Posting holiday photos on social media may seem harmless enough, and indeed, in the vast majority of cases, it is. But travellers publishing their pics online leave themselves exposed to a variety of risks, unbeknownst to many of us.

More than four in five respondents in a NordVPN survey said they were aware of the dangers of publicizing home addresses, but only half of those polled think posting vacation photos or social plans can be dangerous.

“Each time a social media user announces that they are in the Caribbean with the family, it’s a signal that their home is empty. Or when a user says they are leaving town, there might be a wide audience reading that,” said Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN, a Virtual Private Network provider.

“Even though people express serious privacy concerns, they still tend to reveal their personal details online for small rewards or for the sake of creating their online persona.”

To help ensure your safety and privacy when travelling, NordVPN suggests:

- Waiting till you get home to post your travel pictures (so your house isn’t empty when you post them)

- Making sure social media settings are private (so any posts are only visible to friends)

- Realising that everything you post online will stay online (so don’t post anything now that you might regret later)

- Never sharing personal data on Facebook (including public status updates)

- Not to overshare feelings, as well as data (to avoid getting bullied)

- Protecting your location (by using a VPN that hides your IP address and your location)

- Understanding the dangers of free public wi-fi (which is often unsecure and can easily be accessed or mimicked by a hacker positioning itself as a wi-fi hotspot)