when people say photos are on the internet forever does it mean that it ca be seen by everyone?

[Asley Stevents]

Does sending a private photo on Facebook end up on the internet...or does it just stay on the internet and can only be seen or used for example fbi or security reasons

[Mujer Alta]

It means that once you've posted it, you've lost control over it. You might post it as "private" but whoever you let see it can copy and repost it or send it to their friends and/or online sites that you don't know about.

[NeilsBohred]

People say that photos are online forever to make you think before posting. As soon as a picture is viewed by another person, it can be copied and reposted. It doesn't necessarily mean that every picture is online for ever, but pulling down a post doesn't mean that the picture is definitely gone for good. If you don't want people to have access to your images, tighten the security parameters on your online profiles and only give access to people you completely trust.
There are government and privately funded organizations that are trying to catalog and monitor all of the information online. It is a possibility that your pictures and conversations may be archived somewhere, but if you aren't violating any laws, your information will not come out.