Can files truly be deleted from the internet? — TPU expert explains

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• Can files truly be deleted from the internet? - TPU expert explains

Can files truly be deleted from the internet? - TPU expert explains

When we delete a message in a messenger, a post on a social network, or a file from a disk, what happens to that data? And can something truly be deleted from the internet? The News Service asked these questions to Alexander Fadeev, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Information Technologies, and Director of the Engineering School of Information Technologies and Robotics at Tomsk Polytechnic University.

Is it possible to delete a file from the internet?

Nothing can be deleted on online platforms, websites, or social media. These systems are designed so on purpose for several reasons.

First, in the event of an investigation, platforms will be able to present "deleted" materials. Secondly, advertising engines, analytics, and promotion tools operate based on all the data and publications. Additionally, all servers are backed up. "Even if you delete your file from cloud storage, it will definitely remain in the backup copy," says Alexander Fadeev.

Only a database administrator and a system administrator of the server with direct access to the file system can truly delete data. You can delete data only if it is stored on your own server.

When we delete a file, an entry appears in the database: "Deleted by [user] at [time]," but the material itself remains. Only record statuses change: in some social networks, a marked-as-deleted entry continues to be indexed by search engines, remains in reposts and in previews. In some cases, everything deleted is no longer displayed to anyone anywhere. But all data is available for internal needs and for administrators,

- adds the expert.

Does everything have backups?

Backups vary, and they are created with different frequency. If you delete a file before at least one backup has been created, it might not be saved anywhere at all. But if a backup has been created, the file will be in it.

If I had to answer briefly, what you deleted and no longer see is definitely stored somewhere in the backups. There are synchronous copies that save all changes, including deletions. A file is deleted from them if you delete it on the main server. And there are copies that don't delete anything, and they will store information about file creation and the mark of its deletion, but the file itself will remain, too.

- explains Alexander Fadeev.

In addition to digital copies, there are "cold" backups (DVD, BlueRay, external hard drive, etc.) for long-term storage.

And what about cache and cookies?

Cache and cookies are deleted permanently: they are designed to be stored for a short time, sometimes cache is not saved to a disk at all, and only disks can store something for a long time. Cookies are stored on a disk and contain information that helps the social network instantly understand that it is you who is logging in, so it doesn't have to ask for your password every time. When clearing cookies and cache, files are completely deleted from the disk by the operating system.

Do deleted files have an "expiration date"?

Yes, sometimes administrators set such dates. For example, in the corporate segment, data of the employees who left the company may be deleted after 2-3 years, especially if it occupies large volumes. But in the commercial social media sector, where any information can be profitable, hardly anything will be deleted automatically.

Sometimes data disappears completely when upgrading to new software versions or replacing hardware. Some systems, such as accounting systems, intentionally start a new year with a "clean slate": all data from the past year is archived and permanently removed from quick access. Yes, this information will be available in the electronic archive, but you won't be able to access it with a single click,

- says the expert.

The information will most likely be completely deleted only upon the physical destruction of the data along with the data center, for example, as a result of a fire or earthquake. But system administrators have a mandatory rule: always keep one copy of data in a geographically remote data center.

Which data is particularly "resilient" online?

According to the expert, texts and text files are the most "resilient" type of data. They are easy to analyze, take up very little storage space, and are always more informative than video and audio. Besides, texts are indexed excellently, and a note that appears once can get hundreds of thousands of full copies in search engines, GPT systems, and reposts.

It is more difficult to work with video, images, and music: a service first needs to understand what's in the video to decide whether to copy it, and such processing is quite costly. Furthermore, video takes up incomparably more disk space, and it is much more expensive to store than a text. Moreover: video is unlikely to show private information such as passwords, account numbers, PIN codes, and so on. But we often preserve such critically important data in texts: they are of the main interest," adds Alexander Fadeev.

Is it possible to completely delete your digital footprint?

No, you cannot delete your digital footprint. According to the expert, even if a user goes onto the internet from a new computer in a new city, using new logins, search engines will recognize him after a couple of dozen clicks based on his behavioral pattern.

You can avoid creating a digital footprint: don't go online, don't register in services, don't create posts, don't publish reels, don't read other people's posts (records of what you've viewed are also saved). "But nothing can be deleted," Alexander Fadeev concludes.