If you must sext this period

If you must sext this period

For those who do not know, sexting = sex + chatting.

This is not an attempt to spoil your fun however, a ‘do something’ survey shows that 55% of sexters are likely to share their messages with someone else.

If your partner is part of the 45% remaining, here are a few reasons to consider not sexting during this period as a lot of events would be happening.

Festivities = family time and that can be equal to sharing time in a lot of homes.

Your nudes are not what you want to accidentally get displayed on the family TV when they are trying to search for movies in the gallery.

This is also where you change your screensaver in case your partner’s nudes have been your motivation all year long since you work from home.

Festivities mean lots of outing and meeting new people. This could mean taking selfies together and having to send images in bulk.

It is a thing to imagine one person admiring your nude or even masturbating to it. It is a different conversation for a total stranger to do that. Except, you do not mind providing adult entertainment.

Outings mean things get missing and thieves could be on the rampage. You do not want to lose a mobile phone with important information like your partner’s nudes.

Considering their mobile number, name and images may be on the same mobile if they sent this through social media, the thief now has enough data to become a blackmailer as well.

It is tough explaining that you did not mean to share that information. Also, they could be risking an actual scandal if this thief decides to milk this. Worse, their data could end up on an adult entertainment site or the dark web without their consent. I don’t know how you intend to save the relationship should you get here.

Again, practising voyeurism may be something you both enjoy. In which case, this would be no problem for you.

If the thought of a third party having access to your nude pictures and videos irks you, you should consider not sharing until you are both physically not sharing your personal spaces with other people.

Also, consider not sending audio — your moans getting connected to the family Bluetooth speaker downstairs is likely not how you want to be remembered.

I do realize that some people are adventurous. So, here are a few precautions to take if you must share.

Use your uncommon devices

If you go out often with your mobile phone and laptop, transfer all content to your home desktop so you are sure all private content cannot be accessed without your consent.

It goes without saying that, this device has a password and none of this content is your screensaver or ringtones.

Use the ‘view once’ feature on most of your social media platforms.

This is not a foolproof plan as filters can now be removed with some other apps and some lock types do not hold on certain device types.

Try not to back up in the clouds.

I can imagine the temptation of saving this for the rainy day but there is climate change going on — you cannot control that rainy day like you planned.

Someone could and they have often hacked people’s cloud accounts and even messages between married couples are not safe from scandals.

As much as you can, delete after use.

Password all devices

As a sender or receiver, you are likely to have unsent, unopened, trashed media all over your device. You do not want to risk someone accidentally finding them. So, password your folders and password your devices.

Avoid unverified apps.

There are a lot of apps that promise privacy away from the official app stores of each device. While some of them truly function, you have no place to lay your complaints if anything goes wrong.

Don’t go hard — just go home.

If you feel unsure, do not send it. If you feel like not sending anything too intimate, do not send it. If you have never met the receiver physically, do not send it.

when sexting, always send only what you know you can publicly manage if it were to go viral (online or offline).

Just like you would take precautions about getting pregnant, take precautions about your sext content.