A safety primer - share your pet online, not your home.

Every photo of your pet is also a photo of where your pet is. That is a small, obvious statement that turns out to be the whole safety lesson. Once you see it, you see it everywhere.

Things that look harmless, and aren't always

• The metal tag on your dog's collar. Most people's tags have a phone number. Some have an address. Close-ups are searchable.
• Your street seen from your living room window in the background. The tree outside the window. The corner of the neighbor's house.
• Your dog walker's van in the background. This is a recurring schedule you have just published.
• 'I'm at the vet!' in the caption. 'Finally back from vacation!' in the caption. You just told the internet where you are - and aren't.

Things that are fine

• Your pet's name. It's a name. Names are for using.
• Your pet's breed. This is public information.
• The general neighborhood or city you live in. Specificity matters - 'Brooklyn' is fine, your exact block is not.
• The walking trail you love, unless you are the only person who walks it, in which case use your judgment.

A short checklist before you post

1. Strip EXIF data. Most phones do it for you on most social apps, but some don't - check your settings.
2. Crop out tags, addresses, license plates, and schedules.
3. Avoid geotagging in real-time. Post it later, or post it generic.
4. If the photo is of you and your pet in your home, ask: would I mind if a stranger could stand exactly where I stood to take this?

The bigger picture

We want you to share your pet. That is the whole point of this. But share your pet, not your schedule, not your address, not the exact corner of the county you live in. The internet is full of good people and the occasional one who isn't. Design your posts for the average of them, not the best.