The dynamics involved in leaked private photos and videos merely reflect our reckless indulgence with technology. It is a simple story of morality gone wrong because we have chosen to entrust smartphones with too much of our private lives.

These images and video files are actually career-ending and relationship killers if they end up in the wrong hands.

Children too have not been spared! Their desire to look different even if it entails compromising their innocence and privacy compels them to capture and store large numbers of inappropriate photos and videos!

To cut the story short, there is always a surplus of decent and ugly photos and videos on our smartphones and tablets.

The decent collections are usually family selfies and moments, while the ugly stuff is a collection of inappropriate snapshots and audio-visual files.

Both adult and children’s indulgences increase the likelihood that media and tech management soon becomes a problem, and the chance of these photos and videos leaking becomes likely.

Question is, what happens to the ugly surplus?

Some users probably delete them, but it is debatable if this is done securely. Others, however, don’t even bother and soon forget these files even exist. It so happens that deleting photos is one of the least important tasks, because we are always too busy!

How, when, and where private photos and videos start to leak

If you ever wonder why and how private and embarrassing audio-visual clips find their way into our timelines and mainstream social media platforms, continue to read.

1. Our favorite apps!

If you thought the photos and videos you capture and store in your smartphone are safe and for your eyes only, think again, and look no further than the apps you download and install randomly.

Yes, most of them are known for snooping into your browser behavior, your contact lists, and other details. What you may not know, however, is that some take a peek into your photo and video libraries, just for the fun of it.

In the event the app security is breached, a mass photo and video leaks online could happen.

A case in point is when Facebook unintentionally leaked private photos of up to 6.8 million users to third-party apps in the year 2018, due to a bug.

The leaked photos included uploaded but unpublished photos! This means whatever you had saved in your library and probably not for publishing, instantly became public!

Facebook argued that a bug in its Photo API gave photo access to 1,500 apps built by over 800 developers. The social media giant promptly apologized. Unfortunately, your images were now spread around the world, and are still out there!

Facebook aside, Apple and Android apps too, abet photo leakages. This may happen when you grant permissions to apps without thinking much, let alone reading what the permissions entail.

Android apps do not need permission to get a user’s photos, and as long as an app has the right to go to the Internet, it can copy those photos to a remote server without any notice, according to developers and mobile security experts. 

According to Symantec, over 24,000 malicious apps are blocked every day for compromising privacy on unprotected devices. This most likely increases the likelihood of leaked private photos and videos occurring.

2. The phone techies

Whenever we snap away and record videos extensively, our phones run out of storage space soon enough. This happens faster with the vast majority of cheap Android phones.

That is when interesting things start to happen. We seek the expertise of friends and techies to have the matter sorted out.

While they are getting the job done, they are also tempted to go swiping through our private photos and videos – THE CURIOUS HUMAN MIND AT WORK!

The repair fellows are notorious for saving a few of these findings and could choose to leak and share them with friends, using popular apps, groups.

3. The studio snoops!

Yes, those fellows!

The photo studio is another source of rampant photo and video leaks. While studio proprietors probably mean good, a few elements both within and outside the studio take advantage of the situation and smuggle private files outside studio computers.

This is worse when we choose to pose for photos that are suggestive and considered sleazy by the viewer. They are interesting to watch!

The different photo editors or rogue employees can just as well do the damage themselves by posting or sharing their loot.

4. The public disorder in us

When we practice unchecked escapades in public facilities such as parks, beaches, and of course, bars, we more than willingly expose ourselves to many interested parties.

Whether it is because of excitement or under the influence of drugs, and alcohol, we easily fall victim to bemused friends, bystanders, and of course, paparazzi who will capture every passing moment and share their findings with friends on social media platforms.

Elsewhere in lodging facilities, our foes install spy cameras from where they will record, store and share our sexual encounters with the world.

Some television stations around the world are paid cash by jilted lovers to trail and record their spouses in a similar fashion. This information is then aired on TV for the world to see. Cheaters is a popular example of a reality TV series for tracking cheating spouses.

5. The ex factor

Exes are notorious for facilitating leaked private photos and videos. They take advantage of the leftover photos and videos of wantaway partners to cause embarrassment or extort money.

These may have been captured in advance or staged as the affair nears the end. It begins with a jilted lover baiting a wantaway partner into sexual union while the session is recorded using a hidden camera.

Even in stable relationships spouses record themselves routinely, without much thought. These recordings and images remain in the phones and are forgotten, even after separation.

Of course, until there is a need. The recorded images and video files quite easily end up online.

6. Mood swings & ignorant indulgence

It is a very dangerous business plowing social media platforms and the internet with ignorance. It is even worse doing it when in a bad mood! We end up initiating the video leaks ourselves!

Whether this is done knowingly, unknowingly, under the influence or for emotional reasons, we should learn to keep off social media if we have a mood disorder or are spaced out for whatever reason.

I have witnessed a church leader accidentally post nudes on a church forum. I blame this mishap on ignorance. Still, what was a pastor doing with the nudes in the first place?

You can minimize leaked private photos and videos!

Do not take pictures or record audiovisual clips you think will shame you in any way. Better still avoid recording videos and taking photos you will not want children to view.  If the urge gets the better of you, go ahead and delete them soon after!