HOW TO NOT GET DOXXED :
an introduction to internet safety


DISCLAIMER :

I sadly cant guarantee you wont get doxxed, even if you follow my tips. The 0% risk isnt a thing.
Im not an internet safety professionnal, that guide might be partially incomplete.
I decline every responsability if someone ends up doxxing you.


INTRODUCTION :


What is "doxxing" ?

Doxxing is a common practice of targeted harassment on social media. It involves stalking a person's activity online in order to find their personal info and release it to the general public. That practice endanger not only the person doxxed but also their relatives.


"Why should i read this guide ?"

This guide exists for prevention purposes. You might think that youre not likely to get doxxed, but actually everyone is potentially likely to be harassed online. (For example, someone recently got doxxed for not liking a ship.)
Remember, its always better to act and protect your info before anyone is able to threaten you.
Ill also give security tips in case you get doxxed, but prevention is always better than the cure.



FIRST TIP : USERNAMES

I strongly recommend to not use the same username on every website. If you use the same username on every social media, a simple google research will be enough for someone to find all your accounts.


SECOND TIP : Private info

I know its tempting to share a lot of private info here, its seen either as an etiquette, either as a "fun" thing to do.

First, im gonna explain what i mean by sharing your personnal info as an etiquette. imo etiquette means informal pressure.

The informal pressure to share info : you must have witnessed that some ppl on twitter want you to reveal your race and you sexuality and put it in you bio. you dont "have" to do that. especially if youre not comforatble with it.

You might want to make a carrd because a lot of people are doing it and you feel like you have to make one. I strongly recommend to not share all your social media links in your carrd. A lot of info is shared in these carrds, which is fine as long as its not sensitive info.

Heres a list of all the info i recommend to never share on your public social media accounts :
Last name (and also your dead name)Name of your cityName of your highschool, universityName of the company you work forPhone number / emailName of your siblingsName and job of your parents
SHARING YOUR INFO "FOR FUN"

Image description : a picture with the title "get to know me. 1 like equals one answer". on that picture u can see the words "sexuality, height, eye color, relationship status".

This type of post basically. It might be fun to do it, but i recommend not doing this type of challenge. If someone wants to find info about you, they will be super satisfied to discover you made this type of posts lol.



THIRD TIP : BE AWARE OF THE LINKS YOU SHARE

You might also give away info about you without even noticing it.
If you share an amazon wish list; ppl will be able to find ur location and full name, same with your paypal.



FOURTH TIP : YOUR DISCOVERABILITY AND YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS

I recommend to turn your acc private on facebook, because people can find your relatives if they can have access to your friendlist.



FIFTH TIP : BE EXTRA CAREFUL WITH THE IMAGES YOU SEND ONLINE

Once you share a pic of you, everyone is able to screen or download it.
Most importantly, if you dont want people to find your other social media accounts, please dont share the same picture of you on multiple platforms. Reverse image research motors exist.



SIXTH TIP : BE AWARE THAT METADATA EXIST

Metadata is data that provides info about other data. Images you share, PDFs, videos, word documents, audio recordings, and many other type of files can contain metadata. It can provide info such as the identification of the author of the file, the creation date, and also the location.
Thankfully, twitter and other social media are aware of the dangers of divulgating metadata, so they automatically strip the metadata of the stuff you post online. Just remember not every website does it, and dont forget to strip the metadata of the files you post on a website that doesnt do it automatically.



SEVENTH TIP : USE MULTIPLE MAIL ADRESSES

I talked about deactivating discoverability settings earlier, but its not always enough, and its still fairly easy to find all the accounts of someone on the internet with only their mail adress
Some websites just do it for you.
I recommend using disposable email adresses, or at the very least, i recommend to dissociate your professional email adress and your personal one.



BONUS : HOW SHOULD I REACT IF IM BEING DOXXED

1. I recommend changing all your passwords as soon as possible and your safety settings (set it to two factors authentification)

2. I recommend setting all your social media to private (or even deactivating these for a period of time)

3. seek legal advice and dont forget to report the ppl who doxx you



CONCLUSION :

These are the only tips i could think of. Browse safey everyone!

( Made with Carrd )