Parents are urged not to share photos of their children publicly online because of growing risks from AI-generated abuse material, according to a warning from the National Crime Agency. The alert was issued jointly with the Internet Watch Foundation, which has noted an increasing threat of children’s pictures being used to produce child sexual abuse material through artificial intelligence. The NCA reported that the IWF detected more than 8,000 AI-created images and videos depicting realistic child sexual abuse in 2025, marking a 14 percent increase from the year before. Senior NCA manager Tim Wright stressed that prevention is essential alongside law enforcement efforts. Updated advice for parents and guardians focuses on lowering risks from online image sharing. The guidance notes that while AI offers benefits in daily life, it can also be exploited to create, alter, and distribute nude, semi-nude, or sexual images and videos of children. The IWF found 13 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse in 2024, with the number rising to 3,440 in 2025. Such material is treated as illegal under UK law. Key recommendations include reviewing privacy settings on social media to restrict viewers or make accounts private, checking existing posts for identifiable details like school uniforms or faces and removing them if necessary, and discussing image consent with family, friends, schools, and clubs. Parents are also encouraged to talk with children about how their images are shared. The government has banned certain “nudification” apps and introduced stricter rules for AI companies. The guidance reassures parents that steps can be taken to improve protection. IWF head Kerry Smith said the aim is to help people make informed choices about sharing images, noting that the threats are real rather than hypothetical. The advice addresses ongoing worries about “sharenting” and the added dangers posed by AI image manipulation.
