If I see a picture on a website and right click, save as, am I stealing someone's bandwidth?

Question

Or does that only happen if I save it and upload it somewhere else? Or is that not how it works at all? Just wondering. Thanks!

Answer 1

you only steal other peoples bandwidth by posting a direct link to an image/file still hosted on another persons server. it's called 'hotlinking' and is a very uncool thing to do.

by saving it to your pc and then re-uploading it somewhere else and then using that copy of the file on websites you are using your own server's bandwidth. (or rather the bandwidth of wherever you uploaded it to - imageshack or whatever).

you can read more about bandwidth theft here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotlinking

Answer 2

You will use a small amount of bandwidth if you save the picture to your system... no more than you would by simply viewing the picture in the first place.

Uploading the saved copy of the image to another site has no effect on the original site's bandwidth, there is no longer a connection to the original, you're working with a copy.

If, however, you put a *link* to the image in its original location, then everyone who clicks that link will use that same negligible amount of bandwidth to view the picture.

However, the site owner, presumably, put the picture there to be viewed in the first place, so there's no real argument to say that you are "stealing" by encouraging visitors to his site.

You may, however, be stealing the picture itself, if you save and use it without the owner's consent.

Answer 3

You are using their bandwith if download the picture or anything else for that matter. Bandwidth is measured on both requests to and from the webserver however you are not stealing their bandwith as this is the point of having a website, for people to visit.

What you may be stealing is their copyright over that image and that is illegal.

Answer 4

So what is bandwidth for you?
The ability of a medium to hold data is its bandwidth and you cannot steal bandwidth by saving pictures over internet, you have to clear your concept about bandwidth, here is a better way to answer your question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth

Answer 5

Yes you are. When you even download a page on your browser some of the bandiwdth is used depending on the size of that perticular page. When you right click and download the bandwidth to the size of the image is gone from that months quota. I run a download site and just to allow people faster and trouble free downloads I have kept the bandwidth high even though the summary disk space requirement is not that.

Answer 6

No, you're just stealing intellectual property. Once the picture has loaded on your PC, you don't consume any more of that site's server's bandwidth unless you reload the page or set a link to the page or to the picture.

Answer 7

No that is not effecting their bandwidth. Now if you were to lcreate a link on your web page back to theirs then that is using bandwidth.

Answer 8

Not anymore than you do by accessing the internet. copying one image is a very small task. (an insignificant spec compared to most downloads.) you're bandwith is determined by your modem. so unless you're using someone else's modem, I don't think so.

Answer 9

that could want to be not achieveable - or an fairly shown photoshop interest. each person who easily IS stupid adequate to textual content andchronic must have their photo printed on the internet, so as that folk both recognize whom to maintain away from, or so the police can prosecute them. >

Answer 10

You are not using banwidth in doing this. You may be violating copyright if you use the pic for another use. You are probably not violating copyright if you just want to keep it for yourself.