The Internet has pretty much become our number one source of anything. We communicate through our iPhones and smart phones more than we talk to people face to face. The dangers of hacking and identity theft have become so much more relevant.

I probably won’t ever be hacked, nothing like that happens to me. Says every person ever.

Social networks are great, sure. They help us connect with old friends, send funny photos, and just be able to talk to friends in the spur of the moment- anywhere, anytime. Having that availability at the tip of our fingers is incredibly convenient, so it is needless to say we use that to our advantage.

People are so caught up in the hype of social networks that no one ever reads the terms and policies anymore. We just assume because everyone has an account, it’s safe. So we just freely give our personal information to the company and start snapping those chats, or posting a picture on Instagram with little to no thought about where it’s going or how it’s being used.

Take Snapchat for instance. Their big seller is the fact that once a picture is sent, it is deleted.

“…making communication between any two parties fleeting, with no record left of the content, within the constraints of modern technology,” said Snapchat on their terms and policies.

Notice the part, “within the constraints of modern technology”. So basically they’re saying that it most likely won’t get deleted. Everything you put on the Internet within “modern technology” is permanently there, you just can’t always see it.

So before you accept to a media network’s terms, read between the lines a little, because that’s where all their secrets lie. Don’t think just because you hide something on the Internet it can’t be accessed, because once you put it on there it’s never going to truly go away. There are some insanely genius people out there who hack your “hidden” stuff for a hobby.

If you feel a bit on edge when it comes to  a social network’s terms, do some research first. You’d be surprised what you’ll find.

After all, you can find anything on the Internet.

Related story by Whitney Clum.