The Privacy and Safety Checklist Every Seller Needs Before Going Live Online

When I prepare a home for the market, my job is to help you achieve the best possible result while protecting your privacy, your safety, and your sanity. Buyers expect photos, floor plans, and video. These tools create that important first impression. But once your home goes online, it’s everywhere, and we want to make sure nothing personal slips into the spotlight.

Here are the steps I take with every seller to make sure your home shines without putting your family at risk.

Put away personal details that don’t need to be public

Before we ever take the first photo, I walk through your home with an eye for anything that reveals more about your life than a buyer needs to know. Family photos, visible calendars, kids’ artwork with names and dates, bills on the counter, prescription bottles, computer screens left open, and even something as simple as your Wi-Fi password on the fridge. These all seem harmless, but they give away far more than you want floating around the internet.

My rule of thumb is simple. If it has your name on it, your child’s name, your birthday, your schedule, or any personal info you wouldn’t hand a stranger at Walmart, let’s put it away. Clean surfaces always look better in photos and protect your privacy at the same time.

Secure your valuables and sensitive items

Another thing I remind every seller is that quite a few people will be in and out of your home during the selling process. Appraisers, inspectors, repair techs, agents, buyers, and sometimes the extended family who tag along. Most are good, honest people, but it only takes one moment of opportunity for something to go missing.

And not every risk is intentional. It could be a runaway kiddo who opens a drawer they shouldn’t or grabs something sharp off the counter. I’ve seen little hands move fast. That’s why we put knives safely away, tuck breakables out of reach, and make sure anything valuable or sensitive is secured. Jewelry, important paperwork, medications, firearms, heirlooms, and even small electronics should all be locked up and removed from sight.

Protecting your home means protecting everything in it, including the curious kids who may wander through during a showing.

I’ll never forget showing a large home to a young family. Early in the tour, we were in the kitchen and I spotted several bottles of prescription medicine sitting right on the counter. I was paralyzed. I didn’t want to touch the seller’s belongings, especially something as sensitive as medication, so I did the next best thing. I stood guard over the counter and appointed one parent to keep the kids corralled while we finished. It worked, but honestly, it shouldn’t have come to that. A little prep would have removed the risk entirely.

Scheduling apps aren’t optional. They’re a safety tool your agent should know how to use.

Another layer of safety that’s easy to overlook is showing management. I use ShowingTime for every listing because it creates a clean, documented record of who requested access, when they requested it, and whether the showing was approved. It also gives you a simple way to be in control and keep track of what’s going on in your home without having to babysit your calendar.

When a buyer’s agent schedules through ShowingTime, we get a real paper trail. You know which agent is coming, what company they’re with, when they’re supposed to arrive, and how long they plan to be there. They are verified. And when ShowingTime is paired with our secure lockbox system, Sentrilock (pictured left), you get two layers of protection. ShowingTime shows who intended to enter, and Sentrilock shows who actually entered.

A good listing agent also demonstrates proficient use of technology. If your agent can’t—or refuses to—navigate systems like ShowingTime, Sentrilock, digital signatures, or even basic communication tools, that’s more than a minor inconvenience. It’s a safety concern. Managing access through text messages, handwritten notes, or “hope for the best” scheduling isn’t a plan. It’s a liability.

If your agent can’t handle the technology that keeps you safe, it may be time to rethink who you’re trusting with your home.

Use electronic lockboxes, not a combination box from Amazon

One of the biggest safety risks sellers never hear about has nothing to do with photos. It’s access. Many listing agreements require your agent to explain the difference, and there’s a reason for that. It’s not small.

A combination keybox or the keypad on your front door gives you zero record of who came in and when. Once a code gets shared, texted, reused, or even accidentally left visible, you’ve lost control. I’ve walked up to plenty of combo boxes with the numbers still showing on the dial. That means anyone passing by could let themselves in. And after an agent arrives at the code, takes out the key, and opens the door, the box stays there with the combination still displayed. It doesn’t reset itself. Only when someone leaves and remembers to tumble the dials does it lock back in place. If they forget, your security is gone.

For security, instructions and lockbox details are shared only with approved agents at the scheduled time.

This is why I use Sentrilock lockboxes. Through its proprietary mobile app, they’re only accessible to licensed agents who are REALTORS® and vetted professionals like appraisers. Every single entry is logged and time-stamped. Nothing’s anonymous, and nothing’s left to chance.

I’ve had sellers tell me they can’t find their key, and that’s why they want to rely on a keypad or combo box. When that comes up, I ask a simple question. If the hurdle is a missing key, is a quick locksmith visit really more expensive than the risk you’re taking? Honestly, a DIY swap of the lock is usually inexpensive, gives you a new key on the spot, and removes the whole problem.

Agents who skip secure electronic lockboxes are usually avoiding a problem in their business instead of solving it. Your family’s safety deserves better.

Good marketing should never compromise your safety

There’s a balance we have to strike when we’re preparing your home for the market. Photos, floor plans, and walkthrough videos are important for capturing eyeballs. Buyers expect them, and the right buyer won’t schedule a tour without a great first impression online. The more complete and helpful your listing is, the better chance we have of attracting someone who’s truly interested and ready to make a move.

But none of that matters if your personal information is exposed in the process. Quality marketing assets highlight your home, not your private life. A buyer needs to understand the layout and flow of the property, not the details of your daily routines, security system, children’s bedrooms, or anything else that doesn’t serve the sale. For heaven’s sake, photos are more than an inventory of your home.

I’m always watching for the details that don’t belong in our photos. Alarm keypads. Personal paperwork. Childhood keepsakes with names and dates. Calendars. Mail. Family photos. Anything that gives strangers more information about you than you intended. My job is to protect your privacy while still giving buyers enough visual information to fall in love.

When we get that balance right, you stay safe and your home shines in all the right ways.

The safety risk most parents never think about

Remove anything that reveals too much about your kids

One of the most overlooked safety risks in real estate is what gets accidentally revealed about your children in online listing photos. Parents aren’t expected to think this way. REALTORS® are. It’s our job to catch these things before the photographer ever shows up, because once those images hit the internet, they’re out there. You can’t unring that bell.

Here’s why I take this so seriously:

• Your listing sits online with your address attached. Anyone can match the photos to a real location.
• Clues about your child’s age give away which school they probably attend.
• Floor plans and walkthrough videos show the layout. Now a stranger knows exactly which room is the child’s bedroom.
• Personalized decor, stenciled names on walls, sports posters, and chore charts connect the dots.

Put together, that information can unintentionally put your child at risk. There’s no reason for a buyer to know your child’s name or how to get to their bedroom. They’re trying to imagine their own family in the home, not learn personal details about yours.

I remove or cover anything questionable before the photographer arrives. And if something unexpected makes it into a shot, we can edit it out, crop it, or digitally cover it. Protecting your home means protecting everyone in it, especially your kids.

Keep your alarm keypad out of the photos

Another safety detail many sellers and their agents often don’t think about is the alarm keypad. Most keypads sit near an entry door, but that doesn’t mean we need to feature them in your listing photos or walkthrough video. The wrong person doesn’t need to know what system you use, where the keypad is located, or how close it sits to an exterior door.

My job is to highlight the parts of your home that help the right buyer fall in love, not give someone a roadmap for how to disarm your security system. I work with my photographers to angle around the alarm keypad or crop it out entirely. If it still ends up in the shot, we can edit it out or digitally cover it with something as simple as a hanging picture. The goal is to make sure the keypad never appears in your online listing.

A buyer doesn’t need to know the brand, model, or setup of your alarm system to decide whether they love your home. But a stranger with the wrong intentions might use that information to their advantage. This is one of those small details that makes a big difference, and it’s my responsibility to catch it before photos ever go online.

Set expectations about photography during showings

Once we’ve got your home safely photographed for the listing, we also need to talk about what happens when buyers walk through the door. Everyone carries a smartphone, and some people will start snapping photos or videos without thinking twice. We get it. They’re excited. They’re curious. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

If you’d prefer to limit personal photography during showings, I can note it in the MLS and place a gentle reminder in the Sentrilock app or inside the home. Most people follow the guidelines when you set the expectation early. It’s not about being strict. It’s about protecting your privacy and keeping your home from ending up on someone’s camera roll or social media feed without permission.

The real goal of a showing is for buyers to get a feel for the space. They don’t need to document your home. They just need to picture their life here.

You shouldn’t have to think about all this. That’s my job.

Selling your home should feel exciting, not stressful. You shouldn’t have to walk around wondering what a stranger might see or how someone might use a detail you never thought twice about. That’s why these safety steps matter, and it’s why I take them so seriously.

Whoops! Even professional photos need another set of eyeballs to make sure they’re framed right!

Who you hire matters. You need more than someone who’s racking up transactions. You need an agent who has the systems, the discipline, and the mindset to catch the details that keep you safe. Sales volume alone doesn’t protect you. Care, consistency, and follow-through do.

A good listing agent doesn’t just take photos and put a sign in the yard. A good agent protects your privacy, manages access, uses the right technology, and watches for the small things most people overlook. You deserve someone who treats your home the way they’d want their own treated.

If you’re thinking about selling, or even just comparing your options, I always encourage interviewing more than one REALTOR®. You should feel confident in who you hire. I’m glad to be part of that conversation, and if we’re a good fit, great. If not, I’m still happy knowing you’re making an informed decision that protects your best interests.

Here are the safety steps I review with sellers before we go live. Feel free to print this checklist and use it as you get your home ready. It’ll help you stay organized, reduce stress, and keep your family protected throughout the selling process.