When I see some comments online saying that say “It will forever stay online,” or “ the internet never will forget,” it sounds so scary but it’s true, because when you click post, overtime people will share screenshots or a screen recording to keep the post on their phone.

How everything stays online

Every photo, video, comment or post we upload online contributes to a digital footprint that will stay forever. Even if it’s deleted by the publisher after some time, people who keep the post on their phone by screen capture can use it to pressure the “the internet never forgets” idea, which means that digital information such as posts, images and data are often permanent and difficult to erase, creating a long-lasting digital footprint. While technology allows for tracking and storing data long-term, it can stay in the publisher’s archive or story highlight. I try to post less online because you never knew what people can do or where they can share my pictures.

What are the consequences?

A person who has published a post and then deletes it may have multiple different reasons for it. For example, they don’t like the post because it makes them uncomfortable, makes them feel upset because of the other people featured in the post or the way they may have looked during the time of the post. But most likely people would make fun of how people looked a couple years ago and share it with others, which makes the publisher feel unsure about them and how they could change. It happened to me too and not once, when one of my old friends showed me a picture and I was with a girl I used to be so close with. When she showed me this, she was smiling in a mocking way and started to make fun of my old friendship.

How to try to avoid of others sharing the old post

There is not a way to avoid old posts but there are some ways to prepare for people to not see posts that should only be seen by close friends and family. In most apps, you can hide your posts by making them “friends only” which means only people who you follow back can see what you post. You can also make your entire account private so that way all activity on your account is only seen by the followers you accept. You can also remove people who follow you if you don’t know them or don’t want them to view your profile.

What you could do:

• If you see someone’s old picture, do not share it to show it to other people or laugh at them.

Because that way someone looked in the past could not change and there are so many people who feel embarrassed about how they looked a few years ago.

• See who is in your following list to make sure someone that you don’t know cannot view your content.

If you are likely to have many posts of your personal content with your friends/family, you should double check if someone has a similar nickname or profile picture with your friends, because those people can be that one who is sharing your videos and posts.