lock down – The UK’s National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation have issued guidance urging parents to tighten privacy on social media accounts. They warn that AI tools can scrape ordinary photos and use widely available “nudify” apps to create child sexual a
For many parents, posting their children’s photos online feels harmless—routine even. But in the UK, two agencies are asking families to stop and look again at how those images can be used.
The National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation have issued new guidance telling parents to rethink who can see their kids’ photos. The warning is specific: publicly shared images are increasingly being pulled and altered using AI tools to create child sexual abuse material.
The agencies say most parents have no idea this is happening. Criminals, they add, no longer need to contact a child directly to generate material. Instead, they can scrape an ordinary photo and run it through widely available nudify apps.
The guidance is not asking parents to stop posting images of their children entirely. The focus, according to the guidance described through The Guardian, is on limiting who can see those photos. Families are being urged to make social media accounts private or share images within a “close friends” list.
Parents are also asked to go back and check older posts. That includes reviewing photos shared by relatives or friends, in case those images could be misused.
Tim Wright, a senior manager at the National Crime Agency, said the changes only require a few simple actions. Lorna Sinclair, a child sexual abuse education manager at the agency, said many parents don’t take those steps because they don’t realize the problem exists in the first place.
The Internet Watch Foundation’s data points to how fast the risk is shifting. The IWF says AI-generated abuse material rose 14 percent last year, with more than 8,000 confirmed images and videos identified in 2025 alone. The agency also cites cases that involved blackmail attempts against teenagers and school websites targeted specifically for photos of students’ faces—mirroring findings from an earlier report on how generative AI has scaled abusive content online.
The agencies acknowledge the advice lands uncomfortably. Even the IWF’s own technology chief admits it feels uncomfortable to give because it places the burden on families rather than the platforms or AI developers. Until stronger safeguards exist, tightening privacy settings may be the only real protection parents have.
UK National Crime Agency Internet Watch Foundation AI nudify apps child sexual abuse material social media privacy parents guidance online safety generative AI teenagers blackmail school websites
So like… are these “nudify” apps just gonna get banned or what? Seems like they’re acting surprised.
I don’t post my kids publicly anymore but I still feel like this is gonna make normal parents paranoid. “Close friends” list should’ve been the standard anyway. Why is it always on parents to fix everything.
Wait so if my nephew’s mom shared a photo on Facebook like a year ago, they can go back and mess with it? That’s messed up. But also didn’t they say AI is supposed to be “regulated”?? Feels like nobody is doing anything until it’s too late.
I’m gonna be honest I thought this was already illegal and automatically removed. If it’s rising 14 percent then maybe the apps aren’t being taken down fast enough. Also relatives sharing photos?? Like my sister tags my kids in stuff, you’re telling me criminals are scraping that too… how would they even find it if privacy is set? Just another reason people shouldn’t use social media at all.