When you post something on social media, do you still own the copyright?

This is a question that gets asked time and time again as creative works are shared over and over through social media. Now the short answer is, yes, you retain the copyright. The long answer is certainly more complicated than that.

When you post original copyrighted content on a social media site you 100% retain the copyright. However, you are agreeing to that sites terms of service which usually include a clause stating that you are giving them a license to use your content for free. Therefore, you will keep your copyright, but if that social media site wants to use your content and reproduce it, modify it, use it in an ad, they most likely can without any payment to you for use of the work.

Also, when you post on social media you are allowing others the right to repost your work through the social media site you are using. Let me explain, when you post on Instagram, you are granting other users the right to use Instagram’s native share features to share your content on their stories. Because the feature is native to the platform, and by posting you are agreeing to their terms of service, you are agreeing to let others share your copyrighted stuff for free. A point to make here, by posting on social media you are not allowing others to have the right to screenshot and repost or use your copyrighted work in any way. Other users are only allowed to share through native share features of the social media site.

Although this can be confusing, just remember that when you post on social media, you are granting that social media site a free license to use your content, but you will always retain the copyright.

Do you have questions about copyright or think your copyright has been infringed on? Set up a free 15 minute call with me, I am happy to answer any questions you might have!