How to Protect Your Children From AI-Generated Deepfakes

AI-generated deepfake images targeting children have become a crisis in schools across the country. According to a joint study by UNICEF, ECPAT, and INTERPOL, at least 1.2 million children globally reported having their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year — roughly one child per classroom. As a parent, understanding this threat and knowing how to protect your children is more important than ever.

The Scale of the Problem

AI-generated deepfakes targeting minors have surged dramatically. WIRED has documented deepfake incidents in at least 90 schools across the United States, affecting over 600 students — and experts believe these numbers represent only a fraction of actual cases. Many incidents go unreported because victims are too embarrassed or afraid to come forward.

The technology to create realistic deepfakes has become disturbingly accessible. Free and low-cost AI tools can generate convincing fake images from just a single photo — the kind of photo easily found on social media profiles, school websites, or yearbook pages. Europol projects that up to 90% of online content may be synthetically generated by the end of 2026.

How Deepfakes Are Used Against Children

AI-generated deepfakes targeting children are used in several harmful ways:

• Cyberbullying and harassment — Classmates or strangers create embarrassing or humiliating fake images to torment a child
• Non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) — AI tools are used to create sexually explicit fake images of minors, which may be shared among peers or distributed online
• Sextortion — Bad actors create deepfake images and then threaten to distribute them unless the victim pays money or provides real explicit content
• Grooming and exploitation — Predators use deepfake technology as part of grooming strategies to normalize inappropriate content

Warning Signs Your Child May Be a Victim

Children targeted by deepfakes often don't tell their parents. Watch for these warning signs:

• Sudden withdrawal from social activities or school
• Unexplained anxiety, depression, or mood changes
• Reluctance to use their phone or social media
• Being secretive about online interactions
• Mentions of embarrassing photos or being "exposed"
• Fear of going to school
• Receiving threatening messages

Proactive Steps to Protect Your Children

1. Limit Photo Exposure Online

The less photo material available of your child online, the harder it is for someone to create a deepfake. Consider these steps:

• Audit your own social media — remove or restrict access to photos of your children
• Ask family members to avoid posting photos of your children publicly
• Contact your child's school about their photo policies for websites and social media
• Opt out of school photo releases and yearbook photo distribution
• Check sports leagues, clubs, and activity organizations for posted photos

2. Remove Your Family's Data From People-Search Sites

Data broker and people-search sites often link to social media profiles, provide family relationship information, and make it easier for bad actors to identify and target children. Removing your family's information from these sites reduces your children's visibility online.

PrivacyOn offers family plans covering up to 5 people, making it easy to protect your entire family's data across 100+ data broker sites. By keeping your family's personal information off these databases, you reduce the pathways that could lead someone to your children's photos and personal details.

3. Set Up Strict Social Media Privacy Settings

• Make all of your child's social media accounts private
• Disable the ability for strangers to download or screenshot photos
• Turn off location tagging on photos
• Limit who can tag your child or share their posts
• Regularly review their followers and connections

4. Have Age-Appropriate Conversations

Talk to your children about deepfakes in an age-appropriate way:

• Explain that AI can create fake images of real people
• Make clear that being in a deepfake is never the victim's fault
• Encourage them to tell you immediately if they encounter fake images of themselves or others
• Discuss why they shouldn't share photos publicly or with people they don't know
• Talk about the legal consequences of creating or sharing deepfakes

What to Do If Your Child Is Targeted

Step 1: Document Everything

Take screenshots of the deepfake images, any messages or threats, the accounts or profiles sharing them, and timestamps. Do not share or redistribute the images.

Step 2: Report to the Platform

Report the content on whatever platform it was shared on. Most social media platforms have specific reporting options for non-consensual intimate imagery and content involving minors.

Step 3: Contact School Administration

If the deepfake involves classmates or was shared at school, notify the school administration immediately. Many states now have guidance for schools on investigating deepfake incidents. Massachusetts, for example, has issued official guidance to schools on how to investigate and respond to deepfake images targeting students.

Step 4: File a Police Report

Creating and distributing sexually explicit deepfake images of minors is illegal in many states and may constitute a federal crime. File a report with your local police department and ask about relevant state laws.

Step 5: Report to NCMEC

If the deepfake is sexually explicit, report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at CyberTipline.org. NCMEC works with law enforcement and technology companies to remove exploitative content.

Step 6: Request Removal From Search Engines

Use Google's content removal tools to request that explicit deepfake images be de-indexed from search results. Google has expanded its tools specifically to address non-consensual explicit imagery in search.

Legal Protections Are Growing

Legislation targeting deepfakes is rapidly evolving. Several states have passed or are considering laws that specifically criminalize the creation of AI-generated explicit images of minors. Federal legislation including the KIDS Online Safety Act is also addressing AI-generated threats to children.

The UN has called for urgent global action on deepfake abuse affecting children, calling it "a form of abuse" that requires coordinated response from governments, technology companies, schools, and parents.

Build a Comprehensive Defense

Protecting your children from deepfakes requires a multi-layered approach: reducing their digital footprint, educating them about the risks, monitoring for threats, and knowing how to respond if the worst happens. PrivacyOn's family plans are a valuable part of this defense — by removing your family's personal information from data broker sites and providing dark web monitoring, PrivacyOn helps reduce the personal data that could be used to target your children online.