What is the problem?
Basically, sexting is not a bad thing, but can rather be a proof of love, i.e. an attempt to impress a crush or a boyfriend/girlfriend or to try out one’s own effect.
However, there is a fundamental problem: relationships between people are changing and, as the sender, you can no longer know exactly what is happening with your own images.
The problem with sexting is the misuse of images or videos by other people.
You can find more information in the text “Sexting: risks & side effects”.
What does the sender need to consider?
In general: Think before you post – think before you send something! Because once it’s online, it stays online.
The exchange of erotic content by means of electronic communication should always be handled with caution, as such content may still be passed on despite the predominantly confidential nature of the exchange.
The sender of erotic content must ensure that the person depicted was not recorded against their will or secretly, as this constitutes a violation of their general right to privacy, their private and intimate sphere and their right to their own image. Under certain circumstances, the unauthorized production of images may even constitute a criminal offence. Even if the content was recorded with the consent of the person depicted, this does not mean that the content may be distributed further – sending erotic content against the will of the person depicted is always ruled out and may also be a criminal offense.
On the other hand, the unwanted sending of your own erotic or nude photos and videos is also prohibited. Even with the consent of the recipient, the sender of own recordings should clarify whether the recipient is trustworthy before sending the content and, if necessary, expressly clarify that the content is intended exclusively for the recipient and may not be passed on.
Furthermore, erotic content may only be used for the duration of the relationship for which it was created. This is because it can be assumed that the consent of the person depicted when the photos were taken was limited to the duration of the relationship. For example, the Federal Court of Justice ruled at the end of 2015 that intimate photos must be irrevocably deleted or returned after the end of a relationship if the person depicted requests this.
Another very specific problem could arise in the case of sexting between young people or between children and young people: If the person depicted is under 18 years of age and the content is distributed, it may be a criminal offense to distribute child or youth pornography.
What practical tips are there?
When disseminating particularly sensitive data, it makes sense to use technically secure messengers such as Threema or Signal.
Snapchat also offers the function of sending photos that are automatically deleted after reading and are not saved locally on the recipient’s device. However, the image could still be screenshotted by the other person and misused later.
Make sure that the location function of communication and dating apps is switched off. This is dangerous, as strangers or unwanted persons could track down a user in this way. Metadata such as location, date and time can also be deleted from images using various apps.
If possible, the images distributed should not contain the face and other special features that could clearly identify the person depicted.
The images should be deleted as far as possible from technical devices and other storage locations such as clouds. Or they should be stored in secure locations, such as password-protected folders.
