Let kids be kids. Choose who sees the memories.

01 / Let kids be kids

More play. Less public record.

The muddy shoes, the first bike ride, the afternoon making up games: these are memories worth keeping. They do not all need a public audience.

At Grav, we believe children should have room to be children: playing, exploring and having fun while growing without every moment becoming content. Grav accounts are for adults aged 18 and over. This guide is for parents and other adults deciding what to share about children, not an invitation for children to join. Grav Terms of Service

You can still enjoy public apps. A home for existing relationships serves a different purpose: sharing a family moment with people you know, rather than with everyone who can find a public post.

02 / Public exposure

Think beyond the people you meant to reach

A public photo can travel beyond the original audience. Someone may save it, repost it, combine it with other information or use it in a way you never intended. This includes misuse by people seeking to exploit children. That is a reason to choose carefully, not a prediction that every photo will cause harm. IWF and the UK National Crime Agency warn that ordinary family photos can be manipulated into abusive imagery. Responsibility belongs to the person who commits abuse, never the child. IWF and NCA: AI child abuse imagery parent guide

The identifying details may be in the background or caption: a school uniform, house number, birthday, team name, familiar route or a live location. A collection of ordinary posts can reveal more than any single image. CNIL: sharing photos and videos of your child

Before posting, ask: who needs to see this, what does it reveal, and would my child be comfortable with it being seen later?

03 / AI & faces

AI training, recognition and misuse are different risks

• AI training uses data to develop or improve a model. Whether a provider uses an image depends on its policies, settings and applicable rules. A public photo is not proof that it has entered a training dataset.
• Facial recognition compares facial information to help identify or match a person. Detecting that a face is present is not the same as identifying who it belongs to. NIST: facial recognition technology
• Generative misuse can involve altering an existing image into deceptive or abusive content. It does not require a claim that a particular model was trained on that child's photo. NCMEC: AI and child safety online guide for parents and caregivers

In a 2021 investigation, Canadian privacy regulators found that Clearview AI collected internet photographs, including children’s faces, for a searchable facial-recognition system without consent. This is a documented example, not evidence that every public photograph enters such a database. Canadian privacy regulators: 2021 Clearview AI investigation

A smaller audience reduces public exposure. It is not a universal AI opt-out, and no privacy setting can guarantee that a recipient will never copy or misuse an image.

04 / Before sharing

A small pause before a big memory travels

1. Start with the audience. Choose the specific people who should receive this moment. Review who is actually in the group, rather than relying on a familiar group name. eSafety Commissioner: protecting your child’s privacy online
2. Protect dignity. Involve children in the decision when they can understand it, respect a no, and avoid intimate, distressing or embarrassing images. Ask other parents before including their children. eSafety Commissioner: protecting your child’s privacy online
3. Check the whole frame. Crop out identifying details, location clues and other children. Avoid sharing live routines, school information or a child's full name alongside a photo. eSafety Commissioner: protecting your child’s privacy online
4. Consider a less identifying memory. A picture from behind, hands making something or a wider scene may tell the story without a clear face. A strong face blur can reduce visible detail, but it does not make an image anonymous: the setting, clothes, caption and other details can still identify someone.
5. Agree on resharing. Ask recipients not to forward, screenshot, post the photo elsewhere or upload it into AI tools without asking. Trust is an ongoing conversation, not a technical lock.
6. Review older posts and outside permissions. Check what is already public. Read school and club photo-consent forms, and ask where photos will appear and whether public use is optional. IWF and NCA: AI child abuse imagery parent guide NCMEC: AI and child safety online guide for parents and caregivers

These steps work together: a hidden face does not erase the rest of the image, and a privacy label does not replace a thoughtful audience. CNIL: sharing photos and videos of your child

05 / Sharing in Grav

You choose who receives the moment

Private personal Feeds and selected message recipients, rather than a public profile or Channel, give adults a place to share with their chosen people, alongside the public apps they enjoy. Grav's privacy policy describes membership-based access controls for private Grav content and messages. That controls the intended audience inside the service, not every future use of a copy. Grav Privacy Policy

Grav's Terms say it does not train AI models on user content. That is a commitment about Grav's use of your content, not a promise that someone who receives a photo cannot upload it elsewhere. Grav Terms of Service

Messages are server-backed: Grav stores messages and media to deliver the service. Its policy describes encryption in transit, membership and row-level access policies, and private media storage with short-lived links. These are meaningful protections, but they are not a claim of end-to-end encryption or zero storage. Grav Privacy Policy

You control who you share with. You do not control every future copy. Recipients can still save, capture or reshare what they see. eSafety Commissioner: protecting your child’s privacy online Grav does not currently provide screenshot alerts. Review membership and message recipients before sending, and keep especially sensitive moments offline. Grav Privacy Policy

06 / If it is reshared

If a photo goes somewhere you did not intend

If it is safe, ask the person to remove the copy and stop sharing it. Use the receiving platform's reporting tools for privacy violations, impersonation or abusive content. Removing an original post does not guarantee removal of copies already made.

Reassure the child first. For suspected child sexual exploitation in the United States, report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Do not circulate abusive material to explain what happened. NCMEC: AI and child safety online guide for parents and caregivers

For a Grav concern, use Grav support. Describe the issue without sending private images or sensitive details unnecessarily. If there is immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

Sources & references

Original documentation behind this guide, last checked October 30, 2026. A source check is not necessarily a change to the advice.

1. Grav Terms of Service
2. Grav Privacy Policy
3. eSafety Commissioner: protecting your child’s privacy online
4. CNIL: sharing photos and videos of your child
5. IWF and NCA: AI child abuse imagery parent guide
6. NCMEC: AI and child safety online guide for parents and caregivers
7. NIST: facial recognition technology
8. Canadian privacy regulators: 2021 Clearview AI investigation
9. Grav: a home for your real relationships

Change history

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