Your privacy and social media

Social media network websites, like Facebook, Instagram and  X (Twitter), are ways of linking people who share interests and activities over the internet. Adoption UK explain the basics about sharing personal information and the risks.

So, what are the rules around social media and adopted children? There are no specific rules other than the parents having to ensure they keep their child safe. Each case is different, so while one adoptive parent may choose to share their child’s name, another might feel that is not appropriate in their case.

New technologies linking mobile phones to social networking profiles can make it possible for a person’s online ‘friends’ to know exactly where they are, in the real world, at any time. This has a huge implication on keeping adoptive children’s personal details confidential and their location secret.

Be aware – our Adopt South West social media is public

Be aware when you are posting a comment or liking a post on our Adopt South West Facebook or Instagram social media channels, your name could be visible to others – and this could be seen by birth parents, for example.

Please check your privacy settings. The following precautions could be useful to protect members of your family’s online identity:

• use privacy settings to restrict access to personal information
• limit the amount of information on their ‘public’ profile. Avoid putting their mobile phone number, address, schools attended or photos that could identify their location
• never accept random friend requests from people