inlining

Inlining is a dubious method of embedding a file, usually an image, from one website onto another website without permission from the original owner. To inline, a website owner will insert a file address from another website onto their own, which will transfer the file along servers to appear as though the file originated from the linking website. Because the file will appear as if it is from the website that "inlined" the file, not from the original website, the source of the file remains concealed unless the person accessing the content decodes the website or the owner’s name is displayed. Inlining may violate copyright law, as the file creator usually did not authorize the copyrighted materials to be redistributed by the person inlining the file. Inlining can distort the context of the original file, and the original creator may suffer as website viewers may not know the original source of the image. 

[Last reviewed in August of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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