“Sharenting,” or parents sharing their children’s lives online, is increasingly common in the digital age. While it helps build communities, document memories, and exchange advice, it also exposes children to privacy risks.
A joint study by Kaspersky and Singapore Institute of Technology, titled “Small Shares, Big Risks: How Parents Assess Threats and Cope with Sharing of Children’s Data,” examines how parents perceive and respond to these risks. Based on 152 responses across Asia and beyond, the research highlights that parents’ confidence, experience, and instincts strongly influence how they protect their children’s online privacy.
A key concept is “coping appraisal,” particularly self-efficacy—parents’ confidence in managing digital risks. Most parents believe they can avoid sharing sensitive information (85%), limit access to trusted circles (84%), and prevent oversharing. Many also take technical precautions, such as disabling resharing (80%) and removing metadata (78%). Parents who believe these measures are effective are more likely to apply them consistently.
Age and gender also shape behavior. Older parents tend to perceive fewer barriers and act more proactively due to experience. Mothers, meanwhile, demonstrate stronger protective instincts online, showing higher confidence and belief in privacy measures.
“In general, as parents age, they gain more experience in parenting and become more perceptive to threats and vulnerabilities, both online and offline, leading to heightened proactiveness in responding and protecting. As for mothers, they have a biological drive to safeguard their children in the physical world, which translates into a desire to shield them from digital threats as well. Based on our overall findings, we can infer that continuous cybersecurity education and media literacy training are needed regardless of age or gender”, comments Octaviano.
“This study highlights a growing reality of modern parenting: while sharing family moments online can create connection and support, it can also expose children to risks that are often invisible—such as profiling, unwanted tracking, and misuse of personal information. Our findings show that parents are highly motivated to protect their children’s privacy when they feel confident in their ability to take practical steps and believe those steps truly work. We encourage parents to take a moment today to review their social media privacy settings and have a simple family conversation about what should—and should not—be shared online, because protecting children’s digital footprint starts with the choices we make every day,” adds A/Prof Jhee.
About the survey Kaspersky collected a total of 152 online responses from Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
An online questionnaire was distributed via QR codes during the face-to-face Cyber Resilience Workshops held in Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The questionnaire was also distributed by email to Kaspersky Academy’s network of parents and teachers and through the support of the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, PeaceGeneration Indonesia, and Vietnet Information Technology and Communication Centre. It was also distributed via social media.
The questionnaire was translated to Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Cantonese, and Vietnamese.
The survey ran for roughly five months, gathering responses from mid-October 2025 to the end of February 2026. The respondents were parents of children aged 0 to 12 years.
The respondents were asked about their parental privacy behaviours: their motivation to share about their children on social media; their perception of privacy risks and the consequences of privacy breach; and their level of confidence in executing measures to protect their privacy and their children’s.
