How secure are my mote recordings? Can someone download them? Should I be worried?

We now live in a world where almost everything we touch or do can be documented electronically.

We made the design decision to make mote content accessible on the open internet, but only accessible from short random URLs so that the probability of random discovery was very low (currently, about 150 in 1 septillion. If you're wondering, there are 24 zeros in a septillion).

We did this so that users wishing to access mote content - without having the Mote extension installed - could do so without needing to create an account. 

Your mote audio files are played in the browser, and can potentially be downloaded by anyone else with access to the page. We understand that this may be uncomfortable for some people, but let us briefly explain our thinking:

• If files couldn't be downloaded, a malicious actor could simply record a copy of the audio using a cell phone, or more sophisticated software capturing audio / video from the browser.
• We think it's best for all of us to assume that *any* content that we create online can be discovered, and potentially shared, beyond its intended recipient(s).
• If you need to communicate confidentially with a colleague or student, we would recommend exploring alternative tools.

You'll also note that the web pages hosting your voice notes include a headline title such as "Will Jackson left you a voice note...". We think this attribution is important. However, for users under age 18, we disable this titling, and their voice notes are therefore anonymous.

What this means for how you use mote:

Before leaving a voice note, ask yourself:  would I be embarrassed if this were to be shared beyond the intended audience?

Think about how to use personalization in your messages: using a colleague or student's first name can be a great way to connect. But we'd recommend avoiding using their family name as well.

Deleting messages

You can delete any of your mote voice notes from your 'My Activity' page.