Google took the wraps off of a new Google Hangouts app at Google I/O today, one that makes it easy…
If you want to make super extra quintuple sure that no one but your partner is going to see your messages, you can use clients like TorChat . Asking your sweetie to hop on the secure channel before you start the fun stuff may not be the sexiest foreplay, but it can keep you safe.
“Hey, baby. What security protocols are you implementing to ensure the safety of the sensitive materials I’ve electronically transmitted to you?” is perhaps one of the least sexy sentences a person can say. That doesn’t make it less important. If you spend hours stripping all your photos of metadata, airbrushing out your tattoos, and encrypting your connection, it won’t mean a thing if your partner uses your image as his phone’s wallpaper or uploads them to imgur.
When you send explicit photos to someone else, you’re not just trusting them. You’re trusting their security habits. If you wouldn’t trust the person to use your laptop without accidentally getting some malware, don’t trust them with dirty photos. If they have a habit of losing their phone, set them up with remote wipe software . In general, being in a relationship doesn’t necessarily mean you should be able to dictate to your partner how they use their gadgets. When you’re sharing intimate material, however, it becomes much more important to make sure you both have high security standards.
Watch Out for Legal Problems
In most cases, as long as all involved parties are over 18 and consent, you probably won’t run into legal issues. If you are under 18, however, things get messier. In one case in South Carolina, a 20-year-old man had a consensual relationship with a 16-year-old girl (which is legal by both SC and federal law). However, once he and his girlfriend filmed the act, possession of the keepsake became a federal crime. Even without transmitting it, the mere fact that it existed on his phone resulted in jail time and a life on the sex offender registry (though the fact that he was caught because he made a phony bomb threat didn’t help his cause). There have even been cases where teenagers have been arrested for taking photos of themselves .
To put this another way: if you or your partner are under 18, do not take photos or video under any circumstances. Ever. At all. This is not a “probably bad idea” thing. It’s a very serious legal issue. Don’t do it. There’s plenty of time for that once you’re old enough to buy cigarettes.
Even if both parties involved are above the basic vice ages, you could still face problems. Some employers have morality clauses in their contracts. These stipulations can result in punishments or even termination depending on the wording if you cause a scandal due to unseemly behavior. This can be a bigger problem when your job is more visible or requires you to be the public face of the company, but it’s worth checking into no matter what.
Be Prepared to Own It
As I mentioned at the start, there is always a risk that your photos/videos/whatever will get out. This means not only that strangers could see them, but friends and family, too. One could argue that sharing intimate photos should just be another part an adult sexual mindset, but analyzing changing cultural views on sex in the information age is beyond the scope of this article. It will not, however, be beyond the scope of your relationships waplog sociali if you get caught. You’ll have to have those conversations with someone, so it’s best to just address it head on.