Pittsburgh Company Guarantees Digital Photos Will Last For Generations
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Billions of digital photos are out there - on our computers, our phones, in the cloud, etc.
Weddings, birthdays, holidays, you name it and we capture it on camera.
Every day, 350 million photos are uploaded just to Facebook.
However, experts warn that our love affair with digital may be doomed.
"You do have the potential to lose all of your memories," Point Park University photography professor Christopher Rolinson said.
According to a recent survey, 57 percent of people store their photos on their computer or phone.
"My hard drive crashed and I lost everything I hadn't backed up," photography student Kelsey Pennell said.
Rolinson said all your photos need to be backed up and backed up again.
"All the photographs we have these days are ones and zeros and they're not in the physical form until you make them that way," he said.
Elizabeth Helsel is passionate about her photos and shutters at the thought of them disappearing one day.
"I try not to even think about that. It is so heart-wrenching the thought of losing my photos," she said.
So, she has taken steps to make sure they survive.
"We all know it's not a matter of if your computer is going to crash, but when your computer is going to crash," Helsel said.
She also saves her photos on a website called Forever.com, which guarantees your pictures are going to stick around.
"So, my photos are going to be preserved on Forever.com for my lifetime, plus at least 100 years, is their guarantee," she said.
Forever is a Pittsburgh company that was started by Glen Meakem.
"I was thinking forever, I was thinking long-term, I thought, 'Well the world needs forever,'" he said.
Under terms of use, other photo websites like Shutterfly say, "We may terminate your access...At any time."
Amazon Cloud Drive says, "We may change, suspend or discontinue service...at any time without notice."
Apple tells customers to back up their content because, "Apple does not guarantee that any content will not be subject to damage, corruption or loss."
At Forever, there is a guarantee. The company has set aside money specifically to keep your photos up-to-date with the latest technology and safe for generations.
Experts say you should still print out the photos you hold near and dear.
"You are putting your family history at risk if you don't print," Rolinson said. "Maybe that's your New Year's resolution is to get your photos in order and preserve those family memories."
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