Could your child’s first-day school photo be used against them? The new AI threat parents need to know about

A proud first-day-back photo might seem harmless, but experts warn that children’s images can be misused in ways parents may never have considered. Here’s what the latest research means for your family.

A mother encourages her children to smile for the camera as she takes a picture of them on her mobile phone.

Published: September 9, 2026 at 4:44 PM

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Cheesy back-to-school grins, sports day triumphs and heartwarming Book Week transformations might all sound like moments worth sharing.

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But if you’re ever tempted to post your child’s school photos on social media or even the class WhatsApp group, experts suggest you might want to think twice.

Instead, they warn that those #proudparent moments, whether shared by parents or published by schools, could potentially put your child’s online identity at risk.

According to the In Plain Sight report, published on 8 September 2026 by AI image safeguarding platform Aidos, almost one in two UK headteachers (49%) say their school has experienced an incident in which pupil images were misused, manipulated or used as part of an extortion or blackmail attempt.

Headteachers and school governors are having to come to terms with a new threat.

Simon Bailey CBE, QPM, DL

And 93% of headteachers say they’re aware that AI tools are being used by criminals to generate deepfake imagery from school websites and social media.

“Headteachers and school governors are having to come to terms with a new threat,” explains Simon Bailey CBE, QPM, DL, the former Chief Constable of Norfolk and the UK's former National Policing Lead for Child Protection and adviser to Aidos.

“This is complicated as they have never had to deal with something like this before.”

But while it might sound like it’s out of our control, there’s plenty we can do as parents to help reduce our children’s digital footprint. Here’s what you need to know about deepfakes and keeping your family safe.

One photo can be enough to create a fake

Boy feeling distressed and upset while looking at a smartphone

You may have heard the term ‘deepfake’ thrown around the news, but it can be a bit of a misnomer in the wrong context.

The word ‘deepfake’ comes from combining a type of AI called deep learning with the word ‘fake’ because it’s used to create fake media, explains Sabeehah Mahomed, a UK AI ethics and policy researcher and instructor.

“Deepfakes use AI to create or manipulate images, videos or voices so that a person appears to say or do something they did not actually say or do,” she says.

“To create a deepfake of a real person, the AI model usually needs some information (data) about what that person looks or sounds like, such as photographs, videos or voice recordings.”

Sometimes just one photograph is enough.

“For example, an AI “nudify” tool can take an ordinary photograph of a person and create a fake image that appears to show them naked,” says Mahomed.

Other, more convincing deepfakes may work better when the AI has several photographs, videos or recordings to use, she adds.

“This means that an ordinary photograph of a child, including a photograph published on a school website or social media page, could potentially be copied and manipulated using AI to create a deepfake.”

Could your child be at risk?

Although these experiences wouldn’t be out of place in a Black Mirror episode, Mahomed says the reality is that today anyone could potentially be targeted.

The more photos or videos you share online, the easier it may be for someone to misuse them.

Sabeehah Mahomed, UK AI ethics and policy researcher and instructor

However, the risks aren’t the same for everyone.

“The more photos or videos you share online, the easier it may be for someone to misuse them,” she explains.

“It is becoming easier for anyone to create deepfakes, so it is sensible not to think 'this could never happen to me or my family'.

Over the shoulder view of a young mother holding smartphone, sharing photos of her little girl on social media platform, receiving likes and comments while enjoying summer vacation on the beach.

Bailey says the online sexual abuse of children is reaching pandemic levels.

“The threat is external, it is anonymous and it has the potential to cause severe trauma—to children themselves, as well as their parents, and the school’s teachers and staff,” he says.

Mahomed notes that just as families know what to do in a medical emergency, it is helpful to know what to do if an intimate image or deepfake is misused. It’s also important to talk openly about these topics with children.

Reducing your digital footprint, including sharenting, can help reduce the risk.

Sabeehah Mahomed

“Reducing your digital footprint, including sharenting, being careful about what you share online whether publicly or in a private message, and knowing how to report harmful content can all help reduce the risk and make it easier to respond if something does happen.”

Still, the key message should be one of awareness rather than fear.

“The threat is real, but for most families it remains a relatively low likelihood when compared with more common online risks facing children,” says Helen Stanton-Tonner, director of education and inclusion, Independent Schools Association.

“Nonetheless, advances in AI mean it is sensible for parents and schools to think carefully about how images are shared and who can access them and to keep up to date with emerging capabilities of AI.”

Why schools are worried – and what they can do

Male teacher and two female colleagues talking at work

Many schools are already cautious about publishing their pupils’ images online, but effective safeguarding is still a work in progress.

The In Plain Sight report, which surveyed 500 UK headteachers, found 54% have personal concerns that their school's published images could be vulnerable to misuse by AI tools.

Meanwhile, 45% said their school has received a direct complaint from a parent or carer about the misuse or potential misuse of a pupil's image shared online.

The threat of deepfakes is something schools are increasingly taking seriously.

These images may not be real, but the harm they cause is.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), says school leaders are deeply concerned about AI and its ability to create sexually explicit or bullying deepfake images and videos.

“These images may not be real, but the harm they cause is,” he says.

“For victims, the impact on wellbeing, confidence and professional reputation can be profound.”

Whiteman is also aware that it’s not just pupils who are targeted.

“While much attention has rightly focused on the risks to children, school employees can also find themselves targeted,” he says.

“This is something several of our members have experienced and we passed a motion at our annual conference last year calling for the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfake content to be criminalised.”

Can schools really keep children’s images safe?

Stanton-Tonner says most schools have robust policies governing consent, safeguarding, data protection and the use of pupil images.

“Parents are right to be aware of the risks associated with sharing children’s images online, but we do not believe they should be unduly alarmed,” she says.

“Schools generally take a cautious and risk-based approach. Common measures include obtaining appropriate consent, limiting identifying information, using group or activity-based photographs where appropriate, and regularly reviewing published content.”

Stanton-Tonner adds that parents can also ask for their child’s images not to be used at school.

More needs to be done to improve AI literacy among teachers, parents and students.

Helen Stanton-Tonner, director of education and inclusion, Independent Schools Association

While schools are already doing important work through safeguarding and online-safety education, Mahomed says that AI-specific risks are evolving quickly and practice across the UK is still inconsistent.

“More needs to be done to improve AI literacy among teachers, parents and students, and to train staff to recognise and respond to deepfake incidents safely without unintentionally making the situation worse,” she says.

Mature professor doing presentation to students on the classroom at university

Whiteman notes that these issues have been discussed increasingly regularly with NAHT members, and that they’re raising it with government. This includes calling for improved regulation and for online safety campaigns to include the safety implications of AI.

Alongside more training, research and guidance, some technology companies are also developing new platforms to mitigate the risks.

One emerging approach is to anonymise the children in photographs before they are published.

Aidos, for example, is an AI safeguarding platform created to safeguard children’s identities in school photography.

Unlike blurring, pixelation or general-purpose generative AI platforms, Aidos permanently removes every child's real face from an image and replaces it with an artificial identity. This is generated from scratch, not sourced from a real person or existing image database.

Carole Osborne, founder and CEO of Aidos, says their technology is now being used in close to 250 primary and secondary schools in the UK.

“We're also talking to a large childcare group about protecting the images across their nurseries. Early years settings publish photographs constantly, and their leaders are starting to ask the same questions schools are.”

The simple things parents can do to reduce the risk

If something does happen, here’s what to do next

Whether you’ve heard of deepfakes affecting someone you know or not, it’s important to be vigilant and informed—but remember not to panic.

Mahomed says parents should remain calm and supportive if they suspect their child is a victim of a deepfake or image misuse.

“The child may already be stressed so it is important they feel safe when talking about it,” she says.

Upset crying teenage girl sits on sofa with phone suffering from depression after bullying. Caring kind woman hugging daughter feeling stressed because of insults in social networks or messengers

Then families can take the following action:

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The future of AI might feel uncertain—and understandably scary—but for concerned parents it’s an evolving area and very much a case of watch this space.

Authors

Hannah Silverman

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