Internet users have recently begun to approach the protection of their confidential data with all responsibility. After all, any personal information on the Internet, including photos, becomes public and can be of interest to both ill-wishers and government agencies or a potential employer.
To protect personal data and various kinds of intellectual property on the Web, software developers have created many different services. Some of them are the most reliable today.
1. Telegram
This messenger was developed by Pavel Durov, the owner of the VKontakte social network. Initially, Telegram was intended exclusively for mobile devices. Today this application can also be used by owners of PCs or laptops.
To encrypt the traffic of interlocutors, this messenger uses the exclusive MTProto protocol. And although this technology is criticized by experts, no one has managed to steal information from Telegram users and, for example, post it on the Internet.
By default, this program functions as a simple messenger with encrypted data. But if desired, the user of the application can turn on the function of self-destruction of sent letters, including those with a photo.
In this case, the interlocutor cannot even save the received files to his computer. They will be deleted by timer after the expiration of the time selected by the sender.
Among the advantages of Telegram, users, among other things, include:
- nice interface;
- speed of work;
- the ability to register from the phone.
Unlike many other similar programs, Telegram, among other things, supports Windows Phone. If desired, users can exchange photos both through the Telegram software installed on a computer, and through a special web application with the same name, which must be opened in a browser window.
2. SFLetter.com
You can safely share photos on the Web not only through instant messengers, but also through e-mail. Most services of this type, of course, do not provide any special protection against photo theft. But there is e-mail, through which letters with a photo can be sent without any fear for their safety.
This service is called SFLetter.com. A user who has a mailbox on this site can send letters with a photo to any postal addresses - "Mile", "Yandex", "Google", etc. The recipient can open the letter that came to his mail only on a device with Windows OS through a special viewer.
This program is installed on the desktop in the same way as any other. At the same time, it weighs very little. Soon the mail creators are going to implement, in addition to Windows, support for other platforms.
The recipient of the letters does not need to be registered with SFLetter.com. In the viewer, he can only view letters. Copying any information from them, including photos, the program prohibits.
The recipient will be able to open the sent letter again only on the same computer where it was done for the first time. The user also does not have the ability to send the received information to other people.
Another advantage of this service is that the tracking function of letters is available to its users. The sender can always see the recipient's IP address, the time the message was opened and his email address.
Soon, the developers of SFLetter.com, among other things, promise to add such useful additional functions to the service as revoking access to already sent emails, setting a timer for retention in mail, and 200 GB for files. Users, however, will have to pay for such amenities separately.
3. Digify
This young service, unlike instant messengers, can only be used for online file sharing. The photo sent to the user in Digify is transmitted directly from the server to the screen.
The file is not downloaded to the recipient's device at all. That is, the person who received the photo is not able to:
- make a screen of it;
- copy to any folder;
- send to another user, etc.
Some drawback of the Digify service is that the photos and documents sent through it take a very long time to open. This is the price to pay for enhanced information security.
To the pluses of Digify, many users, among other things, include the fact that protected photos when using it can be sent directly from Google Drive or Dropbox. In order to be able to exchange files, both interlocutors must have a Digify account.
There is also a convenient system for monitoring sent photos in this service. The user has the opportunity, for example, to see how many times his file was opened and during what period of time it was viewed.
4. Cloud service Dropbox for photos
For secure photo sharing, you can, of course, use ordinary cloud services. Such sites allow users to restrict the access of others to the information stored here. If this function is enabled, only those Network users with whom the owner has shared a private link will be able to view the photos uploaded to the service.
One of the best cloud services out there right now is definitely Dropbox. Internet users refer to the advantages of this platform, for example:
- intuitive interface;
- quite a large amount of memory provided for free, including for pictures - 2 GB;
- the ability to access stored information not only from a computer, but also from mobile devices.
Some of the disadvantages of Dropbox are considered to be the lack of the ability to exchange opinions between users regarding hosted files.
For $ 9.9 a month, a member of this service can get 1 TV of disk space. For those who invite a friend to Dropbox, in addition to 2 GB, another 500 MB of memory is provided.
5. Google Drive
It is also a fairly convenient cloud service, a feature of which is the presence of, among other things, several free office programs. Users of this service have the opportunity to:
- store a large number of private photos;
- limit their viewing to a certain circle of people;
- Allow trusted people to edit your photos.
Google Drive's interface is not as user-friendly and pleasant as that of Dropbox. But at the same time, more disk space is given to users for free - 15 GB. For $ 1.99 a month, the allocated space on this service can be increased to 100 GB.
Due to the not very clear interface, the development of "Google Drive" at the first stage may seem quite difficult. But in principle, the owners of the photographs do not consider it too inconvenient to work on this site.
