Social networking sites 'keep deleted photos'

[mos164]

Social networking sites 'keep deleted photos'

User photographs can still be found on many social networking sites including Facebook after people have deleted them, The findings by a team from Cambridge University raise questions about the ability of users of the sites to permanently delete potentially embarrassing photographs. The researchers posted photographs on 16 popular websites and noted the web addresses where the images were stored, before deleting them.

But researchers said that although the images appeared to have gone, they were still able to find them 30 days later on seven sites, including Facebook, by using the direct web addresses. Special photo-sharing sites, such as Flickr and Google's Picasa, fared better than Facebook and Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces removed the photos instantly, the research found.

Joseph Bonneau, an American member of the research team, Says: "When you delete a photo, many of the sites don't actively remove it, they basically just wait for it be overwritten. In theory, the photos could take months to disappear. It is possible to have them removed right away but it takes more work on their part so it is easier for them just to leave it. They have a responsibility to ensure users' privacy and they are not fulfilling that responsibility.

A spokesman for Facebook said that while photographs are deleted from the site immediately, they may continue to exist for a short time elsewhere.
"However, URLs to photographs may continue to exist on the Content Delivery Network (CDN) after users delete them from Facebook, until they are overwritten.
"Overwriting usually happens after a short period of time."

[computer2slow]

Like it or not anything you post or email is on the internet or on a server FOREVER.

[billy07]

surely this breaks privacy laws?

[harvestthesouls]

If you subscribe to the idea that we live in a surveillance policing era, then you've heard about the gov't buildings that have a file on everybody with a valid passport. I blame Foucalt, M. and his panopticon ideas.

I believe any social networking platform that is provided for you by an internet company or a state organised event such as live8 festival, (basically anything that you and yuor friends or family hadnt arranged by yourselves) is going to be recorded.

Big Brother keeps all recorded footage of housemates' time spent in the house, so why wouldnt you expect facebook to keep a record of anything ever posted or deleted!

MSN Messenger, incorporates a message log into the software itself, no need to use their party optional plugins. It's already there whether you like it or not. What's to stop MSN from peeking into your message logs?