How to Reduce the Risks of Sending Nudes

If you're thinking about sending any nude videos or photos, there are a few things you need to consider. If you decide that you want to send the intimate media but are still concerned, you may want to try to reduce the risks. There is no foolproof way to eliminate the risks of sending intimate photos or videos. As with all kinds of sexual activity, there is always going to be a degree of risk. You need to decide how much risk you're comfortable with and ideally, decide this before the situation arises. If you do choose to send nudes, there are a few ways you can try to reduce any negative outcomes aside from ensuring all participants are of legal age.

Establishing Trust With the Recipient

One way is to know the person you are sending the nudes to. This may seem like a no-brainer but there are many documented cases of young people sending nudes to people they didn't really know. In testing the waters of their sexual empowerment, they can expose themselves to unnecessary risks.

Having some kind of relationship, not even necessarily a formalized romantic one, can make a big difference. A person who is your friend or knows you intimately will be more invested in protecting your privacy than a stranger who you've never met. This doesn't mean that a friend or romantic partner will never betray your trust but they will be less likely to than a stranger.

The level of trust you have with this person is a good gauge of whether or not this may be a safe person to share intimate media with. The more trust you've built with this person, the less likely they are to betray that trust. If it's someone that you don't know very well, even if you really like them, it may not be the right time. If you haven't established a lot of trust or the relationship is new, the person may be more concerned with their own interests. It may not mean as much to them as it does to you. Use your judgment.

Define How Consent Applies to Your Nudes

Negotiate consent! Talk about what will be done with your media before it's sent. Is the person allowed to keep it? Do they have to delete it after a certain amount of time? Where can they post it online? Who can they show it to? Can they turn it into their screensaver? How about making a handy wall calendar for next year?

Good communication about what the expectations are from both sides can help you make a choice. It will give you a chance to lay out your expectations of privacy with this person. They have a chance to agree to them. If they do, there is a better chance that they will uphold that agreement. It's more effective than just hoping for the best.

Discussing their intentions may also highlight some plans you didn't know about. They may see the whole interaction in a more or less serious light than you. How they answer could impact your decision to send them at all.

Use Technology to Watermark

Another way to protect yourself if you are choosing to share nudes is to watermark the photos or video. Place the name, contact information, or both of the person that the nudes are being sent to. This can create a higher investment to keep your nudes private. If they go public, that person's information will also be out there. They will have some accountability.

Adding their information as a watermark can also keep people more honest. It eliminates any chance of the media going public and denial of their role in it. If they make the argument that someone else took the media from them, it was still their responsibility to ensure they were secure. This can create more accountability with the person you're sharing with. This can be powerful when combined with the consent conversation.

If you don't know how to add a watermark to your media, a quick Google search can help. Just select the best method recommended that's available to you. The main thing to remember when you're doing this is to be aware of the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of any cloud-based services. If you upload your intimate media, how long does that service hold it for? How well is it protected? The best recommendations are to use programs that are on your computer for editing photos or video. You could also use any number of phone apps that give you some editing power.

Have Fun, Not Drama!

Shooting nude photos or videos can be really sexually empowering. It can help increase confidence and sense of personal power. Just remember that you need to consider who and how you choose to share that with. You have the power to decide what level of risk your comfortable with and who is deserving of your total awesomeness!

Enjoyed this article? Check out the other great articles, games, and more on my website