Speaking Of Naked Pics Of Our Kids — Here’s How To Keep Your iPhone Photos On Lockdown

Everyone has a right to keep their private photos private. The problem is, now that every phone is a camera and they are all connected to the internet, there's a higher risk that something you consider for your eyes only can get hacked and even shared. Several times celebrities, like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lawrence, and Scarlett Johansson have had their privacy breached, and embarrassing photos of them have surfaced. Even if you feel like no one would ever want pictures of naked you, it's good to know how to protect photos on the iCloud from hackers.

The need for photo security is new, but very necessary, and fortunately there are things you can do to keep your photos safe. Back when the only photos we had were printed on paper, someone could take a risqué photo and then shove it in a drawer, safe. Of course, that doesn't take into account the possibility of the guy who developed the picture making a copy for himself, but we're going to ignore that for now. Hearing stories about celebs like Farrah Abraham, who have a whole lot of naked photos (including ones of her daughter), on their phones, and the criticism that is being lobbed at her because of the ease with which those photos could be stolen, it makes you realize it might not be so good to be laid back about the security of your photos.

Don't panic, though. There are steps you can make to keep those intimate photos to yourself.

Turn off iCloud Sharing

This comes with pros and cons. Pros: photos can't get stolen from the cloud if they aren't located in the cloud. Cons: No automatic backup for your photos. You could still upload them to your computer, but that takes time and effort. That said, if one naked photo slips through, or alternately if you lose your phone and ALL of your photos, it might have made sense to have done a computer backup. iMore is one site that recommended turning off iCloud sharing for maximum privacy with step-by-step details on how to do it.

Manually Delete Them From iCloud

The good news is that if you have a photo you'd rather not share with the world, you can delete it from the cloud. This can be done through your phone or web browser on your computer, according to Apple's support page. You can get step-by-step instructions on how to delete photos from iCloud here.

Install Two-Factor Identification on iCloud

If you do want to keep your photos on the cloud, Apple recommended using two-factor identification on all of your devices. This gives you an extra layer of security, in case someone figures out your password and tries to hack you. Once you set it up, a six-digit code is sent to a trusted device and you will need to enter that code when trying to access your iCloud account.

Warning: if you create two-factor authorization on some devices that are running iOS 10.3 or macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later, you can not turn them off once you set it up.

Change Your Passwords Frequently

Yes, it's hard enough to remember all of your passwords without them changing every six months, but according to iPhone Backup Distractor, changing your password often is a good idea. Filling your passwords with upper case, lower case, symbols, etc. also helps make it harder to hack.

Don't Take Naked Pictures

The bottom line is that we are living in an uncertain age, when it feels like our texts, emails and photos could be grabbed at any moment. If you want a 100 percent guarantee that this will not happen, make sure there aren't any photos to worry about in the first place.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.