A survey by Kaspersky, a cybersecurity company, revealed that more than half of the respondents in Egypt (56%) do not post photos with their partners or spouses on social media. The survey explored how users feel about sharing photos with their loved ones online.
Sharing personal photos on social media can have some negative consequences, such as data breaches, identity theft, phishing attacks, or physical security risks. Cybercriminals can use photos to gather information or access location data embedded in photos.
The survey found that users have different reasons for not posting photos with their loved ones. The most common reason (48%) was that they do not want anyone to know about their personal life. Another reason (24%) was that they do not like how they look in the photos. Some users (16%) said that their partner does not want the joint photos shared publicly (men said this more often than women). Some users (21%) also said that they are afraid that their relationship may get jinxed if photos are shared publicly.
Emad Haffar, Head of Technical Experts at Kaspersky, warned that posting photos on social media can expose users to doxing, a phenomenon in which malicious actors publicly post personal information about a person to harm their reputation or cause harassment. He advised users to think carefully before posting a photo with a description, and to ask permission from the other person.
To ensure that posting photos on social media brings only joy, Kaspersky recommended some tips, such as not uploading photos with confidential data, not sharing information about friends and family members on public accounts, checking the privacy settings on social networks, using strong and different passwords for each account, setting up two-factor authentication, and not transferring data about other people without their consent.
