Kaspersky is warning that a few seconds of unexpected online virality can expose far more about a child than intended, as viewers piece together usernames, old posts and other clues to identify the person behind a clip.

The advisory points to “aura farming,” a trend built around appearing effortlessly composed on camera, which has moved from social media feeds into public spaces this year. Kaspersky says a child no longer needs to be an influencer to become highly visible online: a dance at a school event or a reaction caught on someone else’s phone can travel well beyond its original audience, with little control over where it ends up.

School names and routines can surface within hours

Once a clip circulates, Kaspersky says viewers and malicious actors may try to uncover school names, precise locations, phone numbers and daily routines by combining public information across platforms, details that can then be used for impersonation, social engineering or other fraud. The company recommends parents and children periodically review public profiles, remove outdated personal details and use the moment a post starts spreading as a prompt for a privacy check.

Kaspersky also cautions that sudden attention can be exploited by scammers who reference a viral video, a school or a friend’s name to appear familiar and legitimate. The company is directing families to free resources, including its Privacy Checker and Cybersecurity Alphabet, alongside its Safe Kids and Premium products for ongoing monitoring and protection.

“Children increasingly live in a digital environment where visibility can be accidental, global and almost instantaneous. That means online safety education also needs to evolve,” said Andrey Sidenko, Cyber Literacy Projects Lead at Kaspersky. “They also need to know what to do when somebody else posts them, when strangers suddenly discover their profiles, when their image begins circulating outside its original context or when unexpected online attention turns into attempts to contact them.”

Kaspersky’s advice for parents centres on keeping the conversation open rather than restrictive: reviewing account security together, watching for unfamiliar direct messages or collaboration offers, and reporting fake accounts through platform tools rather than confronting them directly.