Title: Children and geotagged images: quantitative analysis for security risk assessment

Authors: Joanne M. Kuzma

Addresses: Faculty of Computing, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester WR2 6AJ, UK

Abstract: This paper investigates the levels of geocoding images with children pictures and discusses privacy and safety issues that may affect children. This study analysed the number of geocoded images of children's pictures on Flickr, a popular image-sharing site. For 50 of the top most expensive residential zip codes in the USA, the number of images that had geolocation tags was counted. Results showed significant number of images with children's faces that had geotagged information. The location information could possibly be used to locate a child's home or other location based on information publicly available on Flickr. Publishing geolocation data raises concerns about privacy and security of children when such personalised information is available to internet users who may have dubious reasons for accessing this data. People should understand the implications of this technology and post only appropriate data to protect themselves and their children.

Keywords: Flickr; geocoding; geolocation tags; geotags; privacy; security; children; geotagged images; risk assessment; child safety; child protection; child images; image sharing; location information; personalised information.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESDF.2012.045390

International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, 2012 Vol.4 No.1, pp.54 - 64

Received: 31 May 2011
Accepted: 31 Oct 2011
Published online: 19 Nov 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article