The family photo was a gift. The upload needed permission.

A grandparent wants to make something lovely: a storybook, a birthday card, a reunion picture for a family scattered across countries. That impulse deserves some kindness. The problem begins when a surprise gift becomes a surprise decision about somebody else's child. The HuffPost report republished by Yahoo describes parents discovering that relatives had uploaded children's photos to AI services without asking. One account involved identifying details about a school. Other families welcomed the pictures. These are reported experiences, not a representative survey, and they do not establish that the children described were subsequently harmed. Two decisions deserve separating. Uploading an image shares it with a service under that service's current terms and settings. Posting the result publicly creates another route for copying and redistribution. Neither a private upload nor a training opt-out is the same thing as publishing a photo to everyone. We are not repeating the article's blanket statement about three providers' defaults as if their policies were identical. Australia's eSafety Commissioner advises families to consider children's privacy and consent when sharing images. The practical alternative need not spoil the gift: ask the parent first, involve the child where appropriate, remove identifying details and consider a fictional character instead of an uploaded face. I would retire the sneer in 'grandmaslop' before retiring the family creativity. A loving intention does not settle permission, but a respectful conversation is more likely to change the next upload than a generational insult. Keep the surprise in the present, not in where the child's identity went.