03 Oct Privacy
Posted
in Getting started
In this industry, we all face our assorted battles. Keeping your privacy protected is no exception. This is true for any level of content creator, NSFW or otherwise. No matter if you are on your way to becoming the next big thing, a seasoned veteran or just starting out, we ALL have to take precautions in order to keep ourselves safe. Fortunately, the light speed pace that this industry has taken over the last decade has not come without some helpful tips and tools to assist you along the way! Similarly, there are some simple measures you can take to keep your information and privacy as tucked away as you like. At the end of the day, it is up to you how private you want to keep your life. If you want people to know your real name, that is your prerogative! If you want to use a stage name and tell people you are from a distant planet, you can! The beauty of the internet is that you can be whoever you like, having a little fun keeping your actual information safe is a charming factor that many people adopt.
One of the first and foremost ways to protect yourself and your information is to, quite literally, keep your information to yourself! Not telling people where you are from, or your real name is a very common practice (seriously don’t forgo your choice to be from Mars because a member desperately wants to know where you are from). Having the accounts linked to your product have your stage name and a designated “work” email that uses your stage name as well is a good place to start. Making sure that all of your accessible platforms have a uniformed level of acceptable-to-you information is key. Remembering that using a texting/phone app can be a great alternative to those 2FA sign-ins as this will protect your actual phone number in case someone attempts to break into your account. Some platforms also have features that allow your members to purchase “text/calls” from you using your own phone number, in a case like this using a texting/phone app is again very useful or utilizing one of the many pay-per-call/pay-per-text can keep your information private while still allowing for all the fun! On that same note, making sure you have 2FA turned ON for all of your accounts is very beneficial, never underestimate the power of account protection!
"THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET IS THAT YOU CAN BE WHOEVER YOU LIKE, HAVING A LITTLE FUN KEEPING YOUR ACTUAL INFORMATION SAFE IS A CHARMING FACTOR THAT MANY PEOPLE ADOPT"
Many of the platforms we use offer a geo-blocking feature, which can be very helpful if you have anyone in your life who would not like to find your product in so many words. People use this feature for assorted reasons, not wanting friends, family or even work to stumble upon something you have created is a normal and legitimate concern. Geo-blocking is a feature that restricts your profile, stream or on site content from being seen by anyone using an IP address in that area. Typically, if someone in the area you have blocked happens to manually type in your username or clicks on a direct link, it will either redirect to a home or search page, or state that the page is unavailable. This, of course, would alert them to the fact that the area is, in fact, blocked, but they would have to have found or known your username prior to searching (Geo-blocking in the first place greatly decreases the risk for this!) Many platforms also offer the ability to block individual states or territories along with entire countries. Not every platform uses a feature like this, however, so make sure you check when shopping for a new platform or your existing platforms for an added layer of security! The unfortunate workaround for Geo-Blocking is if someone is using a virtual private network or “VPN”. A VPN is a product that hides the IP address of the user’s device and, in a nutshell, makes it appear to be connected elsewhere (this can be anywhere in the world). These products are great for protecting your own info and privacy, but it is important to remember that they can be used to visit sites and platforms otherwise not accessible based on physical location. On the other hand, if you decide to use a VPN for your own device, this, of course, will not impact your ability to have certain areas blocked through the platform and will add an extra layer of security for you!
There are also, of course, more simple things you can do to keep your information safe. Checking to make sure you don’t sync your contacts with your “cam snap”( or show up in quick-add if you don’t want that!) or any other social media platforms you use for business purposes is a big one. Others include keeping your payment methods and platforms you use for business in general to legitimate platforms which offer payment services, keeping your info 100% private from the buyer, and not using an Amazon wishlist, as those are an absolute info nightmare (check out our Clothing blog where we talk about wishlists for alternative ideas!) and finally, not falling for/responding to any kind of scam message or email that has been sent from someone claiming they are trying to re-verify your information or other sketchy practices. Always check what email the message was sent from, and NEVER give your information to anyone if you have any doubt in your mind. Stay safe y’all!
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In this industry, we all face our assorted battles. Keeping your privacy protected is no exception. This is true for any level of content creator, NSFW or otherwise. No matter if you are on your way to becoming the next big thing, a seasoned veteran or just starting out, we ALL have to take precautions in order to keep ourselves safe. Fortunately, the light speed pace that this industry has taken over the last decade has not come without some helpful tips and tools to assist you along the way! Similarly, there are some simple measures you can take to keep your information and privacy as tucked away as you like. At the end of the day, it is up to you how private you want to keep your life. If you want people to know your real name, that is your prerogative! If you want to use a stage name and tell people you are from a distant planet, you can! The beauty of the internet is that you can be whoever you like, having a little fun keeping your actual information safe is a charming factor that many people adopt.
One of the first and foremost ways to protect yourself and your information is to, quite literally, keep your information to yourself! Not telling people where you are from, or your real name is a very common practice (seriously don’t forgo your choice to be from Mars because a member desperately wants to know where you are from). Having the accounts linked to your product have your stage name and a designated “work” email that uses your stage name as well is a good place to start. Making sure that all of your accessible platforms have a uniformed level of acceptable-to-you information is key. Remembering that using a texting/phone app can be a great alternative to those 2FA sign-ins as this will protect your actual phone number in case someone attempts to break into your account. Some platforms also have features that allow your members to purchase “text/calls” from you using your own phone number, in a case like this using a texting/phone app is again very useful or utilizing one of the many pay-per-call/pay-per-text can keep your information private while still allowing for all the fun! On that same note, making sure you have 2FA turned ON for all of your accounts is very beneficial, never underestimate the power of account protection!
"THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET IS THAT YOU CAN BE WHOEVER YOU LIKE, HAVING A LITTLE FUN KEEPING YOUR ACTUAL INFORMATION SAFE IS A CHARMING FACTOR THAT MANY PEOPLE ADOPT"
Many of the platforms we use offer a geo-blocking feature, which can be very helpful if you have anyone in your life who would not like to find your product in so many words. People use this feature for assorted reasons, not wanting friends, family or even work to stumble upon something you have created is a normal and legitimate concern. Geo-blocking is a feature that restricts your profile, stream or on site content from being seen by anyone using an IP address in that area. Typically, if someone in the area you have blocked happens to manually type in your username or clicks on a direct link, it will either redirect to a home or search page, or state that the page is unavailable. This, of course, would alert them to the fact that the area is, in fact, blocked, but they would have to have found or known your username prior to searching (Geo-blocking in the first place greatly decreases the risk for this!) Many platforms also offer the ability to block individual states or territories along with entire countries. Not every platform uses a feature like this, however, so make sure you check when shopping for a new platform or your existing platforms for an added layer of security! The unfortunate workaround for Geo-Blocking is if someone is using a virtual private network or “VPN”. A VPN is a product that hides the IP address of the user’s device and, in a nutshell, makes it appear to be connected elsewhere (this can be anywhere in the world). These products are great for protecting your own info and privacy, but it is important to remember that they can be used to visit sites and platforms otherwise not accessible based on physical location. On the other hand, if you decide to use a VPN for your own device, this, of course, will not impact your ability to have certain areas blocked through the platform and will add an extra layer of security for you!
There are also, of course, more simple things you can do to keep your information safe. Checking to make sure you don’t sync your contacts with your “cam snap”( or show up in quick-add if you don’t want that!) or any other social media platforms you use for business purposes is a big one. Others include keeping your payment methods and platforms you use for business in general to legitimate platforms which offer payment services, keeping your info 100% private from the buyer, and not using an Amazon wishlist, as those are an absolute info nightmare (check out our Clothing blog where we talk about wishlists for alternative ideas!) and finally, not falling for/responding to any kind of scam message or email that has been sent from someone claiming they are trying to re-verify your information or other sketchy practices. Always check what email the message was sent from, and NEVER give your information to anyone if you have any doubt in your mind. Stay safe y’all!