Woman's cautionary tale about posting children online goes viral: 'Terrifying'

A health visitor has strongly warned parents against sharing images of their children on social media, highlighting the risks of child exploitation.

Ruth Watts, a 33-year-old mother of two from England, known online as @ruthwattshv, recently shared her message in a video that was widely received, receiving 27,000 likes and 517,000 views.

Using a hypothetical example, Watts paints a detailed picture of how easily a stranger could gather personal information about a child from online posts, which frightens many parents.

“I think it is important to stand up for children who are at risk and cannot consent to the publication of the images,” she said Newsweekand emphasizes that many parents and children lack awareness of online risks.

“How would people feel if I started posting pictures of them without consent? I'm sure they wouldn't like that. So why is it okay for us to post our kids?”

A health visitor is a trained nurse or midwife with additional qualifications in public health. They work within the community to support families with young children, typically from birth to age five.

In the video, Watts lists the intricate details she was able to deduce about a hypothetical child just by tracking their online presence: full name, date of birth, family members, routines, preferences, and even where they live and play.

“Can you guess where I know this kid from?” I only know about it from watching it on social media,” she says. “Yes, a story here, a story there, an upload here, an upload there – it all forms a picture; it’s a puzzle that people notice.”

Watts asked parents to stop posting about their children at all. “Making money off your child by using their face on TikTok or Instagram is child exploitation,” she warned.

“If you took them out of the situation, you wouldn’t make any money.”

To add further context, Watts shared the landmark verdict of a 27-year-old man from England, Hugh Nelson, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for manipulating innocent images of children using AI to create images of sexual abuse to be created by children.

Online security expert Yaron Litwin, chief marketing officer of the Canopy Parental Control app, highlighted how quickly online threats have evolved.

He told Newsweek: “Parents today may have been children in their 90s or even 80s and are not necessarily aware of the short- and long-term dangers that today's children face,” Litwin explains.

He pointed out that even a harmless photo can be misused, whether for harassment, deepfake technology or even sextortion. “Why risk such dangers and other as-yet-unknown online threats to share images and videos outside of your family and close circle of friends?”

Social media users responded with a mix of gratitude and concern. “What about faceless photos?” one asked, wondering whether side profiles or back-of-the-head shots would be safer. Another commenter admitted: “This is so scary. I don’t show my kid on TikTok, but I do post a photo here and there on my personal Facebook, but you made me think about stopping.”

“This is scary but so true – thanks for sharing,” Ami said.

One user summed up the general sentiment, saying, “Children's safety is more important than their parents' vanity and braggadocio.”