This is a topic that is brought up a lot in this industry; how to keep you identity safe and a modicum of privacy when providing the type of content we do online. Today I’m going to share with you the tricks I use to keep a low profile in my real life.
Use a Fake Name
We touched on this once in our side hustle to main gig series, always use a fake name when starting out with this industry. Set up all new social media accounts. These accounts should be set up on different email accounts than the ones you have tied to your personal accounts and should have the settings for accessing your contacts and recommending to your contact turned off. Check out our blog on checking your privacy settings HERE
Block Button Baby
Use that block button. When you’re setting up new accounts, take the time to block everyone in your real like from being able to access that page. This includes friends, family, co-workers, neighbors. Heck block the lady at the post office. This will make it much more difficult for people to find out about your paid pages, mostly because they wont be able to find you. Please keep in mind that this is not fool proof. Some people have multiple accounts on some platforms, and if you miss one of those accounts, those people will probably be able to find you.
Check Your Settings Regularly
Check in on your privacy settings every couple of months to make sure some of them didn’t get flipped back on. Tik-tok is notorious for constantly asking you to share with your contacts, and if you absent-mindedly click this option, you may flip on the settings. While you’re checking these settings, make sure that your private Facebook and instagram are set to private. If you post more personal stuff on an instagram account, set that account to private so you have to approve every new follower. This keeps that page for just you to share updates with a select audience and not every Tom, Dick and Harry trying to see whats in your your pants. Do the same with your Facebook, make it so that only friends of friends can add you on Facebook and all of your public information is giving nothing away. Public information typical include relationship status, job, where you live, etc. Hide this or remove it all together. And turn messaging from strangers off while you’re at it.
Use a VPN
Use a vpn when uploading content to your paid platforms. Some bad actors are able to find your IP address from the content you upload or your web activity. I dont know how to do this, dont even know where to start. But computer savvy people do. So protect your location by using a VPN. I use Express VPN I can connect up to 5 devices to my VPN, its available on all platforms and and operating systems and its only $100 a year. If your sign up with the attached link, your first 30 days are free.
Geo-Blocking
On top of using a VPN I also use a geo block. Most fan platforms offer in house geo-blocking but if you want people in certain cities, states or even zip codes to even access your link-tree you can set up a service called CloudFlare to hide your link from people in those areas. I have the entire state of Maine and the country I currently live in under a geo-block using this service. Use these geo-blocking services both on your fan platforms and on your link trees.
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These are the tricks and services I’ve used in my 5 years in this industry and for the most part I’ve kept what I do from the people I care most about and don’t want knowing. None of this is 100% fool-proof, as anything you put on line can and will be found by someone willing to dig deep enough and find ways to circumvent these services. But it is a solid way to keep the average joes at bay.
Want more security tips? email us at Sara@unfiltrd.com
Stay safe my friends! 💜 Sara Chacón, Unfiltrd Staff
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