➟ Ways to break into your house if your home is in the
picture: windows, doors, possible location of a spare
key, and so on
➟ Your socio-economic status, by what you wear, your
home, car, and so on.
➟ People in your family or your friends, what they look
like, and where they hang out
Posting photos on private sites allows you to manage
who gets to see them, unless those you give access per-
mission to download a copy and share it. Posting
photos on a public Web site makes the image public,
something you may well want to do. If, however, you
regret posting the image and choose to take it down
you are likely to find that it is very hard to remove all
copies. If the photo has been copied or posted to mul-
tiple sites it is unlikely you will be able to get rid of
each and every copy. For those likely to post embar-
rassing photos (typically teens) or photos with too
much information included, this is a real concern as
you may never entirely erase the damage done.When photos and videos are posted on the Internet in a publicly acces-
sible spot, predators and criminals can use the information contained
in them to commit a variety of abuses and crimes. For example, your
images can be:
➟ Manipulated to embarass you. Image-altering software
is so advanced that it can be nearly impossible to tell
an altered image from the real deal. Bullies alter
images to humiliate, create conflicts, and deliberately
expose others to risk. Sexual predators alter images for
their own gratification.
➟ Sold for false passports or other forms of ID. Faces are
commodities. They’re bought, sold, and reused in a
variety of ways we prefer not to contemplate.
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Chapter 6: Posting Photos and Videos Safely