Know the Laws:
UPDATED February 22, 2010
The best way to keep your personal information safe when using social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and blogs is to stay off of them completely. However, if you are going to use these websites, there are some things you can do to help keep your information as private as possible. There is always a chance someone can find you through the Internet, so if you are being stalked or trying to keep your whereabouts unknown, please consider the risks of using social media.
- Basic Info
- Safety on Facebook
- Safety with Twitter, MySpace and blogs
- Additional resources about safety with social media
Basic Info
back to topWhat are basic safety measures to take?
Here are some ideas for staying safe;
• For any account that you create such as an email account, an online banking account, or a Facebook account, use a strong password and keep it private. To read about more about this please see “What safety steps should I take even if I think the abuser does NOT have access to my email account?”
• Limit the amount of identifying information you use like your birth date, address, full name, etc. This will also help prevent identity theft.
• Be careful about what you post! Consider the articles you post to your profile, the pictures you put in a Facebook album, etc. These things say a lot about you, your interests and possibly your whereabouts.
back to topHow can people find me on the Internet?
It’s a good rule of thumb to assume that anything you put on the Internet could be discovered. Even if you are sure your profiles and email are safe, there are computer hackers and computer spyware that could potentially access your information. Read more about this on our Internet Security page. You might want to Google your name and see what comes up. If your name is something very common, then try modifying your search by including some other kind of basic identifying factor like the city you live in, for example “Jane Smith New York City” or “Jane Smith Salem Highschool." This will give you an idea about how easy it could be for someone to find you on the Internet.