Help?
Deleting minor records online may be quite a challenging and tiring process. If you have done everything at your disposal to remove the undesired data from the Internet, but your efforts were in vain, you are recommended to apply to professional services like NonDetected.
There are various advantages of applying for professional help when removing sensitive information.
- Expertise
One of the main issues when trying to remove online content is the need for more knowledge connected with understanding the settings of this or that platform.
Each website has its regulations, processes, and guidelines, and many may need to be more user-friendly and transparent to navigate easily. NonDetected is specialized in working with those platforms and removing data. Their familiarity with the systems allows them to take the content down within seconds, which may take you days or weeks.
- More efficient
Removing data permanently from the Internet requires some time and effort. You need to complete various forms, contact companies, and clarify your request for them to take it down. This process can be overwhelming, especially if the post has gone viral on various platforms. Applying to NonDetected may save you time and nerves.
- Comprehensive Search and Removal
Parents and guardians may need to be made aware of every instance where their children’s information goes online. Performing a thorough search may not be the best solution since it will take a lot of time.
Moreover, many things get more complicated, especially when someone does not follow your request: “don’t post pictures of my child without permission”. NonDetected has advanced search capabilities that allow them to track down the information you are looking for easily. Moreover, they ensure that the data is removed across multiple sites, not just the most obvious one.
- Being familiar with privacy laws
Certain protocols are trying to clearly state what information can be used and which cannot. However, those rules and regulations vary from area to country to country.
For example, in the United States, there is a law called the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which states all the regulations for collecting and removing data connected with children under 13.
In Europe, the General Data Protection states the “right to be forgotten” provision, which suggests that the uploader has the right to permanently delete the information related to them.
NonDetected staff is deeply aware of those laws and may help you easily navigate the world of justice if the case has to be taken to court.
- Being able to handle complicated or uncooperative websites
Certain websites may cause problems when requesting to remove certain content. NonDetected is equipped with all the necessary tools to handle such situations. In extreme cases, they may use legal means to force the platform to delete the content.
Case Studies Related to Child Information Removal
Case study 1
Jane, a mother of a 13-year-old girl, has once found out that her daughter has a social media account. When she asked her daughter she denied registering on any social media platform. It seemed suspicious for her, and she decided to conduct some investigation and soon discovered that someone had used her daughter’s personal information to create an account. All the details matched and she decided to apply to NonDetected, to track down the account and all the personal information from the platform. After some weeks, the experts could effectively remove all the data without leaving any traces.
Case study 2
Michael and Susan were surprised when they received credit card notices informing that an account had been opened in their 10-year-old son’s name. After conducting some research, they found that their child’s personal information, including his Social Security number, had been used illegally to open the account. The leak of the information had happened due to a data breach involving a children’s medical clinic. The sensitive data was left vulnerable and potentially harvested by data brokers. Without wasting any time, they applied to NonDetected, to track down the information and stop the fraudulent activity. Our experts could effectively solve their issue and remove all the data from servers.
Conclusion
Minors are very vulnerable, and sharing their information may present certain hazards. The Internet is full of scammers and fake users who aim to solicit money or, in most extreme situations, commit this or that crime using the naivety of Internet users.
Since children cannot consent when sharing this or that content, they may easily become the target of such people. To protect your children, you need to be aware of those risks and know how to handle them.
However, there are some cases when you unintentionally overshare your child’s information, which turns out to be mildly wrong. Removing content from multiple platforms may be challenging, so you should apply for professional help to do it properly and save time.
NonDetected is one of the best agencies offering such services, and many satisfied clients are good indicators of the agency’s good reputation.
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