Some people don’t believe in online anonymity or feel as if they don’t have anything to hide. Others feel extremely uncomfortable about the amount of information that’s on the Internet. Edward Snowden warned Americans about the government watching and recording their every move.
Online anonymity has become a broad topic. Facebook forces its users to use their real name and surname to post on the social networking site. Governments and corporations want to know more about people. The Chinese government is using “Big Brother” tactics by implementing a social media credit system. Learn about the benefits of online anonymity, and find out ways to secure your privacy on the Internet.
The Benefits of Online Anonymity
Freedom of speech
With online anonymity, you have the freedom to save whatever you want. You can’t say what you want on social media without the risk of getting caught and facing the consequences for your statements. This might not be important to you if you live in a country where freedom of speech is already a human right. There are countries in this world where you can go to prison for making a controversial opinion.
Using an ad hoc e-mail and registering with an anonymous username isn’t going to give you the protection you’re looking for. Your IP address can be easily traced from anywhere. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can provide additional protection. VPN services change your IP number or assign you a new one. This gives you the ability to say what you want on message boards, chat rooms, or social media platforms.
Freedom of movement
This gives you
Personal safety reasons
Going back to the days of online anonymity means ensuring the safety of users. This also means protecting yourself from cyber attacks, hackers, and data breaches. People share too much of their lives as well as their personal information. When your information is exposed, you are opening yourself up to a potential cyber attack. Online anonymity ensures that no one can find out your name or location.
How to Be More Anonymous Online
As stated earlier, a VPN is important to ensure your anonymity. A Virtual Private Network provides you with a greater deal of online anonymity. It hides your computer’s IP address from everyone except the VPN provider. It allows you to use the Internet through a secret tunnel.
Once you choose a VPN service and install it on your devices, your Internet traffic is protected from the moment you use it. Choosing the right VPN and knowing the provider’s privacy policy can help you make the right decision. Some VPNs are run by illegitimate organizations that can monitor your online movements.
If you want to protect yourself online, you need to protect yourself through multiple layers of various entities, so that no one knows what you’re doing on the Internet. It’s important that you trust the VPN that you use. The most important factors you should consider when choosing the right VPN provider are cost, location, privacy, and speed.
The Current State of Online Anonymity
The news of the Edward Snowden leaks has some wondering if the government really monitors their online activity. Online users have also become uncomfortable about how their personal data is being used by advertisers and the overall Internet industry. By giving companies their personal data, users are helping build a fast and free online experience.
Users are still going along with this in the post-Snowden world by sharing too much of their personal lives on social media. But there has been increased interest in ad-blocking plug-ins and privacy tools such as anonymous web browsing, private search engines, and secure e-mail services.
There have been talks about exposing the identities of online trolls or individuals who make controversial, damage, and untrue comments online. But these individuals only make up for a small number of online users. The fight over online anonymity and privacy is just getting started. Users seem to be conflicted over how much they should share over the Internet and at what cost. But it seems like the people who are fighting against online anonymity are the ones who are making the most money.
It’s important that you fight for online anonymity in your daily Internet life. Using a VPN can protect you when surfing the Internet. While everyone should protect their privacy, that should be your only reasons for promoting online anonymity. You shouldn’t use these privacy and safety tools for online trolling or illegal activities.
How seriously do you take your online anonymity? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
