Most people think about what a picture shows. Fewer think about what travels with it: the location tag, the time, the background and sometimes data hidden in the file. For a business account it matters even more.
What can give you away
- Location tags and check-ins, which say where you are right now.
- Hidden data in the photo file, which can include where and when it was taken. Many networks remove it when you upload, but not all of them, and not when you send the file directly to someone.
- Things in the background: a house number, a street sign, a car registration, a screen with an email on it.
- Patterns: posting from the same café every Tuesday at nine tells strangers where to find you.
Where it matters most
- A home-based business, a home studio or a workshop at your own address.
- Staff, children and customers who appear in the picture.
- When you are away and the house is empty.
Habits that help
- 1Tag a business location, not your home.
- 2Check the background of a picture before you post it, as carefully as the foreground.
- 3Post travel and event pictures after you have left, not while you are there.
- 4If you send a photo as a file to a client or a journalist, remove the hidden data first.
Scheduling is a safety tool here
Writing a post now and scheduling it for when you are home, or for the week after the trip, gives you the benefit without the exposure.
Look at the last ten pictures you posted. Could a stranger work out where you live or when you are away?