Social media should help people connect, communicate and enjoy the online world — not make them an easy target. PostGuard exists to help individuals, families, employees, businesses, sports clubs and communities understand what their digital footprint may reveal and make safer choices before online exposure becomes a real-world problem.
Recent UK Government cyber-security statistics demonstrate the scale of online threats facing organisations. These figures are broader cyber-security measures rather than social-media-only crime statistics, but they show why public digital exposure, impersonation and phishing deserve serious attention.
reported identifying a cyber security breach or attack in the previous 12 months in the 2025/26 survey.
estimated to have identified a cyber breach or attack during that period.
of businesses reported phishing attacks, the most prevalent breach or attack type.
of businesses reported impersonation breaches or attacks, including people impersonating an organisation or staff online or by email.
The original PostGuard explainer video shows how we approach practical digital protection and awareness.
Online bullying, trolling, harassment and targeted abuse can have devastating consequences. Seeing young or vulnerable people pushed into distress — and in the worst cases losing their lives — because of sustained online cruelty is unacceptable.
PostGuard has built an Online Bullying & Troll Detection tool to help users assess potentially harmful content, preserve evidence and understand when information may need to be escalated to a safeguarding professional, school, club, employer, platform or appropriate authority.
OPEN THE BULLYING SHIELD →Important: PostGuard supports assessment and evidence preservation. It does not determine that a criminal offence has occurred; suspected offences and safeguarding concerns require appropriate human or authority review.
Online harassment and bullying can affect someone's safety, confidence and wellbeing. These are real experiences, not fictional testimonials.
“I felt like I had no future and no one wanted me.”— Lola, sharing her experience of cyberbullying. Childline account
A UK-wide study of 544 young people who died by suicide between 2014 and 2016 found that 24% had a recorded suicide-related online experience, while 5% were reported to have experienced online bullying. These findings do not establish that social media or bullying caused those deaths. Read the peer-reviewed research.
Molly Russell's 2022 inquest concluded that harmful online content contributed to her death while she was suffering from depression. Her case demonstrates why online safeguarding and responsible platform design matter. Official coroner's report.
PostGuard is shaped by more than 20 years of investigative experience dealing with complex investigations both in person and online. That experience has shown us how seemingly harmless information can become valuable intelligence when pieced together by someone with the wrong intentions.
Online exposure can contribute to fraud, impersonation, account compromise, harassment, stalking, burglary planning, reputational damage and other forms of targeting. A photograph, caption, location tag, routine, workplace detail or family reference can appear harmless in isolation. Combined over time, it can create a much clearer picture of a person, family or organisation.
Through investigative work, we have seen high-profile and high-risk individuals targeted by criminals using information available through their digital footprint. That experience is one of the reasons PostGuard focuses on prevention: helping people recognise unnecessary exposure before it can be collected, combined and exploited.
There is a fine line between personal and professional life online. An employee's public posts can unintentionally reveal workplace information, travel, routines, colleagues, assets or operational details. PostGuard helps businesses protect themselves by empowering employees to make safer online decisions — employee protection, not employee surveillance.
Our aim is not to frighten people away from social media. It is to give them practical tools, training and clear advice so they can continue using it with greater awareness. When something harmful does happen, PostGuard also helps users preserve information and build a clearer evidential record for appropriate safeguarding or authority review.
When Online Exposure Becomes Real-World Risk.
Social media can expose locations, routines, relationships and personal details that criminals may exploit for impersonation, fraud, stalking or targeted crime. Not every online exposure results in an offence.
Check a post before sharingOur goal is prevention: helping individuals and employees understand what their posts may reveal, recognising potentially abusive or criminal communications, preserving evidence appropriately and directing victims towards suitable support.
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