Mum-of-three Kelly Marsden has set up a secure on-line “photo album” which keeps friends and family up to date without outsiders having access to their children’s images.
And business experts say the Hebden Bridge entrepreneur’s venture has the potential to go global.
A recent investigation by a national newspaper revealed that voyeuristic paedophiles were targeting pictures of children that had been innocently posted on social media sites.
Now Kelly and her business partner Paul Brookes have set up Twile.com, which allows proud parents to share their youngsters’ photos, video and news without the images and information being preyed on by strangers.
Kelly and Doncaster-based Paul started up the business with the help of a 13-week Government-backed programme run in Sheffield which attracted the attention and interest of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Kelly, whose husband Christian runs a solar energy business in Halifax, said: “I have always been very concerned about the security and privacy of photos shared on social media sites, particularly where my children are concerned. Twile provides me with a safe place to create a permanent record of our family history as it happens.”
Twile conducted a survey which showed that 80 per cent of parents look at photos of their children regularly and the same percentage would like to view them on a visual timeline.
The survey also revealed that 65 per cent of those questioned were concerned about the security of their children’s pictures on social media sites.
“Our survey shows that I’m not alone in the need of a more visually engaging experience,” Kelly said. The intuitive site will allow users to upload all of their family photos and automatically add them at the right point on their timeline. Users can then create stories from photos, adding depth and context: where the photo was taken, why they were there and who is in the picture.
“Photos and videos can be shared with a closed network – only selected people can view the content and they can’t share it any further. Twile will also offer the opportunity for parents to sign up to relevant blogs, magazines and products, with content delivered directly to their personal timeline.”
Twile has secured backing from Creative England - who bring capital through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund – and were welcomed onto the DotForge Accelerator programme in Sheffield, which supports start-up businesses across the Sheffield City region.
Jag Goraya from DotForge said: “This elegantly simple timeline has the scale to reach global markets. We are working with Twile to accelerate the growth of a start-up that has global potential.”
Kelly said she had also been invited by Dorset family festival Camp Bestival to create a public timeline for next month’s event.