'Delete' doesn't mean delete

The photo you took on your phone -- and deleted -- is still around, somewhere. That's the reality today because of how modern phones, tablets and laptops save your data. By default, photos and documents don't reside on your device alone. They're routinely "backed up to the cloud." That means they're quietly copied onto a company's computer servers. Your embarrassing selfie lives on half a dozen machines in North America and Europe. This is why you can easily access the same photos on your phone, personal laptop and work computer. But it also means the data isn't in your hands anymore. The lesson: Unless you take careful steps, your files no longer begin and end with the device on which you created them.