Question 1

Who owns the photos and videos you post on social media?

Accepted Answer

**You do.** Posting does not transfer copyright. What you grant is a **licence** — permission for the platform to use your content in defined ways — and that licence is broad.

**What a typical licence says.** Terms of service generally require a **worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable** licence to host, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and display your content.

Unpacking why each word matters:

**Non-exclusive** — you can still use and license your work elsewhere. This is the important reassurance.

**Royalty-free** — they pay nothing for it.

**Transferable and sub-licensable** — they can pass those rights to others, including partners and advertisers.

**Worldwide**, and typically covering modification and derivative works.

**Why platforms need something this broad.** Hosting a photo requires copying it, resizing it, generating thumbnails, transcoding video, distributing it globally through a CDN, and showing it to other users. Each of those is technically an act restricted by copyright. Without a licence, running the service would infringe on every upload.

That said, the licences are drafted considerably wider than the technical necessity, and that is a fair criticism.

**What the licence typically does not permit:** selling your photograph as a stock image, or using you in an advertisement without separate consent — though **some platforms' terms have allowed** using your name and image in connection with sponsored content, which has caused controversy.

**When the licence ends.** Most terms say the licence terminates when you **delete the content or your account** — with exceptions for copies already shared by others, and for backup copies until they age out.

**What matters practically:**

**Others reposting your work is infringement**, and platforms provide takedown mechanisms.

**Read terms for platforms you post professional work to**, since photographers and artists face genuine issues here.

**AI training** is the live question — several platforms have amended terms to permit training on user content, sometimes with opt-outs.

**Watermarking** and posting lower resolution are practical protections.

Question 2

Why is some content blocked in one country but not another?

Accepted Answer

Because platforms operate globally while law is national — so the same post can be legal in one jurisdiction and unlawful in the next, and the practical answer has been to make content visible in

Question 3

How do creators actually get paid?

Accepted Answer

Through several revenue streams, and the one people assume is largest — platform ad revenue — is usually not. Platform ad revenue sharing. The platform sells ads against your content and shares a

Question 4

What is the difference between UGC and influencer content?

Accepted Answer

Where the content is published, and what is being bought. Influencer content is posted on the creator's own channel to their audience; user-generated content (UGC) is created for a brand to use on

Question 5

What actually happens when you delete a photo from social media?

Accepted Answer

It disappears from view quickly. Whether it is genuinely gone is a longer and less satisfying answer. The immediate step is usually a soft delete. The item is flagged as deleted and removed from

Question 6

Why aren't platforms treated as publishers?

Accepted Answer

Because most legal systems grant intermediary liability protection — services that host other people's content are not automatically liable for it, provided they meet certain conditions. This single

Question 7

What is the difference between a personal, a private and a professional account?

Accepted Answer

They are three different settings that get muddled because platforms name them inconsistently — and the distinction between visibility and account type is the one that actually matters. Public vs

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