Wattpad question

I have a question.

I’ve had multiple Wattpad accounts over the years, like probably 5, and I’ve always posted different stories on all of them. But, recently, I’ve started thinking that it would be really easy for someone to steal the story that you’ve written and write their own thing that’s the exact same, plot wise, and just have it traditionally published and then there’s no evidence that they didn’t write it before you and that you aren’t actually the one plagiarizing.

My question is this: Is that a reasonable worry or do I really have nothing to worry about and I should just go on putting all my short stories and things on the site as a way for people to be able to read the stories I write?

I stopped using Wattpad years ago, but I remember having the same question as you. In my opinion, Wattpad is more suitable for fan fiction and short imagine/drabble sort of things. You certainly can post original fiction on Wattpad but I’ve noticed originals usually attract very few readers unless you actively promote your stories. So if possible stealing bothers you, I’d recommend taking your works down. But once again, take this with a grain of salt — I am not active on Wattpad anymore so things might have changed over there and my views may not be relevant.

P.S. I actually have a degree in Law and I want to say that while Wattpad claims they help protect the rights of their authors, I highly doubt it would be possible for anyone to prove copyright infringement based on their posted stories. I might be totally wrong but here is my two cents.

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