Sharing a photo of your baby may seem harmless. Yet it is a decision made on their behalf, with effects that last well beyond childhood.
What French law says
In France, a person's image is protected by the right to privacy. This right applies from birth.
Parents exercise this right on behalf of the child, in the child's best interests. This means parental permission is not a blank check: it must serve the child, not just the parents.
A shared responsibility
Both parents' consent is required for publication. In the event of disagreement, caution should prevail.
This rule also applies to relatives. Grandparents and friends sometimes post without thinking. Our article on the role of grandparents discusses these family adjustments.
The real risks
Permanence
A published image can be copied, indexed, and difficult to remove. It may resurface ten years later, in a context you did not choose.
Misuse
Children's photos are regularly taken and reused out of context. Bath, beach, and diaper-changing photos are the most exposed.
Unintended data
A photo often reveals more than its subject. A school's name on a backpack, a street sign, a recognizable building, or a daycare uniform.
Metadata may also contain GPS location data. Check your device settings.
Seven simple rules
- No photos of a naked baby, a baby in a diaper, in the bath, or on the potty.
- No identifiable faces in posts open to the public.
- No location, school, or regular schedule information.
- Restrict posts to a genuinely known circle.
- Disable photo geolocation.
- Explicitly ask relatives not to post anything without permission.
- Regularly delete anything that no longer has a reason to be online.
These rules do not require giving up sharing. They require setting boundaries around it.
Alternatives to public sharing
A private shared album serves the same purpose without the exposure. A closed discussion group works just as well for grandparents.
A printed album has one advantage: it does not duplicate itself. It also creates an object the child can handle later.
A matter of mental load
Maintaining an account dedicated to your child quickly becomes an implicit obligation. It is an additional task that is rarely accounted for.
Our article on parental mental load looks at these invisible commitments.
What about later?
At around six or seven years old, a child can express an opinion about their image. That opinion deserves to be heard, even if it is not legally binding.
Asking for it is a valuable learning experience. It instills the idea that their consent matters.
Key takeaways
- A child's image is protected from birth.
- Bath, diaper-changing, and nude photos should not be published.
- A photo often reveals a location or a habit.
- Private albums offer the same enjoyment without the exposure.
At Treelys®, we apply this principle to our own visuals: no identifiable child's face. Our about page explains this policy, and our FAQ answers common questions.
