Want to post a photo with your friends but keep your child's face to yourself? That's exactly what the CNIL, France's data protection authority, advises. Here is how to do it on iPhone and Android, and what people often forget.
Updated October 5, 2026
Why hide their face
A photo posted on social media can be saved, forwarded or misused far beyond your
friends. Your child never chose to be in it: it's up to their parents to protect their
image rights.
The CNIL therefore advises parents to “hide your child's face (by taking a photo of
your child's back, or adding an emoji to his or her face, etc.)”. If other children
appear in the photo, their image belongs to their own parents. What French law says is
summed up on our page about children's image
rights.
Blur, mosaic or emoji: which one?
Blur
Mosaic
Emoji
Blur is the most discreet: the photo keeps its mood. It has to
be strong, since a light blur still lets features show through.
Mosaic is the classic: nobody doubts the intent.
Emoji is the friendliest, perfect for family and friends. It
covers the whole face and gives nothing away.
In Smile & Tap, blur and mosaic are set strong enough not to let
features show through, and you choose your default mask.
By hand: possible, but slow
For a single face, a sticker in a messaging app may do. But you have to do it
again on every photo, cover the whole face, without forgetting one in profile
or in the back. And depending on the app you send it with, the GPS location
stored in the photo may go along with it.
In one gesture with Smile & Tap
Open the photo in Smile & Tap: from the app, from
your gallery's Share menu (Android), or with one tap on the widget.
Every detected face is masked right away. By default, no one is
shown.
Tap the faces to show, your friends' for instance. Your child's
face stays masked.
Check the photo. A face in profile or half hidden can escape
detection: add a mask with one tap.
Share or save the copy. Its GPS location is removed by default,
and your original photo stays untouched.
Everything happens on the phone: no photo is sent to the Internet, and there is no
account and no server. The app doesn't recognize anyone either. It finds faces,
without trying to know whose they are.
The traps people forget
Location. A photo can contain the GPS coordinates of where it was
taken: home, school, the club.
Names and badges. A name stitched on a bag, the school's name on a
T-shirt, the club crest on a jersey.
The background. A building, a street sign or a mirror can say as
much as a face.
Faces in profile, blurry or half hidden. No detection is perfect:
always look at the photo before sending it.
Stories and groups. Once sent, a photo can be saved or forwarded
by any recipient.
Try Smile & Tap
Free and unlimited, with no account and no ads, on iPhone and Android.
