Facebook and photo-sharing are two huge things for young adults and teens these days, and to find out that embarrassing or inappropriate pictures are still stuck on social networking websites (like Facebook.com or MySpace.com) could have devastating effects. Now this fear has become reality for sure after researchers concluded so in a Cambridge University study late last week. Of 16 websites that were tested, 7 sites failed the test to see if the pictures were gone completely about a month after the user had chosen to delete them. Obviously, these sites denied any such accusation, but the researchers discovered that Facebook, for instance, had two servers for its website because it’s so large. So when the pictures are being stored in one server, the other server is still being used for the main page. When the command is sent for a picture to be deleted, it takes a very long time to find that picture and delete it. The BBC followed up with advice stating that online users should not post any pictures that might come in their way of their future goals and hopes (such as careers).
One thing is for sure: this isn’t the first time I heard pictures being stuck on the internet even after people have removed them. I’m sure that people have been slapped on the wrist and lectured several times before, too, about putting up scandalous pictures. Whatever the case is, these pictures could really end up hurting people when they want to go out and get a job, for say. However, if you really think about, why would people really be stupid enough to put up “indecent” pictures of themselves or others on the internet? That goes for texting as well. The sad truth is though that people really are that stupid and would do anything to get attention (in most cases). As for the article, I was confused about the part if the pictures lasted longer than 30 days or never were deleted at all. Maybe Cambridge researchers should test for a longer period of time.
Here’s the article if anyone wants to read it:
Study: Photos stay online after you delete them
The buzz online this morning is about a Cambridge University project that found photos posted to some social networks, blog and photo-sharing sites stick around after they’re deleted by users.
Researchers tested several photo-sharing sites to see if photos still existed on the Internet 30 days after they were supposedly deleted by users. Seven of the 16 sites, including Facebook, failed the test. From a researcher’s blog post:
Facebook alone hosts over 40 billion photos, over 200 per user, and receives over 25 million new photos each day. Hosting such a huge number of photos is an interesting engineering challenge. The dominant paradigm which has emerged is to host the main website from one server which handles user log-in and navigation, and host the images on separate special-purpose photo servers, usually on an external content-delivery network.
Sound confusing? Basically that means Facebook and other sites store photos in one place and their main Web page in another place. That makes it difficult to know where your photos actually live. And it apparently means there can be some major lag time between when you delete a photo and when it actually goes away.
The BBC says the problem comes from “shaky” business models for social networks:
What the Cambridge experiment has shown is that networks like Facebook and MySpace have decided that they just can’t afford to give users as much privacy as they might like. And that means that entrusting your photos to the cloud can mean relinquishing control of the way you appear online.
A Facebook spokesman reportedly denies the study’s findings: “When a user deletes a photograph from Facebook it is removed from our servers immediately.”
The BBC repeats a familiar mantra: don’t put anything up that you wouldn’t want the world to see:
you’re bonkers to put anything online that you don’t want a future employer, partner or aged relative to see – because, if the experiment is to be believed, that embarrassing shot of you in fancy dress at a stag night will remain online even after you’ve deleted it.
Check out the list of which sites passed and failed the test, and also follow the conversation on Twitter. It’s happening under a search for “Are you sure those.”
Source: CNN.com
So there you have it.
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