I’m 16 and would really like to write an anonymous blog about my life. However, I’m really not sure how to go about doing this, as I am afraid that people would find out that it was me. I read your post about how to blog anonymously and there was just so much information and things I would need to do, such as creating a new email and so forth. So, I was just wondering if you could help me and give me some tips on how to do it; any advice that you can give me will be gratefully appreciated.
That essay was written by my friend Dr. Brooke Magnanti, who used to blog under the name “Belle de Jour” and eventually wrote a series of novels from her blog. Brooke knows a lot more than I do about this subject, as does Violet Blue (who wrote The Smart Girl’s Guide to Privacy). But the good news from your viewpoint is that as long as you register with an anonymous email and avoid talking about your blog to anyone else, you will probably be able to remain anonymous. See, it’s virtually impossible to stay anonymous if someone with resources wants to penetrate one’s identity badly enough, but that takes money and time and effort, so unless you become super-famous as a blogger (as Brooke did), it is highly unlikely that anyone will invest that kind of effort in doxing you. Consider me, for example; I’ve been insulting cops & politicians and undermining prohibitionist bullshit for almost six years now, and I haven’t been doxed yet. That’s certainly not due to my being some kind of tech witch with impenetrable security, because I’m not; it’s just that I’m not famous enough or dangerous enough (yet) to justify the kind of money and manpower needed to out me (though I have no doubt the FBI has a file on me that includes my real name, clothing sizes, copies of all my X-rays back to puberty, aerial photos of my property and an exhaustive description of my sexual preferences). But as long as you 1) stick to blogging about your personal life and avoid rattling the cages of the powerful or interfering with the money-making schemes of sociopaths; 2) successfully resist the temptation to tell friends about your secret identity; and 3) clean your browser history & cache every time you sign off so your parents can’t snoop, you probably will never have to worry about anyone figuring you out.
Good luck, and enjoy the creative outlet!
(Have a question of your own? Please consult this page to see if I’ve answered it in a previous column, and if not just click here to ask me via email.)
