The big ideaA picture or a caption can show where you are. Keep it private. Tell a grown-up.
How it works
Every photo has a background, and the background can hold clues.
Each clue is small, but put them together and they make a map.
Your name, home and phone number are private from people online. A grown-up in your family can know, and so can a teacher or a police officer.
Before you share a picture, look at the background and show a grown-up.
Clues, and nothing to give away.Before you share a picture.
Example 1: Where Is This?
Cover the pet with your hand and ask: what else can you see?
A house number and a street sign together make an address.
A school badge says which school you go to, and a place tag says exactly where the photo was taken.
Example 2: Pia's swing photo
Pia's photo shows the park sign, and her caption says, 'Here every Saturday at ten.'
Crop out the sign and leave off the time.
Now the photo does not say where she is or when.
Example 3: A photo studio
Hugo put down a plain blanket and turned his hoodie inside out.
Dad switched off the place tag.
Hugo and Dad posted the picture together, with only Dumpling in it.
Example 4: A question under the picture
Someone you never met comments, 'Where do you live?'
Do not answer.
Show a grown-up.
Words to know
background
Everything in a photo behind the thing you meant to show.
clue
A small thing that tells people where you are.
place tag
A little pin that says where a photo was taken.
pattern
Something you do every day, like 'home from school at four'.
private
Something you keep from people online.
Watch out
A picture of only a tortoise can still show a house number in the background.
A caption can be a clue too, like a time you are always somewhere.
Some people online are not who they say, so they do not need to know.
Nobody is in trouble for checking first, or for asking.
Try it
A street sign is in your photo. Is that a clue?
Which is better behind your pet: a plain blanket or your front gate?
Someone you never met asks where you live. What do you do?
Is a photo for Gran in a family chat that Mom set up fine?
Answers: 1. Yes · 2. A plain blanket · 3. Say nothing and show a grown-up · 4. Yes
Try at homePick a photo with a grown-up. Find what its background says about where you are. Talk about what to hide.
For grown-upsPick a photo together and play Where Is This?: cover the main thing and ask what else the picture shows. Then find the place-tag switch on your device.
Open these notes on screenScan the code, or go to tutorpip.com.