Sharing photos and videos of children on social media carries real consequences. A report from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that about half of the images circulating on child sexual abuse forums were originally posted by parents. With artificial intelligence making misuse and manipulation easier, many families are turning to private photo-sharing apps aimed at relatives — services like FamilyAlbum, MemoFamille, or Wiizo. Thomas Rhomer, co-founder and director of the Observatory for Parenting and Digital Education (OPEN), says this shift is encouraging: it shows that prevention messages are beginning to sink in and that people are growing more aware of the risks involved in publishing children’s images online.
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Rhomer views these dedicated apps as a promising option. He notes that in 2026 it’s unrealistic to expect people to stop sharing memories with family and close friends, so alternatives that limit exposure make sense. Still, he cautions that simply moving photos off social networks isn’t a cure-all: how the apps are used matters a lot, and parents should learn about the tools themselves. Important questions include what data the service collects, whether the company complies with the GDPR, and whether the product uses artificial intelligence or facial-recognition features to tag and organize pictures.
He also reminds readers of a legal protection under European law that applies in France: the right to erasure. As children grow up, they can invoke that right to ask for the removal of data about them. That raises difficult practical questions — especially when parents set up the accounts and posted the material in the first place — because the law allows children to request deletion without needing parental authorization. Rhomer also warns about the risk of hacks: if even a government ministry struggles to secure its servers, what happens if one of these platforms is breached and private photos are stolen, leaked, or offered for sale online?
Rhomer calls these private initiatives commendable, but he stresses they remain businesses and some gray areas persist. Even when an app appears more privacy-conscious than a mainstream social network, no online storage is perfectly safe. The bottom line he gives is simple: once images are uploaded to any server — whether a highly secure platform, a private-sharing app, or a messaging group — you must accept that control over them can be lost. Absolute zero risk does not exist.
To reduce exposure as much as possible, Rhomer recommends checking the security features of any app before using it. The same common-sense rules that apply to social media should be followed: avoid posting photos that include other children or images that could be embarrassing or sexualized; tightly limit who has access; regularly review and delete outdated or unnecessary content; and, when the child is old enough, get their consent before sharing.
In short: private family photo apps can be a better option than public social networks, but they’re not risk-free. Parents should inform themselves about how these tools work, control access carefully, and treat online sharing with continued caution.
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