For years, we’ve been posting pictures from school events, corporate gatherings, and conferences without really stopping to ask who’s okay with being online. But comfort levels are evolving fast—and they’re completely personal.
Some people are fine seeing their face used to promote your event. Others aren’t comfortable being featured on your social accounts (and especially not their children). Both perspectives are valid, but most organizations have no systematic way to handle these preferences.
The great photo experiment
Consider this: each of us has been part of a massive, unplanned experiment. Think about how many photos of you exist online—how many strangers have a photo with your face in the background just by chance. We’ve been sharing images from every aspect of our lives without established norms around consent.
But now we’re waking up to the implications. Do we really want our children’s faces featured across a school’s social media accounts? Are you comfortable attending a conference, then seeing your image used to promote ideas you don’t support?
These aren’t hypothetical scenarios—they’re happening every day to real people with real concerns.
Why this matters now
The generation that grew up sharing everything online is now making decisions about privacy based on hard-learned lessons. We’ve seen careers affected by photos taken out of context. We understand that images live forever online and can surface at unexpected times.
This shift in expectations isn’t going away—it’s accelerating. Organizations that recognize this early will have a significant advantage.
The infrastructure problem
Most organizations are trying to solve this with band-aid approaches: avoiding photography altogether, using manual processes, or simply hoping for the best. None of these solutions scale, and none respect individual choice.
This is why we’re building SafeSnap. Not just another tech tool, but infrastructure for managing photo consent in 2025 and beyond.
Because shouldn’t that choice belong to everyone?
