London 12 December 2013 - Research out today has discovered that 56% of GB adults online are unaware that when they upload photos to social media they are potentially giving these sites license to use those images. When made aware of the risks, 58% said they would like to retain these ownership rights if uploading photos to social networks.
The study, which was commissioned by social-sharing app Glopho, found that three in four Brit’s are now taking photos on their smartphones and that 72% of these upload them to social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These soaring figures, coupled with a lack of understanding about image usage online, outlines a clear case for consumers to better understand their rights.
In response, Glopho have released three Golden Rules to help consumers take control of their content:
Decide whether your want your photos to be public or private and adjust the security settings on your social networks accordingly
Want the world to see but don’t want to sell? Embed your copyright info, use your Creative Commons (CC) and apply a watermark
Want to sell? Use a specific site or app which specialises in sharing images to audiences looking to buy
Simon Walker, CEO, Glopho said: "The run up to Christmas and the big day itself will see a spike in people snapping and sharing their merry moments. Whilst the majority of social media sites have taken pains to assure users that content remains theirs, the fact is that if social media sites want to, they can use it. It's something a lot of people don't realise when they tick the 'agree to Terms & Conditions' box. As such when consumers snap a photo and share it with their friends and wider community online, they have no idea that to all intents and purposes they've handed rights to that content to a third party organisation to do, effectively, what they like with it."
"There is a wider debate here about who we share information with, via what channels and who stands to profit from it. Clearly more education is needed. It's not enough to say 'it's in the small print.' Companies that automatically take some or all of the rights to users photos when they are uploaded need to make their position clear from the off, particularly given that the overwhelming majority of individuals wish to restrict usage rights," Walker continued.
Other key findings include:
75% of female smartphone snappers share their photos online. Despite being the most likely to 'snap and share', women were also the least aware (just 38%) that in doing so they risk their images being used by the site or another party
Awareness relating to who can use your photographs once shared on social networking sites was highest in males (50%) and those in the 25 - 34 age group (48%)
A desire to retain the rights to photos was highest in women (61%) and amongst those aged 25 - 34 (74%), followed by 35 -44 (64%) and the 18-24 age groups (62%)
The study found that over half (53%) of consumers take photos on their smartphone during the week, with owners currently storing an average of 188 photographs on their mobile
The most ‘snap happy’ age groups were 25 - 34 and 35 - 44 year olds, who take the most photos using their smartphone
25 - 34 year olds are the most likely to upload and share their photographs.
Walker continued: “Smartphones have changed our relationship to photography as we all now have a camera in our pockets. We live our lives online and it’s only natural that we want to share not only these private photographic memories with our friends and family, but also those ‘news’ events we capture with the wider world. And we should be able to do so without having to give up any rights to the content that we’ve generated ourselves.”
ENDS
