062 - Separate Public and Private Information
“Consider using different usernames, emails, or accounts for public activity and personal communication. This can reduce harassment, doxxing, and unwanted contact.”
When you sign up for a new app, join an online forum, or comment on a public news story, you are leaving a digital paper trail. For many of us in the 2SLGBTQI+ community, that trail can feel a bit exposed.
There are spaces where we want to be completely open about who we are, who we love, and the causes we support. At the same time, we might want to keep our professional lives, family interactions, or daily neighborhood chats entirely separate. When your public hobby accounts use the exact same email address or username as your private personal life, it takes very little effort for a stranger to connect the dots. This crossover is often how unwanted contact, doxxing, or harassment happens.
Taking control of your digital world doesn't mean you have to disappear from the internet. It just means drawing a clear line between your public hobbies and your private conversations.
Building this digital boundary is straightforward and takes just a few steps:
Create a "Public-Only" Email: Set up a free, separate email address that doesn't use your real name. Use this specific email exclusively for public forums, newsletters, and social media apps where you interact with the wider public.
Mix Up Your Usernames: Avoid using the same handle across different platforms. If your gaming account, dating profile, and professional LinkedIn page all share the same username, a quick search links them instantly. Give each one a distinct identity.
Review Your Searchability: Look at the privacy settings on your primary personal accounts. Ensure options like "Allow people to find me by email or phone number" are turned off.
Giving yourself different digital compartments isn't about hiding; it’s about choosing exactly how and when you share your story.
What Now
If your public and private digital footprints have crossed over, or if you are facing harassment, doxxing, or unwanted contact because your personal information was exposed online, take these immediate protective actions:
Document the Exposure and Harassment: Before changing any settings or deleting messages, preserve the evidence. Take clear screenshots of the exposed information, harassing comments, or threatening messages, making sure to capture timestamps, URLs, and account handles. Store this evidence securely on an external drive or share it with a trusted friend.
Lock Down Compromised Accounts and Change Credentials: Immediately change the passwords and usernames on all affected accounts using a secure password manager. Enable strong multi-factor authentication (MFA)—ideally using an authenticator app rather than SMS—to prevent unauthorized logins if your phone number was part of the leak.
Request Data Removal via Nonprofit and Public Tools: Use free resources to scrub your private data from public view. You can utilize the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative resources if non-consensual imagery is involved, or follow the doxxing self-defense guides provided by Digital Defense Fund to systematically remove your records from major online people-search databases and data brokers.
Enforce Digital Boundaries and Compartmentalization: Audit your remaining profiles to ensure your public hobbies and private interactions are entirely separated. Delete old, unused accounts, turn off searchability settings (such as letting people find you by email or phone number), and establish distinct, non-identifiable email addresses for public forums.
Connect with Community and Legal Support: Reach out to specialized 2SLGBTQI+ or digital safety advocacy groups for emotional and practical guidance. If the doxxing escalates to physical safety threats, local stalking, or identity theft, contact a legal professional or report the harassment to law enforcement to establish a protective paper trail.
Local Resources
Queer Youth Resource Center (QYRC) https://www.qyrcvancouverwa.org/
(360) 831-0745
Akin (Triple Point Youth Program) https://akinfamily.org/
(360) 695-1325
NAMI Southwest Washington https://namiswwa.org/
(360) 695-2823
