Safe sexting: How to send nude photos without ruining your life

If you’re going to do it, do it sensibly

What is the best way to prevent your racy snaps from leaking? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman’s genius hack on how to send nude photos safely has gone viral as she reveals the best way to prevent your snaps from leaking.

Sexting - the provocative practice of sending nude or risqué photos of yourself to lovers – is undoubtedly risky business.

But despite its associated risks, studies suggest that one in five adult mobile phone users have done it.

So, if you’re going to sext then you might as well do it safely.

Enter, Annika Simons from Phoenix, Arizona who has come up with an ingenious way to protect exes or flings from sharing your racy photos - something that's illegal in the UK.

“Watermark your nude with the name of the person you’re sending to,” she wrote on Facebook.

“So if they ever leak it you know who did it.”

The post has since been shared thousnds of times across social media after it clearly struck a cord.

“That is actually genius,” one person replied.

Another added, “Given that it is illegal to leak nudes in many places, that is actually pretty brilliant.

“Not only would it deter them in the first place, if they are stupid enough to still leak it, it will be plenty of evidence for a criminal conviction.”

While tongue-in-cheek, Simons’ advice is incredibly significant. An offence that carries a maximum prison term of two years, more than 200 prosecutions have been brought since the legalisation took effect back in April 2015.

But, the long-term effects that leaked photos can have on victim’s lives is everlasting.

There are, unfortunately, many instances of men and women being affected by revenge porn, which in some cases has even lead to suicide.

In February this year, 31-year-old Tiziana Cantone from Naples, Italy, took her own life after footage of her performing a sex act on a man was uploaded to the internet in spring 2015.

She had sent six different videos to five friends whom she trusted, but as soon as the next day, the clips began to be shared online, appearing on porn sites and social media.

And, following the reported closure of the UK’s revenge porn helpline, Simons’ advice on how to best protect intimate images from leaking is, while communicated fleetingly, more important than ever.