This Christmas season, sharing photos on social media is a fun and convenient way to stay connected with friends and family, but it's important to be aware of the potential risks and pitfalls that it brings. When sharing your reunions and Christmas party photos and stories on social media, it's essential to be mindful of what these platforms could do to our content, especially our photos.
Here are some key points to consider when sharing photos on social media.
Privacy: When you share a photo on social media, you give the platform access to that image. The platform can use your photos for various purposes, such as advertising, data analysis, or as models to train the platform's AI. Some social media networking sites may also allow other users to download or share your photos, which can lead to losing control over how your images are used. It's important to carefully review the privacy settings on each platform and consider the level of control you have over your photos before sharing them.
Copyright: If you take a photo you didn't create, you may infringe on someone else's copyright. This includes images you find online or someone else has shared with you. It's important to respect the intellectual property of others and only share photos you have the right to use.
Security: Sharing photos on social media can also pose security risks. For example, if you share a picture of your family at a specific location, you could give away personal information that others could use to locate you or your loved ones. Be mindful of the information you're sharing when posting photos online.
Each social media platform has terms and conditions that outline how they can use your photos and other content. It's important to carefully read and understand these terms before sharing photos online. Here is a breakdown of the terms and conditions for photo sharing on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Lensa.
Facebook:
"…when you share, post or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights on or in connection with our Products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free and worldwide licence to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). This means, for example, that if you share a photo on Facebook, you give us permission to store, copy and share it with others (again, consistent with your settings) such as Meta Products or service providers that support those products and services. This licence will end when your content is deleted from our systems."
Instagram:
"When you share, post or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (such as photos or videos) on or in connection with our Service, you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide licence to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). This licence will end when your content is deleted from our systems. You can delete content individually or all at once by deleting your account."
If you agree to their terms and conditions, Facebook and Instagram can use your photos for various purposes, including advertising and data analysis. You can control the visibility of your photos by adjusting your privacy settings.
Tiktok:
"You or the owner of your User Content still own the copyright in User Content sent to us, but by submitting User Content via the Services, you hereby grant us an unconditional irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable, perpetual worldwide licence to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, make derivative works of, publish and/or transmit, and/or distribute and to authorise other users of the Services and other third-parties to view, access, use, download, modify, adapt, reproduce, make derivative works of, publish and/or transmit your User Content in any format and on any platform, either now known or hereinafter invented. You further grant us a royalty-free license to use your user name, image, voice, and likeness to identify you as the source of any of your User Content."
Like Facebook and Instagram, Tiktok can use your photos for various purposes, including advertising and data analysis. FB and IG say that the license will end when users delete the contents in their systems, individually or all at once, by deleting the account. However, suppose you agree to Tiktok's Terms of Service. In that case, the Chinese social media platform can still use your content even after you stop using its Service, delete your account on the platform, or even after your death. Because you granted the platform "an unconditional irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable, perpetual, worldwide license."
Lensa:
"Therefore, solely for the purposes of operating or improving Lensa, you grant us a time-limited, revocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable, sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, create derivative works of your User Content, without any additional compensation to you and always subject to your additional explicit consent for such use where required by applicable law and as stated in our Privacy Policy. The Company License is for the limited purpose of operating Lensa and improving our existing and new products, including but not limited to training Lensa's AI within and solely for your Use of Magic Avatars feature of the application or if otherwise implied by the Using of Lensa and its services, unless you have provided us your additional explicit consent for the different purpose where required by applicable law. The Company License is time-limited in the sense that it automatically terminates when you delete the User Content from Lensa's library or by terminating your account with deletion of data associated with it."
Lensa recently revised its Terms and Conditions. It removed the words "perpetual" and "irrevocable." It pointed out that the license the user grants to Lensa is time-limited and will be terminated once the user deletes the content in its system.
With the rise of the popularity of social media platforms, sharing photos online has become increasingly common. But let's remember that some potential dangers are associated with sharing photos online. Be mindful of the potential risks and carefully review each platform's terms and conditions. Remember, you have no obligation to update and inform your online friends of your whereabouts, and your friends do not care what you had for your Noche-Buena. Only share contents that will not put you or your loved ones in danger. And by understanding the risks and taking the necessary precautions, you can enjoy the benefits of social media while protecting your privacy and security.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Stay safe.