Privacy

None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.

How this was put together

If you only read a few

Do not burn bridges.
It is common courtesy and you may need to cross an unlikely bridge again.
one person who lived it
Contact mailing distributors directly to request removal from their mailing lists.
This approach reduced junk mail by more than half for one person.
- Distributors or businesses may respond with hostility or lack of apology.
one person who lived it
Be aware that streaming apps may reject '13 and under' age selections and force a different range.
The app stated it did not have ads for that age group.
one person who lived it
Write every work email as if it could be read aloud in court.
Work emails have been read out in court proceedings.
one person who lived it
Use the FTC guide to stop junk mail and credit card offers.
It helped completely stop the credit card offers.
one person who lived it

email, address, plus, mail24

Be aware that using dot variations in your email address may cause you to receive mail intended for others with the same name in different locations.

Return unsolicited junk mail to the sender with a 'return to sender' note.
One person received confirmation of being placed on a 'do not receive' list for 3 years after doing this for a year; it is thought that senders were motivated by having to pay for postage each time the mail was returned.
one person who lived it
Verify that the physical address on file for job-linked financial accounts, such as 401ks, is current.
These accounts often default to the work address.
one person who lived it
Record the exact alias email address used for each service sign-up to avoid login issues later.
To ensure you can perform password resets if needed.
2 people, independently
Set up a dedicated email account for website sign-ups and forward its messages to your main inbox.
It helps manage junk email if you are concerned about data sales.
one person who lived it

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Tag welcome emails from new services with a specific label to keep a record of your credentials and active accounts.
It provides a record of credentials for every site.
2 people, independently
Be aware that using dot variations in your email address may cause you to receive mail intended for others with the same name in different locations.
- May include unsolicited documents such as appointment reminders or insurance notices.
3 people, independently
Do not rely solely on plus addressing for privacy protection.
Sophisticated spammers may strip the tag from augmented emails to hide the source of the leak.
one person who lived it
Use private browsing mode when checking email on someone else's computer to avoid logging into their accounts or seeing their spam.
It prevents the need to log out of existing sessions and hides the owner's spam mail from view.
one person who lived it
If you register an email with a number suffix, always include the number when signing up for services to avoid having your account hijacked by someone who owns the base name.
Otherwise, the owner of the base name may receive your emails and order confirmations.
one person who lived it
Build bridges with colleagues months before you leave to ensure departure notes are not seen as disingenuous.
Notes sent only upon departure can come across as disingenuous if no prior relationship was built.
one person who lived it
Boot from a USB thumb drive to create a sacrificial OS environment for proctored tests.
Virtual machines are not the only method for creating sacrificial OS installations.
one person who lived it
Preemptively explain why your email address contains unusual characters or plus signs to customer support.
Otherwise it can run into problems later when someone else sees it and assumes it is invalid.
- Business accounts may reject addresses even without plus signs if they contain specific provider names.
one person who lived it
Encode the '+' sign as '%2B' in unsubscribe URLs if the link fails due to improper handling of the plus character.
Replacing the plus sign with its URL-encoded equivalent may fix links where the system does not recognize the unencoded character.
one person who lived it
Avoid publishing lists of disposable email domains to prevent sites from easily banning them.
Publishing such lists makes it easier for site owners to add all those domains to their blocklists.
one person who lived it
Be cautious using '+' aliases for customer service contacts, as companies may only recognize the base email address.
Customer support systems often look up the base email rather than the aliased version.
one person who lived it
Remember which sites you used plus-addresses for, as logging in with your normal address may fail if the site requires the exact registered string.
It is confusing because you might not remember what sites you used it on, and the normal address won't be recognized.
one person who lived it
Be cautious when using plus addressing on large enterprise sites, as their systems may break or display errors.
Some services allow inputting the plus sign but subsequently malfunction when processing it.
one person who lived it
Close email and instant messaging applications, such as Outlook, before starting a presentation.
This prevents embarrassing email or IM popups.
one person who lived it
Assume that high spam complaint rates and illegality deter legitimate companies from selling email addresses, rather than assuming direct sales are common.
It is illegal and unfamiliar senders report emails as spam.
one person who lived it
Treat each aliased email address as a separate recipient under CAN-SPAM regulations.
Violations carry surprisingly high penalties.
one person who lived it
Verify that your browser homepage and default settings are professional before presenting.
Inappropriate default pages may be displayed accidentally.
one person who lived it
When recovering a password or logging in, use the exact email format (including plus tags or dot placements) used during registration.
Password reset systems can be finicky and may not recognize the email address unless it matches the registered format exactly.
one person who lived it
Use a dedicated dummy email address for purchases to keep transactional emails separate from personal communication.
It prevents spam from reaching your regular account while keeping receipts accessible.
one person who lived it
Use Incognito mode to shop online for gifts so the recipient cannot see the items in your history if they use the same computer.
one person who lived it

ads, advertising, marketing, websites23

Disable your ad blocker only on reputable websites or for creators you wish to support financially.

Do not click on ads for small businesses or friends' websites, as it costs them money per click.
Clicking ads incurs a cost per click for the business owner.
one person who lived it
Avoid clicking on links in posts that seem too good to be true, such as winning money or free groceries, as they may be indirect advertising attempts.
Threads offering things like $96 of groceries often contain images linking to online betting places as indirect advertising attempts.
one person who lived it
Recognize that phrases like 'made with' or 'made with 100% [ingredient]' in advertising may indicate only a tiny amount of that ingredient is used.
The product contains the ingredient, but the amount could be too small to change the product.
one person who lived it
Hover your mouse cursor over suspicious download buttons to check the preview URL before clicking.
Malicious ads can trigger actions simply by clicking down on an image without letting go.
one person who lived it

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Avoid watching television programs that are primarily designed as marketing vehicles, such as toy-based cartoons or shows with heavy product placement.
If you care about being advertised to, these shows are essentially marketing.
- One perspective suggests that if you truly cared, you wouldn't watch TV at all.
one person who lived it
Search YouTube for free training videos on topics like advertising, marketing, and drop shipping instead of buying expensive courses.
Many paid courses are funnels for outdated information or unnecessary software, while current relevant training is available for free.
one person who lived it
Disable your ad blocker only on reputable websites or for creators you wish to support financially.
Some users prefer to support websites they like by disabling their ad blocker.
3 people, independently
Use private browsing mode when researching products to reduce retargeting ads on other websites.
- Private browsing only deletes cookies and history locally
- Internet providers may still sell browsing history
3 people, independently
Question whether online course creators make money from the methods they teach or from selling the courses themselves.
one person who lived it
Keep discovered advertising loopholes secret to prevent them from being patched.
Sharing the information risks ruining it for everyone else and discourages friends from sharing helpful info in the future.
one person who lived it
Keep an ad blocker enabled on your computer to avoid security risks associated with ads, JavaScript, and Java.
Ads, JavaScript, and Java are not trusted for security reasons.
one person who lived it
Occasionally visit websites related to topics you enjoy to influence your ad feed toward those subjects.
Your browser ad spaces will fill up with content related to those topics instead of generic consumer goods.
2 people, independently
Recognize that some advertisements generate brand hatred rather than sales.
One person reported hating brands based on their ads and refusing to use them because of commercials.
one person who lived it
Assume accounts promoting gambling or crypto in comments may be fake personas planted by marketing agencies.
Planting fake content undermines the authenticity of the platform.
one person who lived it
Approach online discussions with skepticism regarding participant motives.
People are sometimes paid to participate in these discussions to push their sponsors' agendas.
one person who lived it
Avoid purchasing products from companies that use advertising methods you find annoying or deceptive.
Some people believe advertising costs lead to higher product prices, and others simply dislike the marketing style.
one person who lived it
Search for benign, unrelated items on e-commerce websites to reset or dilute targeted advertising algorithms.
Searching for specific items can change the ads you receive.
one person who lived it
Skip optional demographic questions in advertisements to avoid giving away personal information.
Giving them more information about you is unnecessary.
2 people, independently
Read articles about ad tracking critically to distinguish between scaremongering and proven facts.
Articles often engage in scaremongering without providing proof.
one person who lived it
Whitelist websites you frequently use that have minimal or non-intrusive advertising to support them.
Internet aint free
one person who lived it
Mute television commercials, especially during holidays, to reduce exposure to marketing and unrealistic expectations.
Commercials work subconsciously even without attention; muting helps you feel better by avoiding constant marketing and unrealistic holiday pressure.
one person who lived it
Be skeptical of short posts where the author casually mentions winning money at a specific site, as these are often disguised ads designed to spark curiosity.
one person who lived it
Be aware that targeted ads may appear on other devices connected to the same WiFi network as the person who performed the search, potentially spoiling surprises.
2 people, independently

work, personal, devices, phone29

Set up a distinct user profile on your personal device exclusively for professional duties.

Do not treat take-home laptops as personal laptops because they are tracked.
Take-home laptops are tracked.
one person who lived it
Set up a distinct user profile on your personal device exclusively for professional duties.
This separates private data from work files, avoids accidental sharing of non-work content during calls, and simplifies removing job-related data upon departure.
- IT departments may still monitor everything regardless of the user account used.
4 people, independently
Check how you registered for job-related websites and update them if you used your work email.
Your work email is tied to passwords for these accounts.
one person who lived it
Do not store personal information on work computers.
The device does not belong to you.
one person who lived it

24 more on this

Treat work devices as if they are being monitored continuously.
It is probable that monitoring is occurring.
one person who lived it
Export your work phone address book occasionally.
This preserves contacts in case you lose your job, lose the phone, or need to network later.
one person who lived it
Treat a cell phone covered by a work stipend as business property.
Employers may require complete copies of emails and full hard drive snapshots for legal proceedings.
one person who lived it
Do not trust hardware you do not own, as it may contain malware that reads passwords regardless of browsing mode.
Users who are technically incompetent may have malware installed.
one person who lived it
Do not connect personal devices to workplace Wi-Fi networks.
The IT department can gather more information than you would be comfortable with.
one person who lived it
Create a separate user account on your computer specifically for public presentations to keep private files and history hidden.
This prevents embarrassing content, such as search history or desktop images, from being visible to the audience.
4 people, independently
Use only the employer-provided work phone for professional communications.
Using a personal number can lead to long-term entanglement of work and private life.
2 people, independently
Use separate web browsers for work and personal activities to keep search histories and autocomplete data distinct.
This makes it easier to differentiate between professional and leisure contexts and avoids issues with saved login data or search suggestions.
- Incognito mode is an alternative but does not save logins or bookmarks.
2 people, independently
Avoid using office WiFi on personal devices; use a VPN or mobile data instead to prevent tracking and logging of activity.
You may be tracked.
one person who lived it
- Be cautious about browsing on personal phones connected to company Wi-Fi, as traffic may be monitored.1
Request partial reimbursement for home internet and phone bills if required to use personal devices for work.
Companies save money by using remote workers; employees should not subsidize this cost.
one person who lived it
Connect to your work laptop from your personal desktop via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to avoid cross-contamination between systems.
This allows use of monitors and USB devices while keeping systems separate.
one person who lived it
Carry two separate cellphones, one for personal use and one for business.
Keeping them apart helps avoid issues.
one person who lived it
Assume company communications are not private, as IT can read emails and chats without physical access to your laptop.
Management has access to all data regardless of device possession.
one person who lived it
Check your username before logging into websites on public or shared screens, as it may be visible to others.
Visible usernames can cause embarrassment during presentations.
one person who lived it
Take a photo of concerning work emails with your phone instead of forwarding or printing.
While possibly a disciplinary offense, it is much harder to track than digital forwarding or printing.
one person who lived it
Register online tool certifications with a personal email address.
This ensures continued access to credentials if you are laid off.
one person who lived it
Use your work email exclusively for work-related communication.
IT and management have full access to read everything in your mailbox.
one person who lived it
Browse non-work websites on a personal phone rather than a company laptop or network.
Activity on company devices is documented and can be used as evidence for termination.
one person who lived it
Avoid forwarding sensitive or confidential work information to personal accounts.
Doing so may breach employment contracts and expose you to legal liability.
2 people, independently
Assume all workplace activities are monitored.
Employers have accessed profiles and web history as grounds for termination.
2 people, independently
Keep work devices and networks strictly for professional tasks; do not use them for personal activities.
3 people, independently
Avoid saving sensitive or inappropriate files in folders synced to work servers, as they may be uploaded automatically and result in disciplinary action.
Files saved in synced folders can be uploaded to the server, leading to embarrassment or reprimands.
one person who lived it
Delete corporate email accounts from your personal device before giving notice of resignation.
Otherwise, the employer can and probably will remotely wipe everything on the device, including personal pictures and data not backed up.
one person who lived it
Assume employer-provided phones are monitored via device management software.
The device is not yours and runs company management software.
one person who lived it