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3 Tips For Masking Your Online Presence So Others Cannot Find You

23 March 2023 by Roy Morris

It's very common for people to share too much information on the Internet. This can lead to strangers being able to find out a ton of information about you, many of which can be found just by searching your username. This includes things such as where you live, where you work, who your family members are, and even your birthday. That's why it will help to know more about how to mask your presence online so that others cannot find you.  

Don't Use Your Real Name Or Birthday Anywhere

One major mistake that people make is using their real name and birthday anywhere in their online profiles. This can include using a variation of their real name or birthday in their username, which could be as simple as using the last two numbers of your birth year to make your username unique. This can give people a good start for who they are looking for based purely on a username, and help narrow down their search.

Use Different Usernames Everywhere

Do you have problems remembering your username so you use the same one on every site? If someone tries searching for your username they can easily pull up other sites that you use, and then start to narrow in on who you are. Completely different and unique usernames are going to limit the ability to link your social media profiles together.

Be Careful Of Who You Follow

Even if you follow the previous two steps, your followers can often be your undoing. This is because many social media sites list people you follow and that follow you in order from newest to oldest. Those initial followers are likely the people closest to you, such as friends, family, and co-workers. By simply looking at those people a lot of assumptions can be made.

For example, your very first follower on a social media account may have been your spouse, who uses their full name in their profile. This information can then be used to determine who you are since you'll have the same last name. One of your first followers may be a close friend, who comments on all your posts and tags you in their own posts. Information about your close friend can be used to determine more information about yourself. 

While the best way to mask your presence online is to simply avoid using social media, it is not always an option people are willing to do. Follow these tips to help ensure that your identity is protected. Contact a local service provider to learn more about how to disappear online.

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