We’re in graduation season, so when you drive around town, you probably see signs in a lot of yards celebrating recent grads. It started as a fun tribute during the days of pandemic lockdown and the humblebrag has stuck around, and even expanded to include kids moving up from kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and of course, high school. But these popular displays raise a red flag with security experts and privacy advocates.
Here’s what they want parents to know before planting one of these signs in the yard:
- Safety concerns - Graduation yard signs often feature the kid’s name, age, school, photo and even the college they’ll be going to, and all that information can be used by scammers, identity thieves or strangers with bad intentions.
- Revealing location - Sticking that sign in your yard shows your child lives at that specific address and if the sign shows their photo or school name, it also broadcasts where they are everyday.
- Long-term digital footprint - In addition to the yard signs, proud parents often share photos and details about their graduate on social media. From there, all that information can be scraped or misused, adding to the kid’s digital footprint without their consent.
- Exposing patterns and predictability - Graduate signs that include school details can reveal family routines and even when the house may be empty during college drop-off.
- There are safer alternatives - You can still celebrate your grad’s accomplishment without compromising their privacy by not including personal information on the sign, decorating your front door or porch instead, or just putting up yard flags for a college that don’t include your kid’s name.⠀
Source: Huff Post