Do you worry about being indentified on Gransnet?

Oh, I have no doubt I could be identified. Not because I give too much away but simply because I understand:

a) how hacked data gets onto the dark web and

b) that our internet interaction is being scraped constantly by bots for data that can be added to what’s already known, to build profiles for scammers and other malevolent forces.

The Reform Party have made so secret of they fact that they are building profiles of people. There is a case against them in the High Court as they are refusing to respond to requests to discover what personal data they are holding.

When there’s a political party that wants to repeal the legal acts which currently give us some protection, that is very worrying especially when they plan to target specific groups.

People don’t just disclose personal data about themselves, do they? They disclose personal data about other people in their life. I wonder whether those other people are aware and how comfortable they would feel knowing that things which should be private are being widely discussed and shared.

The Human Rights Act gives us the right to a private life and that does include keeping our personal and medical records confidential.

It follows therefore that if you could be identified and have discussed personal information about a family member which would identify them then you are breaching their right to privacy.

Job seekers nowadays are advised to review their social media as prospective employers will look at it. AI tools make that very easy to do. What if your child or grandchild has done that but you have disclosed information about them that could damage their chance of getting a job?

DWP and HMRC already look at social media in investigations but it wouldn’t take much of a step to use it more widely.

I was looking for something on Google and found a thread that is running now on Gransnet.
I try not to give much away about myself but I may have slipped up occasionally.

They know I post on GN and are inclined to see it as one of my eccentricities. Smiling indulgently

My lot just roll their eyes. 🙄😂

Can we ask to have all our posts removed? Would it make any difference seeing as GN is public?

Whitewavemark2

I do not post certain information for all sorts of reasons. I am a private person by nature, and only post stuff I am comfortable with.

But it wouldn’t worry me if I was identified by friends or family.

They know I post on GN and are inclined to see it as one of my eccentricities. Smiling indulgently😀.

What yes, I know what you mean.
That sounds like the same smile that I get from my own family on the very rare occasions that Gransnet is mentioned. In other words, when they are surprised by something 'modern' that I know about and they ask how I have come to know about it 😁

(I sometimes read Mumsnet too - I think their jaws might drop right off if I revealed a lot of the things I have 'learned' from that!)

I do worry that family might identify me, even though I dont think I ever share anything that they would consider too private.
The risk is very low as I can't imagine for one minute that they would ever spend hours on end browsing through Gransnet, and even if they did, the chances of them finding a post that would make them think came from me is pretty remote.

The trouble is, when responding to a post about family situations that are similar to your own, it is so easy to get carried away in in a way that really could be identified by your own family, and there are certainly times when I type out a long response based on my own experience before I realize that I have just done exactly that.
Fortunately, I usually realize in time to delete some or all of it before posting.

My username is deliberately non-identifying.

You can do wide posts. For example, instead of saying I live in Blackpool (I don't) just put north west. Instead of my sister, put my friend in Oz. You can cushion quite a lot by keeping key facts and placing them in different surroundings. Even say I read on an Australia social media site, whereas in reality it was your local FB page.

I am always amazed at the questions people answer here e.g. what is your pet's name, do you have a middle name. These are the type of security questions your bank may ask. I got asked last month 'how far is it to the railway station'.

I am sure there are stalkers on here (and all other sites) gathering this type of information so they can steal your id.

Please be careful what you post

^AI Overview Posting real-time holiday photos on social media can invalidate your home insurance claim if it alerts burglars that your house is empty.

I wasnt aware of this. Not that I have ever done it.

I'm not really camouflaged at all here. I've been to meet ups and took part in a COVID zoom group of us East coast Scots. One of my books was a GN giveaway at one point too.
So I tend to post my opinions but not about family or friends.

fancythat

^However, I am aware that, unlike FB this is an open forum so I am careful about revealing my exact location and when the am going to be away etc. I believe posting when you are away on social media invalidates your travel insurance.^

I dont say when I am going away, either.

I am wondering if your last sentence is true.
Makes some sense.

There were some photographs on here recently. Photos from our window or some such.

Too late now. I think everyone who wanted to could identify me but why would they want to.

I enjoy the meetups and only once someone asked not to be photographed and that made me pause to consider.

I hope my DC don't know about my not very secret life 😂

I had to inform my DGC that the old woman emoji stalking them on Duolingo was me .

I don't post photos of the DC or DGC

Anyone friend or foe who knows about our estrangement could easily identify me because of what I've posted over the years, but it doesn't bother me.

However, I am aware that, unlike FB this is an open forum so I am careful about revealing my exact location and when the am going to be away etc. I believe posting when you are away on social media invalidates your travel insurance.

I dont say when I am going away, either.

I am wondering if your last sentence is true.
Makes some sense.

This thread is always a timely reminder that the site is open to the world and his dog not just a small, select and cosy group of GNs.
I am amazed to read posts which contain derogatory remarks about family, friends, colleagues and others by GNs whose posts are quite identifying anyway. They must be unaware or forget that the subjects of their comments may read Gransnet as well. Unless, as I thought when I first found Gransnet, that those threads were fiction.

I do not post certain information for all sorts of reasons. I am a private person by nature, and only post stuff I am comfortable with.

But it wouldn’t worry me if I was identified by friends or family.

They know I post on GN and are inclined to see it as one of my eccentricities. Smiling indulgently😀.

There are topics that I would like to open up about on here but as they are so specific to my personal situation I feel I can’t do it as anyone who knows me would immediately identify me.

I have met up with other GN members, and have made good friends online.

I do not post anything provocative or personal about family members, they know I am on GN and it wouldn’t take them long to work out which username was me.

One GN member did post rather revealing info which could have identified my house, fortunately GNHQ removed the post PDQ

Post only what you feel comfortable with, if you went to meet ups some people might know you or the area in which you live therefore don't go. For some people if they have no one to confide in, they might divulge more than they intend and regret it.

I have seen some quite shocking posts in the past where highly intimate family details were posted and they were so graphic that if you knew the family I think you would easily identify them. It was personal medical information about family members, their behaviour towards each other, their relationships. I just don't know what possesses people to share so much private information about their nearest and dearest who might very well be mortified to know it had all been posted online.

My family could find me on here easily enough if they wanted to but I bet they can’t be bothered. 🤷‍♀️

It bothered me a while ago when someone in an exercise class rushed up and asked me if I was dragonfly46. I laid low for a while after that. Now I no longer have contact with her it no longer bothers me.
However, I am aware that, unlike FB this is an open forum so I am careful about revealing my exact location and when the am going to be away etc. I believe posting when you are away on social media invalidates your travel insurance.

Not particularly bothered.

Sago

I was really shocked when a regular poster inadvertently revealed exactly who she was.

I tried to DM her via Instagram, Gransnet and FB but she does not accept private messages.

In 5 minutes I had her name, her husbands name, her business and home address.

I told you you should have been a detective sago 😂

No, anything I've shared is generic enough it could apply to many people. It's possible my parents could think my support thread here is about them, but no-one else would recognise what is in there, and I've not posted things too specifically identifying in that.