Leftovers from the beginnings of the internet, outlets for teenagers in the 2000s, forums seemed on the verge of extinction for at least a decade.
But that was counting those who have created, for several years, specialized sites where they exchange photos published by sellers on Vinted.
A Numerama investigation
,
published this Monday, January 29, brings to light this practice which oscillates between voyeurism and criminality.
To discover
Leadership, balance, career, money... A business coaching program for women
Also read: Wave of scams on Vinted: what happened?
Mechanical
The now commonplace gesture of posting an ad on an online second-hand clothing sales site can become a nightmare for many users.
When parting with your old things, it is customary, to show them off better, to post a photo of yourself where you are wearing them.
Without showing your face, you highlight jeans, dresses, shorts or swimsuits.
It is at this precise moment that the perverse mechanism is triggered.
Men spend hours analyzing accounts, looking for a little visible skin or tight-fitting clothing.
Some even go so far as to send messages to the sellers, most of the time of a sexual nature, via the application's messaging system.
Which can amount to harassment: “I had been receiving messages from men for some time, I was overly solicited.
I put a jersey on sale for 8 euros, and a guy offered me 150 euros if I spent the night with the jersey before sending it to him,” a victim of these cyber-attackers tells
Numerama
, for example .
Questionable headings
As a group effect, this phenomenon has grown to such an extent that discussion groups dedicated to the publication of these stolen photos have been created on forums, open to all.
According to
Numerama
, there are even categories;
men of all ages classify screenshots according to the part of the body displayed: “buttocks”, “tight clothing”, “nipples” or even “dresses” are the main categories.
It is not uncommon for these photos to be shared hundreds or even thousands of times, making their destruction de facto impossible.
AI
We know that artificial intelligence is at the heart of a technological revolution that promises to shake up our world.
But like all progress, this is misguided.
Thus, in recent months, applications for undressing women have emerged;
blessed bread for Vinted voyeurs.
On a site this time completely pornographic, we can see, via a “Vinted” section, photos of women “undressed” by artificial intelligence.
A practice which seems to have some success: there have been more than 2 million visits since October 2023 according to
SimiliarWeb
, which analyzes the audience of other sites.
Also read “You don’t wear it, give it away”: Emmaüs counterattacks Vinted, to encourage giving rather than selling
Impunity
While more and more users are demanding accountability from Vinted, guilty according to them of not moderating the comments of these men and above all, of not excluding them or reporting them to the authorities, the site created in Lithuania in 2008 is ticking.
Their terse response consists of two options.
The first: the wait, the time for their “file” to be processed.
The second: we suggest they take legal action.
But investigations are rare: long and complicated, they often lead to nothing.
A boon for these men in the shadows, hidden behind their IP addresses.