Digital expiration date for information on the Internet
Until now, deleting private photos on the internet has been difficult or even impossible. Computer scientists in Saarbrücken have now developed software that allows images to be given an expiry date before they are uploaded.
The software was developed at Saarland University. They were looking for a way to use social networks and still retain control over their personal data, explains Michael Backes, Professor at Saarland University. For young people today, social network profiles are a matter of course. But very few of them realize that embarrassing party photos can still be found years later.
The protection can be applied via an additional program (plug-in) in the Firefox browser. The photos are encrypted when they are uploaded to the Internet and are given an expiry date via a menu. As soon as this date is reached, the security server deletes the key. The uploaded photo can then no longer be viewed on the Internet. The protection has already been tested for social networks such as Facebook, Flickr and Wer-kennt-wen.
The technology is marketed under the name "x-pire!". Anyone who wants to use the software pays around two euros per month. For the time being, the service is only available for photos. In future, however, it should also be possible to use the process for documents, such as PDF files or entire websites.
