Deleting a photo, video or comment from social media may remove it from your account, but it does not necessarily mean the content has disappeared from the internet.
You may post something online, later regret it and delete it, only to discover weeks or months later that someone still has a copy.
This happens because content shared online can easily be saved, copied, recorded or reposted before the original is removed.
Here are some reasons deleted posts may continue to exist online.
- Someone may have taken a screenshot
A screenshot is one of the simplest ways for deleted content to survive.
Anyone who viewed your photo, message or post could have captured the screen before you deleted it. The same applies to videos, which can be recorded using another device or a screen-recording feature.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions that people cannot have complete control over who sees their online content because viewers can potentially take screenshots or make recordings.
As a result, deleting a post from your account does not necessarily stop it from being shared elsewhere.
- People can download or repost your content
Social media users can save photos, copy text, download videos or share posts with other people.
A person may then upload the saved version to another account or social media platform.
When this happens, deleting the original post will not automatically delete the copies that other users have created.
This explains why content originally shared on one platform can later surface on several other websites, even after the original post has been removed.
- Search engines may retain traces of deleted content
Removing a post or webpage does not always mean it immediately disappears from search engine results.
Search engines can sometimes continue showing outdated information after the original page has been deleted or changed. Google, for instance, has a “Refresh Outdated Content” process for certain deleted or significantly changed pages and images.
However, removing a result from Google Search does not necessarily remove the content from the internet.
The material could still be available on the website where it was originally hosted, through a direct link, another search engine or social media.
- Other websites may have copied the content
Content can also spread beyond social media.
A public post could be quoted in a news article, embedded on another website or copied into an online discussion.
Once other websites have created their own versions, deleting the original post does not automatically remove those independent copies.
This makes it difficult to guarantee that publicly shared content can be completely erased from the internet.
What about disappearing messages and temporary posts?
Features that automatically remove messages or posts after a certain period may make users feel that their content is protected.
However, disappearing content can still be captured before it vanishes.
Someone could take a screenshot, record the screen, save the information or share it with someone else.
The FTC also warns that temporary or disappearing content does not guarantee that another person has not kept a copy.
Can you remove content that is already online?
In some cases, it is possible.
If the original content remains on a website, you can contact the website or platform hosting it and request that it be removed.
Google also provides options for requesting the removal of certain information from its search results, including some types of sensitive personal information.
However, removing a search result is different from deleting the actual content.
The information may still exist on the website hosting it and could remain accessible through other links, platforms or search engines.
Think carefully before you post
The safest approach is to assume that anything shared publicly online could eventually be saved, copied or shared beyond your intended audience.
Before posting a photo, video, comment or personal information, consider whether you would be comfortable with it being seen by people outside your immediate audience.
On the internet, deleting the original post does not always mean deleting every copy.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar