When you post something online, you certainly may have the option to delete it. But it’s dangerous to think this way. Instead, you want to consider everything you post to be permanent. It’s never going to be fully deleted, and it will always exist.
There are many reasons why this is true. One is simply that other users may have some level of control over the content. For example, if you post something on a social media page and someone else takes a screenshot, you can delete the post, but that screenshot will still exist.
Another example is that data is often stored on cloud servers and in remote locations. Just because you deleted a message you sent in Facebook Messenger, for instance, doesn’t mean that it’s entirely gone. Meta may still have records of the message that you sent on their cloud server systems. It’s true that your audience won’t see the post – or the message – after you delete it, but that is much different than the message actually being gone. It still exists, just in a different location.
Why is this important in criminal cases?
This is very important if you’re facing criminal charges. The police may want to look at your online activity as they gather evidence. As such, you may decide to delete some of that activity prior to the investigation. But that doesn’t mean the police have no other options. They certainly may be able to obtain those records from other sources, and evidence of your online activity may still be used against you in court.
It can get complicated when looking at how the police can gather evidence, when they need a search warrant to access a device and things of this nature. Consider your defense options at this time.