Hey Nordies, Have you ever wanted to be
invisible and do stuff without anyone recognizing you? Sounds great, doesn’t it? At first glance,
the online world seems to be a place where this is possible. But is this really the case?
But before we start answering this question, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube
channel for all the latest content. As you’ve probably already guessed,
today we will be talking about online anonymity. It is a widely discussed subject,
especially relevant during these days of acute online surveillance and data hoarding.
So, is it possible to be completely anonymous online?
Let’s look at some of the popular opinions on online anonymity and check whether they are true.
Number one. Deleting all social networks and online accounts will make you anonymous.
While burning all the digital bridges may seem like a way to vanish,
that’s not really the case. The truth is that you can get tracked in tons of other ways
other than through social networks or other online accounts.
ISPs can track you by inspecting your IP, search engines can see what you look for, while
websites employ cookies to track your actions. Moreover, data from social networks sometimes
doesn’t disappear completely and can still sit in their servers for a pretty long time.
So no, deleting your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram won’t get you closer to anonymity.
Number two. You can hide yourself by using fake credentials
Another popular trick is to use fake names and emails. Well, it does make you anonymous, but on
a very superficial level. Web services you use still track your actions and collect your data,
while websites and search engines still use cookies to track your actions.
Moreover, if your friends register your real email address and name in their Google address book
and synchronize it with Google, your fake online persona will be seriously
corrupted and Google will know your real name and associated email.
Number three. Anonymity can be achieved by using secure instant messaging apps
While not a 100% effective tool, this indeed brings you a step closer to anonymity. Private
messaging services wrap your messages in powerful encryption algorithms, which can’t be brute-forced
by third parties. They use end-to-end encryption to safeguard the end points of the message.
However, any network adversary can still see that you use such a service. Moreover, there
is always a possibility of a backdoor attack, which would compromise your privacy immediately.
Number four. Tor and similar tools guarantee 100% anonymity
TOR is indeed a next-level anonymity tool. It routes your traffic through several remote nodes
maintained by volunteers and encrypts it with several encryption layers. It constantly uses
different nodes, so it is really difficult to trace the sender and recipient of the data.
However powerful it may be, it still doesn’t guarantee you 100% anonymity
as the last node in the chain sees the traffic in its unencrypted form. Moreover,
the nodes are operated by volunteers, so a human factor can also play its role here. This weak spot
doesn’t make TOR a 100% anonymous tool. Number five. VPN makes you anonymous
VPN is a must-have tool for online protection as it encrypts your traffic and changes your IP,
preventing anyone from seeing what you do or browse. Yet, it has little to do
with anonymity as it doesn’t disguise your identity. It only changes your geolocation
and safeguards your traffic from snoopers. Still, a VPN is a must for your online
protection and we don’t recommend going online without one. NordVPN is your best choice here.
Number six. Zero-knowledge file storage can help you stay anonymous
Such services as DropBox or Office 365 won’t give you much privacy as they collect your data
and can potentially cooperate in mass surveillance programs. But private and secure zero-knowledge
services indeed make you a bit more invisible. Such platforms store your information but
can’t access it, so it’s not possible for them to disclose it to someone else too.
Yet, here you can’t be sure of your privacy too. There is always a possibility of a backdoor
attack, which can compromise all the safety. So, as you can see, even the most robust anonymity
tools have potential loopholes, so we can safely state that 100% online anonymity is impossible. By
combining all the tools above, you can get close to it, but there is always a chance that someone
will find you out. Especially if that someone is a technically powerful adversary who is after you.
Moreover, similarly to our physical world, we leave so many online footprints. It is almost
impossible to step into the online world without leaving one. It makes anonymity and
even strong privacy really challenging. But maybe you have a different opinion?
Leave it in the comments below and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Stay safe!