I'm starting to think no remote content should be stored at all, just maybe cached, but I understand how, currently, received text of posts can be stored similar to an email inbox.

But do I understand(*) correctly that Mastodon stores remote media as well, in their own media storage, even when from unsolicited sources? That can't be right.

(*) It is cited as a side effect of the spam wave that some are running out of media storage.