Staying anonymous online is not a one-time setup. It is a continuous and intentional process that cuts across all spheres of life. Everything you do must be geared towards avoiding oversharing and ensuring your online anonymity. Of course, this is easier said than done. But adhering to the following tips makes it a tad easier.
Your go-to when trying to maintain anonymity online should be zero-knowledge services. These services do not require you to provide any more information than you need to and, in most cases, cannot access your information even if they want. This means that ONLY you can access whatever information you share on these platforms, which offers more privacy than many options on the internet.
Most of these services are backed by cryptography, a cryptocurrency and blockchain technology core feature. This tech has multiple use cases that play into the desired online anonymity, with one of them being access to anonymous platforms for gamers to play their favorite casino gaming titles without compromising the intended anonymity. Another provider that offers zero-knowledge encryption is Protonmail. With sending and receiving emails a huge part of many people’s lives, knowing your email provider cannot go about snooping in your business is assuring.
The use of cryptocurrency and its cryptography encryption technology does not end there. It comes in quite handy when making purchases online. Taking Bitcoin as an example, many places, outlets, and providers allow purchases with Bitcoin. Unlike traditional alternatives that require buyers to provide their financial information, like their banking and credit/debit card details, using crypto to make purchases on online malls and stores, to name a few, can maintain the payer’s anonymity.
This other tip for staying anonymous online can be considered overkill by some quarters. Owing to how quickly things can go south, most users decide to steer clear of the dark web. However, internet users in any of the most technologically advanced countries have found ways to get the most from accessing regular internet sites with browsers like The Onion Router (TOR), commonly used by dark web browsers.
The advantages of using TOR extend beyond the niche use of accessing specific parts of the internet. These include the encryption of browser history, the ability to access the internet without censorship, and reaching web pages that are not indexed by standard search engines. All these, coupled with the heightened privacy due to the security and encryption of its networks, ensure a nearly unmatched anonymous experience.
As stated earlier, it is important to use the TOR browser cautiously. Inexperienced users can end up doing more harm than good and unwillingly share private information.
Digital nomads anywhere in the world still need to communicate, and there are many social media networks to sift through. The pile becomes significantly smaller when privacy and anonymity are concerned.
Luckily, Signal exists to meet users’ needs who want instant messaging without worrying about their messages being accessed by third parties. This article by Business Insider puts Signal side by side with Meta-owned WhatsApp. It shows that while both applications offer end-to-end encryption, Signal just edges WhatsApp as the more secure option.
Signal is the choice app because it protects the user’s metadata, while WhatsApp does not. This, coupled with the fact that Meta, the parent company that owns WhatsApp, is profit-oriented compared to Signal’s nonprofit nature, means you can always trust the latter to act in the user’s interest.
This last tip is not much of a tip; it resembles a correction. Most users expect VPNs to grace or even kick off the list. But this misconception arises as a result of confusing privacy with anonymity. Truly, it takes some doing to be entirely anonymous, but VPN does not help this cause. It helps with encryption but only does a little as far as hiding your identity is concerned. Unlike TOR, which bounces your internet using multiple encrypted servers, VPNs only change your IP address for one of theirs. If their server is compromised, all your browsing data can get in the wrong hands.
Staying anonymous online is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to pull it off. Doing so has many benefits in this current age where data breaches and identity theft have become the day’s order. The above tips put you on the right path to covering your footprint while you enjoy the World Wide Web like everyone else.
