There was a chilling warning in The Australian last week. Collective Shout’s Melinda Tankard Reist warned their research showed that AI-generated adult content is now being made from real school images. If that doesn’t sound the alarm for schools to lock down their media libraries, what will?
In an age where digital manipulation is just a few clicks away, the proliferation of fake images is a growing concern for schools. With artificial intelligence (AI) making it easier than ever to create realistic fake images, schools are facing a unique challenge: how do you make sure you share photos, with media consent, so they don’t get into the wrong hands?
Although governments are beginning to tackle this growing issue through new legislation—such as the recent U.S. “Take It Down Act” aimed at supporting schools—schools still face a critical question: how can they prevent these incidents before they occur? As one US parent shared in the above article because her daughter was being targeted by deepfakes, “The prevention, the education, it all has to start in schools”.
In a world where fakes can be made in seconds, schools need more than good intentions—they need tech that ensures only consented, safe, and secure images ever go public.
The Rise of Fake Images: A Threat to School Communities
Fake images are no longer limited to celebrity deepfakes or viral hoaxes. They have seeped into everyday life, including school photos. From doctored student photos to manipulated event images, the impact can be severe. False images can damage reputations, spread misinformation, and even create safety concerns.
One of the most troubling aspects is how fake images are being weaponised by students against each other. Manipulated photos can be used to bully, harass, or embarrass fellow students, leading to severe emotional and psychological harm. A fake image shared in a group chat or on social media can spread rapidly, leaving the victim feeling powerless.
For schools, which are trusted to nurture and protect students, the stakes are even higher. A fake image can undermine trust in seconds, casting doubt on how the school is handling its images and the authenticity of school communications.
Why Schools Are Particularly Vulnerable
Schools are unique environments and a single misleading image can cause widespread confusion or fear. Whether it’s a falsified image of a student or incident on campus or a misleading portrayal of a school event, the consequences can be far-reaching.
Moreover, students are active digital creators. With smartphones and editing apps, anyone can create and share manipulated content. Children, because of their age, may not always understand the consequences of their actions. Even without malicious intent, they may share, alter, or misuse photos, leading to significant problems. This makes it even more important for schools to maintain a trusted and controlled channel for sharing authentic images with their communities.
A Safeguarding Solution: pixevety is a Locked-Down, Private Media Management System
Schools need a secure, central and private locked-down media management solution to protect the authenticity and sharing of their photos and videos, and to automatically control access and permissions at scale (across the tens of thousands of photos captured and stored in a school each year). This centralised system should offer:
- Granular Access Controls: Only authorised personnel can upload, edit, or share images.
- Ability to Keep School Media Off Personal Devices: A mobile app that ensures school media is captured and stored securely—never saved to personal devices.
- Consent Management Built-in: AI-driven consent workflows with audit trails that automatically restrict visibility based on identification and consent status.
- Content Moderation Tools: Measures to detect and prevent inappropriate images from being uploaded into a school gallery in the first place.
- Private Sharing Features: Secure, controlled sharing links that can be time-limited (i.e. expiration date), with all published content remaining hosted in the school gallery.
- Data Protection: GDPR-level measures to support local child protection law.
- Enterprise-Level Security: private ISO27001-certified platform and storage with end-to-end encryption.
pixevety wins British Data Awards!
If now is not the perfect time to promote our privacy-focused service to schools and families – when challenges are on the rise, and we just won the prestigious British Data Awards for Data Protection and Privacy for supporting schools in this space! – when is?
pixevety understands the importance of secure media management and safer sharing in schools and was designed exclusively to support such an environment. Our ISO-certified privacy-by-design platform is built with stringent security and data protection protocols, ensuring that only authentic images are shared and published directly from within the system, keeping all content securely within the school’s control. This innovative management and sharing solution has earned recognition and respect from data protection and privacy experts worldwide – and not in the UK, where GDPR compliance is a standard requirement.
With end-to-end encryption, secure access controls, advanced image management and identification features, and robust access management, we provide schools with a proven and trusted platform for managing and sharing photos.
“The shared vision of our school and pixevety coupled with their commitment to quality and meeting the needs of the education sector set them apart from other vendors. The overall experience of using pixevety has been fantastic, hats off to the whole team. The shared willingness to help and support is greatly appreciated.” – Geelong Grammar School.
So, if not now, when?
In an era where digital manipulation of images is an ever-present threat, it is not just about managing photos — it’s about sharing them safely and building trust. Schools that prioritise safeguarding media management processes that reduce risk are taking a necessary and vital step towards ensuring a safer and trusted environment for their communities.
The rise of fake images is just one more reminder that digital protection and security is a compliance issue that only a specialised at-scale technical solution can fix. Schools must take proactive steps to ensure that their photos are kept private, secure and not mishandled. With a locked-down media management system, they can control, protect and track their images from misuse and ensure that photos are only accessible to those who should see and use them.
If now isn’t the perfect time for schools to invest in a compliance-driven media security and privacy system, then when is?
