- There literally isn't a single woman I know
who hasn't been harassed online in some capacity,
and I'm not just talking about trolls on Twitter.
Women under 35 are much more likely
to be repeatedly contacted by someone that they don't want,
called offensive names, and even threatened with violence
while using dating apps.
And that's just according to a new Pew research study
from this year.
And under the broader umbrella of internet harassment
which includes things like bullying and doxing,
BIPOC women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community
are much more likely to be targeted and harassed online.
It doesn't actually have to be this way though.
There are a lot of things that you can do
to protect yourself online
and make sure that your information is secure,
and ensure that you do have a plan
in case you ever find yourself in an unsafe situation.
Here's how.
Number one, remove yourself from online lists.
It took our technology reporter exactly 30 seconds
to find my home address on Google,
and that's because I hadn't bothered to check
if I was on any online lists.
It turns out that I was.
If you don't actively opt out, third-party data brokers
can just sell your personal information
to marketing companies.
That information can then end up online for the world,
and that really creepy guy you just rejected on Tinder,
to see.
To stop this, you're going to wanna opt out
of direct marketing lists compiled by these companies.
Acxiom and LexisNexis are the two largest data firms
according to the World Privacy Forum.
You can opt out of Acxiom
by going to their U.S. Consumer Choices page.
And you can opt out of LexisNexis
by going to their direct marketing services opt-out.
Other firms like Intelius and US Search
will ask for your personal information like your license
to verify your identity before you can opt out.
If you do this, it goes without saying
that you should block out your photo and ID number,
and never give out your Social Security number.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence
also has a great resource on removing yourself
from data broker lists.
Also, if you really wanna scrub yourself off the internet,
check out the World Privacy Forum's
entire data brokers opt-out list.
Number two, lock down your social media accounts.
By now, you're probably used to a lot
of unwanted visitors sliding into your DMs.
This should be a no-brainer,
but you probably shouldn't be linking
your social media accounts to your dating profiles,
or geotagging your Twitter posts.
Let's not forget that a lot of dating apps
don't actually screen sex offenders.
And make sure that you're safe from hacking
by setting up two-factor authentification
on every account you have that allows it.
Also, there are a few sneaky settings on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and even your Gmail,
that you're gonna wanna disable too.
On Facebook for example,
you're gonna want to turn off facial recognition,
limit past posts from prying eyes,
and try to prevent Zuckerberg from selling your information
to third-party sellers.
On Instagram, you're also going to want to prevent the app
from accessing your location metadata.
You can disable geotagging on your photos metadata
by disabling geotagging in your camera app itself.
Likewise, you can also turn off the location tagging
in Instagram through your phone.
Make sure that you disable the geotagging
in your Gmail account too.
Lastly, and this is super important,
make sure you can limit what other Google users can see.
Twitter, thankfully,
has a pretty easy way to remove location tagging.
You might also want to change your settings
so that your tweets aren't public,
and make sure that all of your profiles are set to private.
Number three, get support.
If you ever find yourself the target of threats
and harassment, there are several things that you can do.
Make sure that you're taking screenshots of everything,
even if you're tempted to delete all of the messages
that you're receiving.
Keep logs to show patterns of abusive behavior.
Block your harassers on all platforms
while assessing your personal safety.
If the person abusing you is moving across platforms,
showing up IRL such as leaving packages at your door,
or even showing up,
then it's time to contact law enforcement.
Laws governing online harassment also vary state to state,
so depending on the situation,
you might need legal help too.
The Women's Media Center has a great guide
on educating yourself about online harassment,
and Tech Abuse also has a great resource
that can help you collect evidence of harassment.
Depending on the level of harassment,
you might also want to contact your workplace's HR team
or even just talk to somebody.
HeartMob is a great safe space to call online allies
that can help.
The internet can sometimes be a really scary place,
but with the right tools, you'll be able to feel safe
and supported and engage on the issues that you care about.
(simple bell music)