Be careful what you reveal here!

[Miss Mandy]

Dear Ladies,

Just a word of caution. Recently, in an episode of paranoia coupled with insomnia, I decided to try an experiment. I searched my previous posts and selected seemingly harmless biographical details I had posted from all forums on the site. Using a legal pad for notes and online search engines, I was able to devise a method to deduce my identity very quickly. Big deal you say, you were searching for yourself...duh...Now granted, I am a card carrying member so I can see things here that Joe Stalker can't out in drab land. Nevertheless, this should give you pause.

I then took this method and applied it to others on this forum. I was able to quickly deduce and confirm the identity of quite a few members here! If you are deep in the closet and do not want to be discovered, please, please, please be careful what you decide to share here. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer and if I can do this, individuals and organizations with far greater intelligence and resources can as well...

With that said, my hobbies are backgammon, origami, and butterfly collecting. I live north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the Canadian border. I am 79 years old and a retired supervisor in the frozen food industry...:)))

Hugs,

Miss Mandy

P.S. Keep your caches clean, search histories wiped, check your facebook settings, and make sure your photo share is turned off on your Apple mobile devices (that one almost outed me a work a few years back!)

[Alice Torn]

Nothing surprises me anymore. a little scary. Hopefully no one will use our info to expose, hurt anyone on here. A scary time we live in. The best of times, and the worst of times.

[Krisi]

That goes for anything you put on the Internet anywhere. Once you put something on the Internet, you lose control of it. Put a photo on this site and anyone who can see it (members) can download it to their own computer and then upload it somewhere else. And yes, if you post your hometown and hobbies or other personal information, you can be identified.

Some folks don't care if they are outed and that's fine for them. Others stand to lose jobs, marriages and standing in their communities.

I would love to be able to post photos of my outfits and outings but I just can't take the risk.

BTW: MY avatar photo is actually a photo of me but I would be pretty hard to recognize from that angle.

[Amy Fakley]

So aaah ... what was your method?
I'm curious

[Stephanie47]

For starters input the handle you use on this site into the search engines and see what crops up. Use the "all" and "images" functions and just follow the road. You may find reviews of products and comments made on forums. I guess if you're an IT person you may be able to crack someones IP address. With the current acknowledged hacking occurring in the real world I guess nobody is safe. Give it a try. I've done it myself. Just log all the way off and make sure all cookies are gone to make it a little more challenging.

[JenniferMBlack]

If your going through that much trouble to find information about me you probably already know.

[ellbee]

OMG! Apparently I've been murdered!! :confused3:

[EllieOPKS]

Mandy. I just did an image search on you and an image search on me. The good news - the like images of you were ALL hot! The bad news - mine were all demented. LOL.
I would seriously like to post a pic of me but this very issue haunts me to much. I once posted a pic of me on another forum and the next thing I know someone is making posts using my picture so I am reluctant to ever post pics. The irony is I love looking at the girls here. So many are so attractive.

[Rhonda Jean]

I made the simple error of logging in to my personal email through my work computer. I didn't realize for a long time that that opened up my entire online life to anyone who could get into my work computer, especially given the saved passwords. As far as I know, I fixed that before it was discovered. I have sworn off of posting pictures ANYWHERE, and deleted every picture I could online, and even attempted to delete them all from my computer. Takes a lot of the fun out of it, I must say!

I went through a phase of DGAF, followed by a still-persisting phase of GAF! The problem is that some of the stuff from the DGAF period is not undoable when I got to the GAF period.

Another thing... I checked where the logins had come from on my Yahoo account, which I only used for my girl email. There had been multiple logins from placed I'd never been. I deleted that account, and haven't opened up another.

Years ago, may have even been in the dial-up era when I first was discovering online forums I joined an online community that was all about long hair and hair styling. You had to submit a photo to even gain access. I was still using a film camera, so I had to take photos, have them developed, take them to Kinko's and have them scanned to disc, then load them on my computer and post them. I posted a number of photos there of me in curlers, in the salon, and resulting styles. Long after that site dissolved I googled my name and those photos were still in images. I suppose they're still out there somewhere, but I can't find them just going into images.

[brenda girl]

My job would check every site you went on periodically so I just went to a library to check things out

[sara66]

I don't worry to much about privacy. This is the only place I have ever posted anything. I have no social media. I belong to no other forums. I have really never joined anything. I tend not to be a people person.
I have become less paranoid about be discovered as I have gotten older.
Sara

[Tracii G]

I have done searches like that and never found any damning evidence.

[DIANEF]

I don't worry to much about privacy. This is the only place I have ever posted anything. I have no social media. I belong to no other forums. I have really never joined anything. I tend not to be a people person.
I have become less paranoid about be discovered as I have gotten older.
Sara

Second that completely. I am on facebook but not with my real name, nothing else, and I think most of us would hesitate to post something too glaringly obvious about themselves without meaning to.

[Kate Simmons]

It's a "given" to me that others know who I am. Especially the FBI, CIA and NSA. Not sure about the KGB but hey all they hafta do is ask. :heehee::)

[Josie]

What do you mean by confirming the identity of some members? Could you confirm that I'm Joann Kelly from the midwest and I go by the screen name Josie or are you talking about my male name?

[Dana44]

Ah Ha ha, Yeah if you look me up on the internet I am a part number for a jeep gear linkages. So go ahead and try it. And I have never posted a picture. But if someone searched all of my threads., I don't think you will be able to figure my name out. I do keep my cookies cleaned out and the caches cleaned.

[Miss Mandy]

Dear Ladies,

I did not mean to alarm anyone but yes, I was able to connect some individuals on this forum with their male persona Facebook pages, twitter accounts, etc.

This site is very secure! However, many ladies here release small and distinctive details in their posts and in their biographies that can easily be put together. In my former life, my job was to collect, cross reference, and synthesize data. It did this in research libraries and museums. The subject of research does not matter really. In the end, the processes are the same. My advice would be if you have distinctive hobbies, if you reveal what you do for a living, or you should casually mention what your spouse does, you are subject to discovery. Combine that with your actual given place of residence and actual age, and other personal biographical details, and you can be outed very easily if the will to make the effort exists.

Like many of you, I have so very much to lose if my female persona was revealed. Apart from my wife, no one else knows and I want to keep it that way.

[FrannGurl]

Something I found out, as far as being outed by Facebook was this:

I have used OkCupid and a few other sites, as well as Craigslist in the past to meet men for dating.
While Craigslist may not been the greatest place for dating, I have had success with it and even had a 7 relationship come out of it.

But here's the thing....

I have exchanged pictures with men I would consider dating and have exchanged a few emails, no big deal. Most of them I didn't meet for one reason or another, but awhile later,Ill look at Facebook and it will say "People you may know"... then I see a picture here and there from someone I had emailed, which tells me, that on their end they may also see my facebook picture, I was a bit creeped out by this at first, but then figured if they never saw me in drab, they would probably figure I'm just a friend or a friend or something...Also I use Gmail, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

Not exactly the same thing you are talking about. but I figured it had to do with being outed or identified online so I thought it was worth sharing.

[Kate Simmons]

So Mandy if you figured out who I am, tell me by PM. I'm curious. :)

[Lorileah]

This morning I opened my front door and campaign propaganda fell out. Tiz the seaon. But hand written on one was my name...big green letters...LoriLeah. So here's what I deduced. Anyone trying hard enough can find out what your name is, where you live, what you ate for breakfast and all about that tattoo you got while in Mexico. If you're buried so deep that you don't want anyone to know who you are, go off grid. Pictures here? Who would WANT them. They are vanilla plain photos, often I even question if they really belong to the poster. You want my male name (for what it's worth), I gave it up 19 months ago. It's on Facebook with my account for "him". You can check other sites, I'm not shy.

Remember, the only place muggles can see without joining are the open areas here. If a member EVER gets caught stealing photos and especially USING said photos else where, they will be an EX-member here. Wikileaks has copies of all my emails. And, honestly, why in the name of Carmen Miranda would anyone take the time to dig that deep into anyone here? Nothing on this site is illegal. But just to be safe, maybe you oughta tell the missus and save her lawyer the time Mandy spent find herself.

[Joan58]

I just did a Google search for Joan58. In the images that appeared found none of my photos,but there was one image that I recognized as a regular poster to these forums.

[AlyssaJ]

I cannot stress how important this really is, especially for those of you that are worried about being outed. In my line of work, this is what we call Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), data you are able to gather on a person through freely available tools. Using advanced Google search operators, one can conduct what they call "Google Hacking" which can gain large amounts of information about a person very quickly.

That said, I probably share more here than I should and I very likely could be found out. The thing is I'm at a point that I'm out to my wife, coming out to my family and at some point will be coming out to certain friends. So I'm not horribly worried that someone who knows me may want to spend the time doing that to discover me.

One note, not to minimize the seriousness of this, but remember Mandy that you do have certain insider knowledge of this site and our interactions that does help bias your searches to make it easier to discover things. That's not to suggest that an "outsider" couldn't gain that same knowledge, but it does impact the speed and effectiveness of discovering information.

[sometimes_miss]

Ah Ha ha, Yeah if you look me up on the internet I am a part number for a jeep gear linkages. So go ahead and try it. And I have never posted a picture. But if someone searched all of my threads., I don't think you will be able to figure my name out. I do keep my cookies cleaned out and the caches cleaned.
I thought you were an axle/differential, most commonly found on 1/2 ton pickups, but also on select other vehicles, even corvettes! The name Dana 44 is famous among the motorheads among us. One of your sisters resides in the front twin traction beam of my truck. There are pictures of you all over the net. 267688

[Lorileah]

so is Dana a "rear end"? :)

[dolovewell]

I know I am on government watch lists already.

[Tracii G]

My old 70 Plymouth 'Cuda and 64 Plymouth Sport Fury had Dana 60's and yes what stout "rear ends".

[Judy-Somthing]

I could be wrong but I feel due to the magic of makeup I think it would be tuff to figure out who I am, boy makeup is so cool.
And also make sure in your photos to have backgrounds that people can't recognize!

I look at my photos and I don't see me! I see Miss Judy.

[Diane Smith]

Just use a last name like "Smith" and nobody will be able to pick you out from the noise. I did a Google image search on my handle just now and none of the first 500 pictures that showed up were images of me (in either mode). Strangely, I do think there was one of Docrobbysherry in there!

(And yes, Smith is my real last name, on my birth certificate.)

- Diane

[IamWren]

Well I am either the WORST google user on the planet or I'm unbelievably friggin boring because only one result popped up from the 'all' section and not a single photo turned up when searching my username, femme name and Texas.

Well don't I feel unwanted now.

[Samantha_Smile]

Wow, and I thought I was paranoid!
You're aware that insomnia induces mild psychosis right?

Anyway, here's my tips for local privacy and wider privacy.

1 - Separate browsers for your male female 'selves'. I use chrome for Samantha and Firefox for Dave. As an extra measure of security, chrome is not on my desktop, I have to access it via the start button, this way, nobody uses my PC and selects their browser preference (chrome) to be greeted with a nice purple, flowery browser skin with 'tabs on start' - this site being one of them.

2 - Don't use Apple devices. All your stuff is backed up everywhere! Try android - You don't have to get a Samsung ;)

3 - If you use social media for your male self and are not 'out', do not open an account on the same social media platform for your female self. Too easy to upload a pic to the wrong account.

4 - Store your pics/femme related links and media in folder-ceptions (folder in a folder, in a folder, in a folder...). Less risk of someone 'accidentally' gawping at you fully glammed up.

[LaurenS]

All great suggestions! A couple of things:

Completely separate computer for femme stuff.
A VPN connection

i could go all Mr. Robot and use tor, but that is too much trouble.

[Traci H]

I made one mistake recently with uploading my image for the avatar. I failed to remove my exif data from the image and after thinking about it I downloaded it and looked at the data in photoshop. Since I have my camera set to embed my name and copyright, there it was. I quickly swapped it out for one with deleted info. Sheesh! Anyone can download those images and view such. I did grab a few I saw on this thread and all look OK. Some had some GPS info embedded, but I did not check all of them obviously. Double check yours just in case.

[Rileyaz]

What VPN do you use?

[Traci H]

Anyway, here's my tips for local privacy and wider privacy.

1 - Separate browsers for your male female 'selves'. I use chrome for Samantha and Firefox for Dave. As an extra measure of security, chrome is not on my desktop, I have to access it via the start button, this way, nobody uses my PC and selects their browser preference (chrome) to be greeted with a nice purple, flowery browser skin with 'tabs on start' - this site being one of them.

2 - Don't use Apple devices. All your stuff is backed up everywhere! Try android - You don't have to get a Samsung ;)
.

Samantha, maybe a few more thoughts on the above two.

If you use incognito mode with Chrome, is that pretty safe?

And maybe a little more on the Apple devices. I use my iphone to view this site it at work. I would never go to this site via my work desktop. It might even block it with the software my company uses. Not about to find out. I do wonder however about using that iphone. More thoughts? Haven't put the Chrome browser on my phone. I think I will do that.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Mandy:hugs:, That's why I stay as far away from Facebook as I can...:daydreaming:...

[Dana44]

See I have a nice rear end. LOL I did not do that on purpose I like my name as Dana and I like the number 44 so that what I did and another from this site told me about it. the Dana parts are rally nice on many type of vehicles but the jeep stood out for the Dana44 and the Dana56 drive trains.

[CONSUELO]

I don't worry about being "outed" to those who do not know about ME. If I am I shall deal with it. If someone tries to blackmail me or embarrass me I would say "go ahead".

I did close my Facebook account though but for two separate reasons. Once I did say I liked something on a site and my like showed up on Facebook. This is commonplace now and hotels and stores and all sorts have links to Facebook. I found that as my circle of friends increased I was getting all sorts of irrelevant "like" stuff on my page. The second reason was that reading all of that trivia about people on Facebook was just consuming my time. I decided I didn't really need to know all of that and closed my account.

Perhaps there is a third reason and it has to do with power and hubris. I decided that I don't really like that Zuckerberg fellow. It's all a bit too Orwellian. They seem to love "watching" you too much while proclaiming that they just want to make your life easier and more enjoyable. Right!

[TrishaTX]

Listen I do not want to be outed as only a friend or two and my wife know, but I also have to live my life. If someone searches for me and wants to find stuff, I suspect they will. I am just getting too old to care.

[Jill_cd]

Miss Mandy, Thank you for the post. Once you put something on the internet, it's out there and virtually impossible to pull back. I've gone out as Jill and would like to go out more often, but in the age of smartphone cameras and security cameras, you never know. I just did a Google search of Jill_CD and found another sister using MY name. The nerve! Anyway, food for thought when the pink fog envelops you and you feel like posting a few pics or revealing more about yourself.

[LaurenS]

I use Private Internet Access. It is easy to setup and use.

[Teresa]

Mandy,
Here in the UK many things are being shared with Google, my wife works in the NHS and she didn't realise the share information tick box wasn't an internal system but information being given to Google.
I'm sure it applies to other countries but we give up a great deal in our search of the net and our buying habits, I'm not paranoid about it because I'm out of the closet and in the open . I know my wife will have a different view !

It does appear to be a crazy World where most ordinary folk who use the internet are totally public knowledge, whether we like it or not and yet the same internet companies are refusing to give up information about subversive groups who threaten our everyday existence !!

[MissTee]

I worked in information security for a couple of decades. If we wanted to find an answer, we could. Well before Internet was what we called sneaker-net, and we learned a lot through that. Secrets were not really safe then, either. Google and technology today make it much easier to slip up and leave a trail, and to follow the crumbs back to the source.

Our best hope, then, is to continue to drive for and gain acceptance. Oh, and work things out with the spouse or significant other beforehand :battingeyelashes:

[CarlaWestin]

Interesting! And, I do this from time to time. When I enter Carla Westin into google I'm anonymous. But, I jammed the two words together to avoid pop-up ads from Westin Hotels. So, when I do an image search on google for carlawestin (https://www.google.com/search?q=carla+westin=1&rlz=1C2CHHJ_enUS485US485&biw=1920&bih=939&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjysoiUiPHPAhVls1QKHYcSC_YQ_AUIBigB#neww indow=1&tbm=isch&q=carlawestin), sure enough, there I am in my sexy maid dress. What a trollop! And if you scroll down the page, there's a lot of profile picture of other members here.

[Maria 60]

This was the last post I read last night before I went to bed, and of course I had a dream that I received a call at work of a person telling me he knows about my dressing. Pretty scary
Unfortunately we all have skeletons hanging in our closets and if you search anyone, it amazing what you will find. Fortunately for me I really don't care what people do as long as it makes them happy.

[Angela010]

If you use incognito mode with Chrome, is that pretty safe?


Chrome incognito works fine. No need for extra browsers.
Those posting on contact sites should create extra email addresses and not use their main one.
It is easy to create extra gmail addresses.

[Alice_2014_B]

I've already been introduced, of my volition, by my real name onto the stage of a comedy club in front of over a couple of dozen people while full en femme from wig to heels.

So at this point it's no longer a big deal.

However, thanks for the heads-up I suppose.

:)

[Crissy Kay]

OH Well, It had to happen some day. Miss Mandy has uncovered my reason for being a member here for the last few years. To hide my real identity on the net from everyone!!!

[ShelbyDawn]

My ex found my original account here and did a search on that user name, Cassie, it turns out there are quite a few derivations of Cassie on the forum and she found them all and tried to claim that I had done a lot of things I had not done(some of you girls are a lot kinkier than I will ever be LOL). Printed out is was about 300 pages and I had less than a hundred personal posts at the time. Even brought some of it up in the divorce. So, yes, be very careful with you posts and it is probably not a good idea to let your browser remember your password for you.

[HollyGreene]

It's a "given" to me that others know who I am. Especially the FBI, CIA and NSA. Not sure about the KGB but hey all they hafta do is ask. :heehee::)

The KGB hasn't existed since 1991.

[jennifer0918]

I am deep in the closet now Im worried .
So should I delete my profile form forum?I don't know

- - - Updated - - -

Mandy if you find out something about me can you tell me in PM also?

[Lana Mae]

"They" have been spying on us since the "50s! Who cares? You can live your life or live your life in fear all the time because some one is watching you. The choice is yours! This country seems to thrive on fear! Look at our political arena! Do not let this overwhelm you! Hugs Lana Mae

[DIANEF]

Carla, tried what you did recently, (love the outfit BTW), and many familiar avatars appeared. Mine didn't, but I do constantly change it,

[Krisi]

"They" have been spying on us since the "50s! Who cares? You can live your life or live your life in fear all the time because some one is watching you. The choice is yours! This country seems to thrive on fear! Look at our political arena! Do not let this overwhelm you! Hugs Lana Mae

You should know that employers often check up on potential employees and can check on current employees as well. Facebook has made this very easy but there's no reason they can't go deeper. Wives who suspect something can also check or even hire people to check.

It's unwise to ignore reality. What you leave out for folks to find can cost you your career and can cost you your family.

[nikiaswell]

I am with you Lana Mae.
While not out yet and keeping my girl deep inside of me at the same time I have this wreckless notion that if I were clocked by someone who knows me, it would just be that, and in a way a relief...sortof like "coming out by accident" and not taking care too much that the accident doesn't happen...

[Marcelo]

Know what you mean. I have a Facebook for my female persona and people in China are swiping my pics and selling them on the black market. It's not that I really mind, I actually take it as a compliment, but I have received no royalties whatsoever. :-(

[Kiersten]

I am with you Lana Mae.
While not out yet and keeping my girl deep inside of me at the same time I have this wreckless notion that if I were clocked by someone who knows me, it would just be that, and in a way a relief...sortof like "coming out by accident" and not taking care too much that the accident doesn't happen...

I completly agree. There was a time when I locked this part of me down, but I'll admit it I've let my guard down lately.

Rightnow there are 2 people(wife and an old girlfriend) who know that I'm cross dresser.

It's a scary world we live in, but I know that if somebody wants to find out something about you they usually will succed in doing so.

[IamWren]

You certainly could delete your profile information and I think any photos you may have posted but as for your account, username and any posts you've made on any locked threads.... no chance.
In FAQs and Rules it says by agreeing to sign up you consider this account permanent.

[mona lisa]

I highly doubt I have said anything about myself here that could be traced to me. But that noted, in my view its good to keep as much non-crossdressing info about oneself from this site as possible just to be sure.

[Redjezika]

If someone is here, searching, stalking you here then I'm guessing they are attracted to you/us or have desires themselves. Maybe they are further in the closet than us??? Just my opinion

[sarahcrossed]

If your worried about someone finding out what you post online then maybe you shouldn't post things online. Just sayin.

[Krisi]

If someone is here, searching, stalking you here then I'm guessing they are attracted to you/us or have desires themselves. Maybe they are further in the closet than us??? Just my opinion

Or, they are a detective, working for your wife or employer. And don't think they can't join and make enough posts that they have access to all the sections. We like to think that we are all who we say we are but nobody comes to your home and checks your wardrobe before letting you join.

[sometimes_miss]

It's a "given" to me that others know who I am. Especially the FBI, CIA and NSA. Not sure about the KGB but hey all they hafta do is ask. :heehee::)
then

The KGB hasn't existed since 1991.
Ah HA! That's exactly what they want you to believe! These spy organizations use their alphabet soup abbreviations to lull us into complacency. It's now called something else, federal something something. But it still exists.

[Toronto Kristen]

I did a quick Google search having read this thread. Using my handle and some variations (including with my family name), I did not find any photos or other links to this persona. I suppose that there is something out there and that someone could find it, but it would appear to require a more than cursory search.

That being said, I do have a Facebook profile under my male name. I joined using a Hotmail account that I use for online purchases and has no connection to my CDing. As an extra layer of security, I used a U.K. mobile phone number that I had used when visiting there. Recently, I have noticed some "sponsored" ads on my Facebook page that are directly related to e-mails I have either sent or received using the hotmail account. My recommendation would be to avoid using the e-mail account(s) associated with any social media sites for this site and any other websites you would rather not be reflected on the social media sites.

[kaleyg]

Mandy -- I'd be curious if you could do that with my identity. If you have some spare time, give it a shot and private message me the result. Thanks!

[Barbara Jo]

No offense intended to anyone but...

It must be understood that anything on the net can not be assumed to be 100% private.
If you want to keep your life 100% private, keep off the net.

[Tracy Irving]

If I type this will anyone see it?

Kiddie porn addicts keep getting caught because they think the internet is anonymous.

Everyone knows everything
And no one's ever wrong
- Rush

[mona lisa]

No offense intended to anyone but...

It must be understood that anything on the net can not be assumed to be 100% private.
If you want to keep your life 100% private, keep off the net.

Nothing is 100% sure but if you are careful, your odds of keeping your life private online can come close to that.

[Exris]

You post in one thread that you live in xxx city.
You post in another that you work at the largest department store "locally".
You post in another that "Im the manager of a department at my employer".
You post in another "Hey! Im 34 years old too! Happy birthday!"

And your out.

Thats easily enough info to track you down.

I could be tracked from the breadcrumbs Iv left. Not quite so easily... but I know I could be. It's not a concern for me as the only ones that might do it are the curious and not the ones I hide everything from. But thats the jist of a phishing attack on you. If you are that concerned - never reveal any of that or at least keep it ambiguous enough to cast serious doubt.

[mona lisa]

You post in one thread that you live in xxx city.
You post in another that you work at the largest department store "locally".
You post in another that "Im the manager of a department at my employer".
You post in another "Hey! Im 34 years old too! Happy birthday!"

And your out.

Thats easily enough info to track you down.

I could be tracked from the breadcrumbs Iv left. Not quite so easily... but I know I could be. It's not a concern for me as the only ones that might do it are the curious and not the ones I hide everything from. But thats the jist of a phishing attack on you. If you are that concerned - never reveal any of that or at least keep it ambiguous enough to cast serious doubt.

Other than my location, my marital status, and one small bit of past info, I have kept everything else of a personal nature under wraps. I doubt that's anywhere near enough to out me.

[dreamriver]

thanks so much that's a great reminder for a newbie like me...

[Exris]

Other than my location, my marital status, and one small bit of past info, I have kept everything else of a personal nature under wraps. I doubt that's anywhere near enough to out me.

Probably not. Unless someone already had doubts and were hunting you down... and decided this site were the best place to do it... you are safe.

More breadcrumbs on me. I deal in data. Im an IT guy. But a specific kind... and one that isnt common. I work for one of the hugely big 3. In order, they are Apple, Microsoft and Oracle. I work for one of those... and I do not worry for any one of you from those big 3. They could all find you easily in they deployed EXA on this site.

But they are not looking for you. Our governments (assuming we all live in the western world) are not looking for us.

We are mostly only in jeopardy from our "loved ones". Just cover up the casual lego model to be assembled and you will be just fine.

[mona lisa]

Probably not. Unless someone already had doubts and were hunting you down... and decided this site were the best place to do it... you are safe. .

Good point Exris.

Its one reason I do not use my own pictures on here anywhere.

[StephanieM]

That's the price of technology sometimes, we give up our privacy without even noticing it. Anyone with access to google can find out a hell of a lot about you in just minutes. They will probably find things you posted 20 years if you used your real name.

[Lucy Lou]

No offense intended to anyone but...

It must be understood that anything on the net can not be assumed to be 100% private.
If you want to keep your life 100% private, keep off the net.


I know I am on government watch lists already.


Dear Ladies,

Just a word of caution. Recently, in an episode of paranoia coupled with insomnia, I decided to try an experiment. I searched my previous posts and selected seemingly harmless biographical details I had posted from all forums on the site. Using a legal pad for notes and online search engines, I was able to devise a method to deduce my identity very quickly. Big deal you say, you were searching for yourself...duh...Now granted, I am a card carrying member so I can see things here that Joe Stalker can't out in drab land. Nevertheless, this should give you pause.

I then took this method and applied it to others on this forum. I was able to quickly deduce and confirm the identity of quite a few members here! If you are deep in the closet and do not want to be discovered, please, please, please be careful what you decide to share here. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer and if I can do this, individuals and organizations with far greater intelligence and resources can as well...

With that said, my hobbies are backgammon, origami, and butterfly collecting. I live north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the Canadian border. I am 79 years old and a retired supervisor in the frozen food industry...:)))

Hugs,

Miss Mandy

P.S. Keep your caches clean, search histories wiped, check your facebook settings, and make sure your photo share is turned off on your Apple mobile devices (that one almost outed me a work a few years back!)

Thank you for the points you made. I understand that a lot of what goes on on the net is watched. I keep a lot quiet but also don't really care about other things. I have posted some things on here, some photos a few years ago and to be brutally honest I think I looked wonderful and if I got found out then what the hell. Sometimes I think, yeh great let the world know what I am. I am sure if any government was looking at me they would say 'Freak" But I don't care. I am proud of what I am and I think I look great. The net is what it is. Anybody uses a credit card is on a list so, what the hell. I sometime think that I want to be found out so I can say. " yeh, what of it! Get a life." Lucy Lou xx

[Exris]

Good point Exris.

Its one reason I do not use my own pictures on here anywhere.

You can post your pics on here. Your avatar pic says you do not look even slightly like any "man" Iv ever met.

Just remove the Geo tags. http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/03/16/how-to-remove-gps-geolocation-geotags-from-iphone-photos/

I look nothing like "me" when dressed. I barely recognize me. Apart from loving the new me... security is a massive concern. If the photo contains no metadata then it could be anyone.

Im going to have an avatar in Feb after my very 1st outing. I will also have a photo shoot. I will win exactly ZERO awards in the convincing dept. But it will make me happy. I kind of need to get it out. I expect few comments on my appearance as Iv noticed that the very convincing get a ruck load and the lesser far fewer. Im OK with far fewer.

But my last word of advice to you is not to let technology scare you. You can impersonalize it if you wish to. Just ask here and I or another member that has RLE on it will help out. We all fear discovery. Im terrified of it sis. I wont allow it to hinder me tho... I'll just escape in another way and stay one step ahead :)

[~Joanne~]

It's unwise to ignore reality. What you leave out for folks to find can cost you your career and can cost you your family.

I agree . It's just not on this website, or forum, but every where you tend to leave your digital foot print. if you use skype, send a friend a picture and watch how much they can really see because they show a lot of things you may not have intended for them to see because of how skype works. how much of it THEY store on their servers in unknown.

[Becky Blue]

Anything that is posted on the internet is available, but it is like looking for a needle in 100,000 haystacks. However if someone is looking they may be able to find things.

My advice is to stay away from irrelevant details or change irrelevant facts that have no impact on anyone. For example why post you work in the electronic department of a large retailer, just say i work in retail or I work in electronics. If you have 4 kids why post that? Maybe say i have kids... makes no difference to anyone if you have 2 3 4 or 5, but being accurate is a marker. As posted above the risk is where you say 4 things in 4 different spots, but someone looking can put it together.

Interestingly i tried facial recognition software and it did not recognise Becky and my male side as being the same person I am very happy to say.

[mona lisa]

Speak in generalities most of the time and things should be fine.