DateableMyth: photos in a private album stay private
Private albums control who sees a photo, but anyone you grant access can screenshot it. Once shared, photos can never be fully deleted. Guard them carefully.
A private album controls who can view a photo, but it does not control what they do with it. Anyone you grant access can screenshot it, and once a photo is shared with someone, it can never be completely deleted from the internet.
What a private album does and does not do
Dateable lets you upload 12 private photos. You choose who sees them by granting or revoking access per person. Only the people you allow can view them on the platform. That is the private part. It stops your photo appearing on a public profile or search. It does not stop what someone does once they see it.
A screenshot is not a view
A private photo is only private to you. Once someone opens it, they can screenshot it, save it, or send it to someone else. You are not notified when they do. The platform does not prevent it, because the platform cannot see what someone does on their phone after they leave the app.
This is a practical problem, not a failure of the site. It is the same on every app that stores images. A photo on any platform is one screenshot away from becoming public.
Once shared, it lives forever
Refusing to send intimate photos is one reason: "once shared they can never be completely deleted and may be used for threats or extortion." 1 A photo you send to one person can be copied. It can be uploaded again after you ask for it back. It can reach other people you never intended to see it. It can stay online for years after a relationship ends.
This is not theoretical. It happens. People send intimate photos and later regret it. Even when they ask for the photos back, they have no way to know whether copies exist or where. If you send intimate photos now, you are betting that the person you trust to see them will be the only person to see them, and that they will never change their mind about keeping them.
Grant access only to people you actually trust
You might think a private album is safer than a public one for photos of you. It is, as long as you only share with people you trust not to screenshot them or pass them on. The question is: do you trust them that far?
- Do you trust them with access to your regular device camera roll?
- Have they kept your secrets before?
- Would you still trust them if the arrangement ends badly?
- Would you be OK if the photo reached someone else?
If you answer no to any of these, do not grant them access.
Revoking access does not delete what they have
When you revoke someone's access to your private album, they can no longer view those photos on Dateable. This stops new screenshots. It does not erase the screenshots they already took. It does not delete copies they sent elsewhere. It does not undo their access. It only stops them from accessing the new version of the photo on the platform.
Revoke access when a relationship ends or when you no longer trust someone. Do it quickly. But know that it is a gate, not a rewind. It prevents future harm, not past screenshots.
Before you upload, ask yourself
A private album makes sense for photos you want to share with a few trusted people and not public. It is not a safety feature. It is an access control.
Could I live with this photo being seen by someone else? Not just the person I am sending it to, but someone they trust, or someone they hurt them and they want revenge, or someone they sell it to by accident?
If the answer is no, do not upload it. Not to a private album, not to anywhere. A photo you cannot afford to have out there should not be taken at all, or should be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed.
Keep intimate photos out
The risk is much higher for intimate photos. Sexual photos or photos of you naked are worth more to scammers and blackmailers. They are worth more in revenge. If someone gets a copy, they can use it to threaten you or hurt you, and your recourse is limited. Dateable is a dating site, not a safe place to store intimate images of yourself. Your own device, encrypted and password-protected, is safer. A cloud service with end-to-end encryption is safer. A dating platform is not.
If you have sent intimate photos to someone and the relationship has ended, ask for them back. If they refuse, you can report and block them. You can also protect your privacy by asking what you need to know before you trust someone with access.
For help if intimate photos have been shared without your consent, read more at privacy and your photos.
Sources
- Sexual Assault Resource Centre, North Metropolitan Health Service (Government of Western Australia) (2021). Safe online dating.
