Three in four parents share children’s photos online despite privacy fears, DPC survey finds

A third of parents said they share information about their children either daily or several times a week. File picture

Three out of four parents have shared content about their children online in the past year, despite most being concerned the images could be misused by strangers, according to a new survey.

A third of parents said they share information about their children either daily or several times a week, while more than one in 10 of those who share such information consider themselves to be "parent influencers".

The new research on the phenomenon of "sharenting", compiled by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) and its French counterpart, the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), found that one in 10 parents regretted sharing content about their children, mainly photographs, with parent influencers being three times as likely to feel remorse about doing so.

The CNIL research also found that 50% of child images found within online paedophile networks originated from photos shared by parents with their own groups.

The findings were presented by the DPC at the launch of its 2025 annual report in Dublin. The DPC’s head of corporate affairs, Graham Doyle, said the research had been commissioned following the 2025 Pause Before You Post television advertising campaign, which became the most successful Irish advertisement of the past five years, having been seen by seven in 10 parents.

Separately, complaints to the DPC surged to an "unprecedented" level in 2025, driven in part by people using artificial intelligence to compile their submissions.

Data Protection Commissioner Des Hogan said the commission’s caseload, which had already been significant, increased by 45% last year to 16,160 new cases, many involving the use of artificial intelligence by people making complaints, adding "to the volume and complexity of the documentation presented".

The commission said it is on course to exceed 20,000 complaints during 2026.

Meanwhile, investigations into direct electronic marketing companies almost doubled last year as online fraud continued to increase.

The DPC opened and concluded 275 cases concerning direct electronic marketing companies — generally involving electronic communications such as text messages or emails — in 2025, an 88% increase on 2024.

Those investigations resulted in 50 warning letters being issued to companies over unsolicited marketing communications, according to the annual report.

The surge in direct marketing investigations coincides with a 183% increase in online auction fraud during 2025, according to the latest Garda statistics.