Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's faces might soon be exposed despite Meghan and Harry's bid for privacy

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Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's faces might soon be exposed despite Meghan and Harry's bid for privacy

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously opened up on why they shield their children's faces from public view

Despite turning to social media earlier this year following a lengthy break, Meghan Markle has continued to shield the faces of her two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, from the public.

On the rare occasion that she shares a snap of the twosome - with whom she shares with husband Prince Harry - the Duchess makes the conscious decision use an emoji to hide their facial features.

An example was the family's trip to Disneyland back in June in celebration of Lilibet's fourth birthday. In several snaps from the special occasion, both she and her seven-year-old brother had their faces shielded by giant love-heart stickers.

Apparently, however, tech experts are growing increasingly concerned that the use of emojis to cover the facial features of celebrity youngsters mightn't be enough to keep them safe - not where AI is involved.

Tech experts have issued celebrity couples who try to conceal their children's identities with a warning (Instagram/@meghanmarkle)
Tech experts have issued celebrity couples who try to conceal their children's identities with a warning (Instagram/@meghanmarkle)

Alongside the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and husband Travis Barker, and now-exes Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry, 43-year-old Meghan hides the faces of her kids consciously in a bid to protect their privacy.

"Our kids are young... They're amazing," she previously told CBS. "But all you want to do as parents is protect them.

"And so, as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there, and we're just happy to be able to be a part of change for good."

As we say, however, a vital warning has been issued to the Duchess alongside every other Instagram-using parent.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are dedicated in protecting their children's privacy (Instagram/@meghan)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are dedicated in protecting their children's privacy (Instagram/@meghan)

"I need to be brutally honest here: putting an emoji over a child’s face provides virtually no real privacy protection whatsoever," Cyber Security Unity founder Lisa Ventura told The Independent recently.

This is due to the wider information on the child that their parent has inadvertently shared, by including other parts of their body.

In doing this, information on a youngster's build, their age and even which school they attend has the potential to be deduced by users of artificial intelligence with unsavoury intentions.

Ventura went on to explain: "The combined data from all those posts creates a much bigger privacy concern than any single image," before adding that 'it all builds a profile' over time.

Parents have been warned not to post photos of their children at all if they're hoping to protect their privacy (Instagram/@meghan)
Parents have been warned not to post photos of their children at all if they're hoping to protect their privacy (Instagram/@meghan)

"They’re sharing multiple images over time, and the combined data from all those posts creates a much bigger privacy concern than any single image."

With latest AI advances in mind cybersecurity strategy manager Bharti Lim also recommends avoiding uploading any content that includes a child speaking, given that the technology is 'amazing at what it can produce, but it can also be used for the wrong things'.

She continued: "I don’t want my children to be used as a source until they are ready to make this decision for themselves."

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@meghan

Topics: Meghan Markle, Royal Family, Artificial intelligence, Technology, Social Media, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet