Posting vacation selfies while away from home can put home safety at risk, because along with those in your social media orbit – you’re also letting would-be thieves know that your home is empty.

A Léger survey for Insurance company Allstate finds 32% of Canadians say they’re active on social media about their plans before or while traveling, a figure that rises to 51% among those aged 18 to 34. 

Specifically, 9% post plans before their trip and 28% post during the trip.

68% of Canadian social media users plan to leave home for at least a few days this summer, with the highest rate among Gen Z and Millennials at 74% and the lowest among those aged 55 and older. 

Sharing seems goes up — the futher away from home we travel.

35% of those staying within their province say they plan to post about their trip on social media, rising to 45% among those planning to leave their province, and peaks at 51% among travellers with international plans.

Analysis of Allstate’s in-house claims data over the last 10 years reveals that property theft rises slightly over the summer, with August reaching a peak. 

As well, the claims data reveals Fridays rank highest for incidents, followed by Thursday, regardless of time of year.

As a general rule, year-round, use your phone’s privacy settings to remove geolocation data from digital pictures and avoid sharing images of your street address or home number.