Discussion do you prioritize anonymity online?

[violetforever]

i know it's rightfully encouraged on here but even elsewhere online like social media…do you not upload photos of yourself, use your real name, share your location, allow strangers on your accounts or post any identifying information? i found that it's so normalized to do most of that and anyone who doesn't is viewed as strange and ignored.

when i was younger i used the internet like any other teenager/young adult who grew up on it. not caring too much about internet safety and digital footprints. maybe even worse because i've shared my address and full name with people lol. nothing bad came from it but nowadays i have no desire to have an online presence like that.

i prefer this forum a lot because i deleted my social media accounts and there's basically none of what i left behind. the validation people seek from likes and comments on their photos. the bots, trolls, ads and forced AI. having the ability to stalk people. addictive content and algorithms. superficial socialization. i'm probably forgetting some examples but i like being disconnected from those things.

 

[quietbird]

i know it's rightfully encouraged on here but even elsewhere online like social media…do you not upload photos of yourself, use your real name, share your location, allow strangers on your accounts or post any identifying information? i found that it's so normalized to do most of that and anyone who doesn't is viewed as strange and ignored.

when i was younger i used the internet like any other teenager/young adult who grew up on it. not caring too much about internet safety and digital footprints. maybe even worse because i've shared my address and full name with people lol. nothing bad came from it but nowadays i have no desire to have an online presence like that.

i prefer this forum a lot because i deleted my social media accounts and there's basically none of what i left behind. the validation people seek from likes and comments on their photos. the bots, trolls, ads and forced AI. having the ability to stalk people. addictive content and algorithms. superficial socialization. i'm probably forgetting some examples but i like being disconnected from those things.

Oh, I feel very much the same as you. (And I also love Fiona.)

 

[SanagiMezamete]

I'm quite paranoid about online privacy, and it's probably not half as justified as it feels. The amount of effort I put into staying anonymous is probably closer to how someone who is being targeted by organized crime or who has an ultra-dedicated stalker should behave, lol. Or maybe it is justified?

I analyze everything I post which could be remotely identifiable through a cost-benefit lens and weigh the risk to my privacy versus what I get out of it. I will never post my name, location (besides country), pictures of myself, birthday, phone number, and in many cases even my sex or age (besides >18). Even if I think any of that info will be obvious for whatever reason, it's better to not give confirmation just in case.

Despite all that I still get nervous that someone (who??) will care enough to stalk me and connect all my online profiles and real identity to each other (why??) and that it will be the end of the world for sure (how??)

I like to be disconnected from most if not all social media too. It's like a mental torture machine for me seeing how people treat each other, and all the comparisons, and the distressing news. Especially with the state of the world right now.

 

[SleeplessAndSad]

I don't use social media anymore because i don't feel comfortable sharing private things online, but maybe that's just because of how i was raised.

Nowadays people seem to care less about privacy and long term effects of what they post. To each their own i guess.

 

[Chocomel]

My way of doing social media is to have 2 accounts. One for being anonymous and one for friends and family. I rarely post in my real account, because well I don't care about posting my private real life stuff. Meanwhile on the anonymous account tho, I post almost everyday to stranger online. For the security of hiding my identity... I think I already give up on that. It is too late for me to hide and bury everything that will eventually lead it to my real account. Like if someone out there really determined to do it, I think they can do it. And I don't really care if they do it, or maybe I care. Because someone out there really put all that effort to know me, for the better or worse

 

[Forveleth]

I have deleted all of my social media but I used to be fairly loose with my privacy. I uploaded pictures of myself (with the metadata intact like an idiot) and I have said the city where I live (it is a big one though so I am not worried about that). I always hid my real name, my birthday, and where I worked, however.

 

[violetforever]

Oh, I feel very much the same as you. (And I also love Fiona.)

i don't think i've ever felt more seen than when she ended her MTV speech by saying "it's just stupid that i'm in this world."

Despite all that I still get nervous that someone (who??) will care enough to stalk me and connect all my online profiles and real identity to each other (why??) and that it will be the end of the world for sure (how??)

I like to be disconnected from most if not all social media too. It's like a mental torture machine for me seeing how people treat each other, and all the comparisons, and the distressing news. Especially with the state of the world right now.

this might be off topic but what you wrote reminded me of this thought. i hate how people use the internet or social media with a sort of secrecy now. cautious anonymity like yours is justifiable but then there's people who fully share about themselves online but want the anonymity of people who know them personally to not find out because they're doing something shameful. almost like building a double life online. that type of "anonymity" is really bothersome to me. it's weird to me that people have a fear of being found out online or do things online that could affect their real life but use it anyway. another reason to stay away from social media i guess. it's a complicating thing.

 

[violetforever]

I don't use social media anymore because i don't feel comfortable sharing private things online, but maybe that's just because of how i was raised.

Nowadays people seem to care less about privacy and long term effects of what they post. To each their own i guess.

the idea that anyone could stumble upon my profile just weirds me out. i don't want someone with bad intentions even knowing of my existence. i had someone use my photos for a catfish account when i was a teenager and i should've taken that more seriously back then. especially since it was on a sketchy app with sketchy people. i don't get how people don't care when the wayback machine exists and it's so easy to quickly screenshot/screen record anything.

 

[SleeplessAndSad]

the idea that anyone could stumble upon my profile just weirds me out. i don't want someone with bad intentions even knowing of my existence. i had someone use my photos for a catfish account when i was a teenager and i should've taken that more seriously back then. especially since it was on a sketchy app with sketchy people. i don't get how people don't care when the wayback machine exists and it's so easy to quickly screenshot/screen record anything.

Sorry you had that happen to you.
I think one could be pretty safe when you think before you post. Only share stuff that you would be ok with when it ends up public.
Sometimes i wonder if i would still have contact with some people if i wouldn't have avoided social media...

 

[violetforever]

My way of doing social media is to have 2 accounts. One for being anonymous and one for friends and family. I rarely post in my real account, because well I don't care about posting my private real life stuff. Meanwhile on the anonymous account tho, I post almost everyday to stranger online. For the security of hiding my identity... I think I already give up on that. It is too late for me to hide and bury everything that will eventually lead it to my real account. Like if someone out there really determined to do it, I think they can do it. And I don't really care if they do it, or maybe I care. Because someone out there really put all that effort to know me, for the better or worse

that's how i used social media too before deleting it except i never had an account for anyone irl/my family because my family is barely active on social media, if it all. thank god. i just posted to strangers like a safe place outlet from my real life. i grew tired of the online atmosphere though, it's meaningless for me to post to people who aren't close to me and don't actually care about me. i think if u aren't doing anything that would interfere with ur real life it's not the worst thing.

I have deleted all of my social media but I used to be fairly loose with my privacy. I uploaded pictures of myself (with the metadata intact like an idiot) and I have said the city where I live (it is a big one though so I am not worried about that). I always hid my real name, my birthday, and where I worked, however.

i never even thought of metadata when i was posting online so it's definitely for the best that i'm not on there anymore. i haven't had a job yet but i kept that in mind.

Sometimes i wonder if i would still have contact with some people if i wouldn't have avoided social media...

that was my point about superficial socialization. i've had some "friendships" that were literally only dependent on the fact that we interacted on a certain social media. when i became inactive the friendships were gone. so how real were those bonds if social media was the only thing holding them together? i think people today confuse commenting on posts or replying to stories as connection when it's quick and barely means anything!

 

[suudo]

i know it's rightfully encouraged on here but even elsewhere online like social media…do you not upload photos of yourself, use your real name, share your location, allow strangers on your accounts or post any identifying information? i found that it's so normalized to do most of that and anyone who doesn't is viewed as strange and ignored.

when i was younger i used the internet like any other teenager/young adult who grew up on it. not caring too much about internet safety and digital footprints. maybe even worse because i've shared my address and full name with people lol. nothing bad came from it but nowadays i have no desire to have an online presence like that.

i prefer this forum a lot because i deleted my social media accounts and there's basically none of what i left behind. the validation people seek from likes and comments on their photos. the bots, trolls, ads and forced AI. having the ability to stalk people. addictive content and algorithms. superficial socialization. i'm probably forgetting some examples but i like being disconnected from those things.

I'm a guy so I get to not really care about it. Don't exactly care about people knowing my name or what state or even town I live in, because let's be completely honest what is someone going to want to do with that information? I live paycheck to paycheck so they're not really gonna be able to rob me, and I'm not going to give out my actual address in any case. The rest though nothing they could use against me, worst thing they could do is stalk my Facebook account from 13 years ago and honestly I think I'd be flattered if they did. I respect people who do take care to keep themselves anonymous but personally I've never felt in danger or scared. My life is a pretty open book to anyone interested.

 

[violetforever]

I'm a guy so I get to not really care about it.

that's true in a sense but look out for the catfishers and scammers still i guess

 

[suudo]

that's true in a sense but look out for the catfishers and scammers still i guess

Yeah, luckily or unluckily I live on a pretty thin margin so if someone wants to get money from me they'll have to try pretty outrageously fucking hard lmao
Easy not to get scammed when there's nothing to scam. Have ignored legitimate debt collectors for less, much less fake ones.

 

[martyrdom]

do you not upload photos of yourself, use your real name, share your location, allow strangers on your accounts or post any identifying information?

Yes I do none of the above. But I have very serious reasons for it, due to the activism I've been involved in throughout my life. So my threat model is different than most people.

If anyone would like to be better about privacy, here are some resources:

The New Oil | Introduction

Data is the new oil

thenewoil.org

Surveillance Self-Defense

We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a member-supported non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty-five years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and your friends from online spying. Read the BASICS to find out how online surveillance...

ssd.eff.org

https://unityoffields.net/tactical-security-resources/

Privacy Guides

Established in 2021, Privacy Guides is the largest impartial, non-profit media outlet focused on finding privacy tools and learning about protecting your digital life.

www.privacyguides.org

 

[Pluto]

 

[violetforever]

If anyone would like to be better about privacy, here are some resources:

thanks i'll read them)

 

[nattns]

i know it's rightfully encouraged on here but even elsewhere online like social media…do you not upload photos of yourself, use your real name, share your location, allow strangers on your accounts or post any identifying information? i found that it's so normalized to do most of that and anyone who doesn't is viewed as strange and ignored.

when i was younger i used the internet like any other teenager/young adult who grew up on it. not caring too much about internet safety and digital footprints. maybe even worse because i've shared my address and full name with people lol. nothing bad came from it but nowadays i have no desire to have an online presence like that.

i prefer this forum a lot because i deleted my social media accounts and there's basically none of what i left behind. the validation people seek from likes and comments on their photos. the bots, trolls, ads and forced AI. having the ability to stalk people. addictive content and algorithms. superficial socialization. i'm probably forgetting some examples but i like being disconnected from those things.

Not really, nobody gives fk about me anyways.

 

[mourningd0ve]

I deleted all of my social media in 2021 and haven't been back since. I refuse to use services that require my legal name, telephone number, etc
I won't post photos of myself online, and I refuse group photos/selfies. I tell people straight-up that I do not want to be in photos with them because I do not want my face out there anymore. Especially now with the AI crap. I have no idea what kind of people are out there.
I use aliases everywhere. Every account is segregated with different email addresses.
The only place where I use my legal name is my website, because I do freelance in real life. Of course that's completely divorced from any anon accounts.
Also most people do not have my telephone number.
I'm a nobody but I've had experiences with being stalked, so I'm incredibly paranoid about my privacy and personal security these days.

 

[violetforever]

I deleted all of my social media in 2021 and haven't been back since. I refuse to use services that require my legal name, telephone number, etc
I won't post photos of myself online, and I refuse group photos/selfies. I tell people straight-up that I do not want to be in photos with them because I do not want my face out there anymore. Especially now with the AI crap. I have no idea what kind of people are out there.
I use aliases everywhere. Every account is segregated with different email addresses.
The only place where I use my legal name is my website, because I do freelance in real life. Of course that's completely divorced from any anon accounts.
Also most people do not have my telephone number.
I'm a nobody but I've had experiences with being stalked, so I'm incredibly paranoid about my privacy and personal security these days.

i've only had social media deleted since the beginning of this year, so like 2 weeks, but i feel better without it. i haven't missed it at all and i only wish i did it sooner. even when i still had it i already stopped posting photos of myself and stuff for a while so i was ready to get off.

one time i looked up someones name on google to go to their facebook account and i found more than i wanted to. just from that search alone photos of their child on a facebook account of the daycare they went to came up just because the persons name that i looked up liked one of the posts on the daycare account and likes are public. i don't blame you at all for avoiding group photos. literally everything seems possible to find if you search hard enough or barely try. those reverse search websites scare me too. if you just upload one photo of someone or a number you can find so much more photos and info like an address.

 

[EternalShore]

yeah, I do~ I try to make sure you can't connect dots all the way back to me~ I prefer for people to not even know what country I live in or my real name~ >_< unfortunately, my mom posts and shares way too much about me with people online and irl against my will~ :/

 

[violetforever]

unfortunately, my mom posts and shares way too much about me with people online and irl against my will~ :/

my mom overshares online too. i think i'm better off not even knowing what she shares about me if she does lol.

 

[GreaterThanLessThan]

I've only recently begun seriously exercising my right to online privacy. I've sent out GDPR erasure requests to everything associated with my personal info, and I try to use a VPN for everything or Tor whenever applicable. Obviously, this is nowhere near being fully anonymous, but I'd rather err on the side of caution

 

[Zanmato]

I remember I loved the internet, back in the day, (talking about 2006/2009, when I was about to become a teenager), because of that.
Completely anonymous!

People complained about the internet, they kept saying "they're escaping from reality!! It's a bad thing" (Turned out that "the reality" went to the internet, some day.)

Around 2009, where I live, people started using Facebook.
I remember exactly my first thought: "Why tf should I use my real name??"
I hated that social from the very beginning because of that lol

I didn't want people who could find me, and I don't wanna even now.

Real life is one thing, internet is something else.
Bad thing is people who think that "I wanna hide something".

No, I just wanna distract completely from my real life problem.
As people said: an escape from the reality.
It wasn't bad at all.

It might be stupid, probably the younger generation will never understand this boundary I still wanna keep... Maybe I'm wrong, but they started using the internet when everyone was already on it.

 

[violetforever]

I remember I loved the internet, back in the day, (talking about 2006/2009, when I was about to become a teenager), because of that.
Completely anonymous!

i'm jealous i wish i could have experienced more of that era of the internet. back then i was just a child so i have some limited memories about it. i was mostly just playing online virtual world games for kids. they were anonymous too so maybe that's why i still miss the atmosphere of them. it's rare online today and feels so different.

 

[InversedShadow]

Honestly, I grew up with a mindset that nobody really cares about me, my irls and online friends have been changing nicknames so often while I always tried to use the same ones everywhere so if they see me, they know it's me, or if they want to find me they can find me! Of course, I limited sharing of confidental information or pictures of me to minimum, because I always knew it's best not to, but if someone knows I really love nicknames and knows the right ones, he could go after me and trace everything.
I've shared images to only a selected few people in the past, and well, nothing happened, people saw, people left, people forgot, that's a classic.

What keeps me up though, is if someone uses it for smth evil, like phisshing, or spreads my image around the internet, or if I'm going to be jjust another image on a bot's pfp, that's pretty scary I think... so I just don't share my images online unless I trust someone.

 

[Lemonite]

very much, it would be bad and i dont wanna actually waste time explaining people and defending myselfe

 

[Zanmato]

i'm jealous i wish i could have experienced more of that era of the internet. back then i was just a child so i have some limited memories about it. i was mostly just playing online virtual world games for kids. they were anonymous too so maybe that's why i still miss the atmosphere of them. it's rare online today and feels so different.

Plus, now you're always connected, because of smartphones.
Great technology, sure, but...
You never have a real break, a real time off.

 

[Panola]

not really i dont care anymore

 

[violetforever]

while I always tried to use the same ones everywhere so if they see me, they know it's me, or if they want to find me they can find me!

that makes sense but i have people i don't want to find me lol i guess if there's people i want to keep in touch with those are the people i'd give my phone number.

Plus, now you're always connected, because of smartphones.
Great technology, sure, but...
You never have a real break, a real time off.

i absolutely hate that. you're so right. the internet used to be a place to log on and log off but now it's permanently with us anywhere. we should've never evolved past flip phones lol.

 

[InversedShadow]

that makes sense but i have people i don't want to find me lol i guess if there's people i want to keep in touch with those are the people i'd give my phone number.

I can understand that, I was just refering to myself - Maybe I can consider myself lucky that the people I don't like don't particularly seek me