One of the worst nightmares I can imagine is one in which I trust a partner enough to send them a nude photograph of me, and they share it with everyone as soon as we break up.
Me telling some dude to stop trying to save my nudes
“Revenge porn” is a serious problem impacting exes everywhere; one can never know if or when those nudes they sent six months ago will resurface. This can cause a lot of shame for the person whose nude photos are all over their social circles.
Websites like the now-defunct Is Anyone Up? even encouraged people to share their exes’ intimate photos. Users on the site could link up their Facebook profiles to the site to comment on the shared nudes, further shaming the people (typically women) whose private snapshots had been leaked.
Sharing a former partner’s naked photographs is incredibly problematic. It is disrespectful, it is a breach of trust, and it can cost the nude selfie-taker their job or dignity.
The repercussions don’t end there: in some cases, one or both parties can get in serious legal trouble for nudes, especially if the person photographed is underage. Never share nudes if you are underage.
A recent smartphone application, Snapchat, makes it possible for people to send nudes with less fear than they would in a typical situation.
Snapchat only allows a recipient to see a photo or video for up to 10 seconds. Additionally, if someone takes a screenshot of a user’s photo or video, the sender is immediately notified. This means that users can send nudes with almost no fear. They will know instantly if the recipient had suspicious motives.
Snapchat’s “Screenshot!” notification. Steve here took a screenshot of my nudes. Steve is an asshole.
If you find yourself in a situation where you have received nudes on Snapchat and you’re planning on taking a screenshot to share with friends, there is a simple, step-by-step guide you can follow to ensure the best possible outcome:
1) Don’t.
Seriously, don’t do it.
Nudes are a fun, exciting way to spice up your relationship. With Snapchat, you can send and receive as many as you want because they’re not supposed to be shared permanently.
Don’t breach your partner’s trust by taking a screenshot on your phone of something that they only wanted you to see for 10 seconds. That is disrespectful. If your partner wants you to have a nude photo of them to keep, they’ll send you a regular photo message.
Snapchat can help prevent revenge porn from happening. Don’t ruin that.
