← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

Screenshots and shared copies

A picture of your screen that anyone can take and share. Even if you delete your post, a saved copy can still exist.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6 — Digital Footprints — Module 15

Understanding Screenshots and shared copies in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

What it does: Saving a photo makes a separate copy on someone else's device, and deleting your original does not remove it. A private chat is only as private as the people in it, because any of them can take a screenshot and share it. Anyone who can see something on their screen can screenshot it, so think before you post. Private chats feel safe, but friends can still save, screenshot or forward what you write. Each time a message is forwarded, there is another copy. The original sender cannot delete the copies. Deleting helps, but it cannot remove screenshots or saved photos already made by others.

Common mistakes: The text is missing its closing quote. It should be post ← "Match photo". The screenshot and the copy come after this line. Sam and Kai both now have a copy of the message. Even if you delete yours, copies still exist, so copyExists must be true.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 174–225) and word search (Modules 137–225).

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Learning
Duo
You post a funny photo in a group chat, then delete it a minute later. Can someone still have a copy?
No, deleting it removes every copy foreverYes, someone could have taken a screenshot before you deleted it
Matches
delete(post) // now every copy is gone
↓
Deleting your post only removes the original. Screenshots and saved copies made by other people can still exist.
Applying
Meanings
Term
screenshot
Meaning
A picture of your screen that anyone can take and share. Even if you delete your post, a saved copy can still exist.
Practice
A friend can screenshot my private chat.
Testing
Gaps
copy = (post)
Check Answer
Spots
1post ← "Match photo
2screenshot(post)

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Quick Questions

1. You post a funny photo in a group chat, then delete it a minute later. Can someone still have a copy?
A. Yes, someone could have taken a screenshot before you deleted it ✓
B. No, deleting it removes every copy forever
A screenshot is a saved picture of the screen. Deleting the original does not delete copies other people have made.
2. Which sentence about screenshots is true?
A. Only you can take a screenshot of your own post
B. Anyone who can see your post can take a screenshot of it ✓
Anyone who can see something on their screen can screenshot it, so think before you post.
3. You send a message in a private chat with three friends. What is the safest way to think about it?
A. A private chat means it can never be shared
B. Any of them could screenshot it or forward it to others ✓
Private chats feel safe, but friends can still save, screenshot or forward what you write.
4. A friend sends you a photo and you forward it to another group. What has happened?
A. A new copy now exists that the first sender cannot control ✓
B. The photo is still only in one place
Each time a message is forwarded, there is another copy. The original sender cannot delete the copies.
5. After you delete a post, which is the best thing to remember?
A. A saved copy might still exist, so I should think before posting ✓
B. Deleting fixes everything, so I can post anything
Deleting helps, but it cannot remove screenshots or saved photos already made by others.

Match the Pairs

screenshot → A picture of a screen that someone can take and share, so a copy of your post can stay even after you delete it.
forward(message) → Sends a copy of a message on to other people, who may share it again without you knowing.
A friend can save your photo from a chat, so it still exists after you delete it from the chat. → save(photo)
Even a post in a private chat can be copied and shared with people you never chose. → screenshot(privateChat)
delete(post) // now every copy is gone → Deleting your post only removes the original. Screenshots and saved copies made by other people can still exist.
send(privateChat, photo) // nobody can share this → Anyone in a private chat can screenshot or save the photo and share it, so it is not guaranteed to stay private.

Key Term

screenshot
A picture of your screen that anyone can take and share. Even if you delete your post, a saved copy can still exist.

Fill in the Blanks

1. post = "My new photo" copy = screenshot(post) delete(post)
Hint: Type the function name for taking a picture of what is on the screen.
2. post = "Oops!" delete(post) copyExists = true
Hint: Type the Boolean value that shows a saved copy can still exist after the original is deleted.
3. message = "Our secret" forward(message, friend) copyExists = true
Hint: Type the function name for passing a message on to someone else.
4. copies = 1 delete(original) print(copies > 0)
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks if the number of copies is greater than zero.
5. send(post, chat) copy = screenshot(chat) delete(post)
Hint: Type the function name that removes the original post, even though the friend's copy stays.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A post ← "Match photo
B screenshot(post)
C delete(post)
D copyExists ← true
Line A — The text is missing its closing quote. It should be post ← "Match photo". The screenshot and the copy come after this line.
Question 2
A msg ← "Secret plan"
B send(msg, "Sam")
C Sam.forward(msg, "Kai")
D copyExists ← false
Line D — Sam and Kai both now have a copy of the message. Even if you delete yours, copies still exist, so copyExists must be true.
Question 3
A photo ← "Dance photo"
B friend.delete(photo)
C delete(photo)
D copyExists ← true
Line B — The friend saves the photo, so they keep their own copy. If they deleted it, no copy would remain. It should be friend.save(photo).
Question 4
A post ← "Our secret"
B send(post "Private chat")
C friend.screenshot(post)
D copyExists ← true
Line B — The comma between the two things inside send() is missing. It should be send(post, "Private chat"). A private chat post can still be screenshotted.
Question 5
A post ← "Look at this"
B pic ← friend.screenshot(post)
C delete(post)
D friend.share(post)
E copyExists ← true
Line D — The post was deleted, so the friend can only share the screenshot. It should be friend.share(pic).

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