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How To Stay Safe Online As A Blogger

Blogging can be lots of fun and a great business option, but it does open you up to some possible security issues. Nobody likes to consider it, but not everyone out there has good intentions. As a blogger, it’s important to protect your privacy and security. Here’s how you can stay safe online as a blogger. 

Be Vague About Your Location

It’s okay to give a rough idea of where you’re based, and it can be beneficial to do so, especially if you cover things to do in your local area. However, to stay safe online don’t get too specific about where you live. For example, say ‘Yorkshire,’ rather than naming the town you live in. In a large city, just saying something like London is fine, rather than naming the area you actually live in. You can further protect your location by using PhysicalAddress for mail instead of giving out your address to anyone who wants to send you products for review or anything else. 

Don’t Broadcast Your Location

Don't give your location
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Check your settings on social media sites, and make sure they’re not set to automatically share your location, such as showing where you were when you posted on Twitter. 

Of course, sometimes it is useful to share your location, such as posting photos of a venue on Instagram. When you do this, to stay safe online wait until you have left the area to post. The same is true if you visit somewhere easily recognizable. Don’t post until if you’ve gone somewhere else. This might sound paranoid, but it stops anyone from following you or knowing for sure that your home is empty. 

Keep Your Work Details Private

Like your location, it’s best to be vague to stay safe online. For example, you could say that you work in Marketing or that you’re an accountant, but it’s best not to reveal your exact job title or where you work. This is for two reasons. Firstly, if people know where you work, they can find the actual location you work at and find you there. Secondly, not all workplaces look kindly on blogging. If you express an opinion online that they feel embarrasses the company, or talk negatively about your place of work (which many of us do when we’ve had a bad day at the office), and you have your place of work attached to your social media or your blog, you could get into trouble at work. 

Respect Others Privacy

If you often talk about friends or family on your blog, then make sure they are happy for you to do so. It’s a good idea not to use people’s real names and to change any identifying features.

If you blog about your children, make sure you never name their school or show their school uniform. Respect their decision if they don’t want to be included on your blog anymore. Some parenting bloggers choose not to show their children’s faces in photos until they are old enough to understand what’s happening and to give consent to be shown. 

Featured Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash