All about anonymous blogging
You’d think after going through the steps to keeping your presence anonymous, private, and secure online that you’d be in the clear to express your opinions and views freely… Well, you’d be right, but not completely. See, there are still some tools and sneaky tricks that people may have up their sleeves to be able to track or hurt your internet persona.
That being said, you should also note that to maintain this high degree of privacy will come with a price; that of course being your time invested into this process, as it is not as simple as you would expect. This guide is designed to help you create your own private blog that remains private from the offset and to avoid any pitfalls many other private bloggers fall into.
Domain names
Domain name registration information is likely to be the main cause for a person’s true identity to leak. A site called Who.is lists all detailed information about every domain, including the owner's name, email address, telephone number, and mailing address. Registrars were once required to make this information publicly accessible by default. This transparency aimed to facilitate contact about domain-related issues and prevent misuse. While well-intentioned, it posed privacy concerns for individuals seeking to protect their personal information online.
Fortunately, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has significantly altered the functioning of WHOIS. Under GDPR, EU citizens have been granted specific rights regarding the publication of their personal data, which now extends to domain registration information.
So, how can we use this information to your advantage? Using anonymous hosting services would be the right way to go. Not only do these sites use the GDPR to their benefit, they provide this extra service for free and act as any other hosting service. You would also be asked to pay other hosting services by card, which already gives the hoster plenty of information about you. Here at MyNymBox, we offer domain registration or server registration service that you can pay for with cryptocurrency or any other type of secure payment you feel comfortable with. In addition, there is no need for you to input any addresses, names, whatsoever, we only need an email (which can be temporary), everything else of that sort is done by default to keep you anonymous, as your pseudonym on the site remains as “Anon Nym”.
Pseudonyms
Using a pseudonym for your blog is a must if you wish to remain anonymous. Here’s a couple things to keep in mind when choosing a pseudonym:
- False Name or Brand/Site Name
- The choice would depend on your blog's context. For personal content, a brand name might feel a bit over the top, meanwhile, for a company or service blog, a brand name is more professional but might lack that personal touch.
- Previous Use of Pseudonym
- Most people use pseudonyms as usernames for gaming, social media, or forums. If your pseudonym can be traced back to you, it’s probably safer creating a new one for your blog.
- Link to Real Identity
- Avoid pseudonyms linked to your real identity, such as anagrams of your name, maiden names, or names of family members. You’d be better off with a pseudonym that is completely unrelated to you or anyone close to you.
It’s also important to note that you should then always use your pseudonym for anything related to your blog, including social media, email, domain, and web hosting. Don’t make the mistake of advertising your blog using your personal account, this would obviously blow your cover.
Metadata
Be cautious with any media you upload to your blog. Files often contain metadata; for photos, this could include GPS coordinates, camera brand and model, and serial numbers. These details can all lead back to your identity. The same caution applies to photos uploaded to social media; while some platforms strip metadata, others do not, so it's best to remove it yourself using EXIF metadata tools.
Documents can be even more revealing. For instance, Microsoft Word embeds your name as metadata. Use the "Inspect Document" feature and select "Remove all" under personal information to strip it.
For maximum caution, be aware of the data other sites may collect while you browse, such as your browser fingerprint, IP address, and operating system. To control this, use Tor or a VPN with an ad/tracker blocker like uBlock Origin. For the highest privacy, create your own VPS on a VPN. It's quick and easy, and most definitely worthwhile.
Conclusion
Starting an anonymous blog was never easy, but following these steps should aid you on your way to creating an anonymous success. As an anonymous blogger, you can now sound more authentic in your blogs as you express yourself freely.
The freedom of being able to say what you like far outweighs any hassle required to keeping yourself private online.