Painful, ugly and there FOREVER: your negative online posts are like a bad tattoo, says tech expert
You may think that deleting a dodgy tweet is enough to purge it from the internet - but that isn't the case
EVERY nasty social media post you make is like a bad tattoo: it's ugly, painful and almost impossible to remove.
And even if you do manage to laser your obscene tweets into oblivion, it can leave an online scar which will never really heal.
That's according to Raj Samani, fellow and Chief Scientist at the online security company.
The cyber guru spoke to the Sun Online in the wake of Jack Maynard's sensational axing from I'm A Celebrity over a series of vile tweets.
And he warned that anyone's negative online posts could end up coming back to haunt them: celeb or not.
Raj said: "Your online content - tweets, Facebook posts and anything like that - is a digital tattoo.
"Once it's there, it's permanent - and trying to remove it is difficult. It's painful, it's expensive and it leaves scars."
The security expert added that just because you've gone back and deleted a dodgy post, that doesn't mean it's actually been wiped from the net.
He said: "Accept the fact that when you put something out, it's out there forever. And anything you've put out there, you've got to own it.
"You could argue that [Jack Maynard] handled that in a way which demonstrated the age that he was."
Raj's three key tips for social media
1. Think before you post. Don’t disclose any personal information. Ask yourself: is this post inflammatory?
2. Set Privacy settings accordingly and only accept friend requests from people you know.
3. Use strong passwords and don't use the same one for every account.
You may think that deleting a dodgy tweet is enough to purge it from the internet - but that isn't always the case.
There are a whole load of platforms which can save your tweets and archive a copy forever, and there are even ways to recover deleted tweets.
That means it's always best to think before you post - rather than put your digital foot in it and then try to undo the damage later.
You should also make sure you before uploading anything at all.
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Essentially, the trick to social media is to do what Jack Maynard didn't: think before you post.
Raj said before hitting send you should always ask yourself: "If this got out to the entire world, is that something I would feel comfortable with?
"Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, that is the fundamental advice."