How to stay more anonymous online
Complete anonymity online is very hard. Sharing a lot less about yourself is not. These steps go from easiest to most effort.
First, decide what you are hiding from
Hiding from marketers is very different from hiding from your internet provider, an employer, or a determined attacker. Most people want the first: fewer companies building a profile of them. That is the goal this guide is written for.
1. Give out your email less
Your email address links your accounts together more than almost anything else. Use a temporary address for one-time sign-ups, and aliases for accounts you keep. Why one address per site helps explains this in more detail.
2. Guard your phone number
A phone number is even harder to change than an email, and it is often tied to your real name. Don’t give it out unless a service truly needs it. If a site wants it only for marketing, skip it.
3. Cut down tracking in your browser
- Use a browser with built-in tracker blocking, or add a reputable content blocker.
- Block third-party cookies.
- Log out of big accounts, or use a separate browser profile for them, so your browsing isn’t tied to your name.
- Turn off automatic image loading in your email app. See email tracking pixels.
4. Think about your IP address
Every website you visit sees your IP address, which shows your rough location and your internet provider. A VPN replaces it with the VPN’s address. That hides you from the websites, but the VPN company can now see your traffic instead, so choose one you trust. Tor Browser goes further by routing traffic through several volunteer servers, at the cost of speed, and some sites block it.
5. Share less on purpose
- Leave optional profile fields empty: birthday, address, employer.
- Check app permissions for location, contacts, and microphone.
- Remove location data from photos before posting them.
- Use a different username on different sites.
What none of this hides
If you log in, pay with a card, or give your real name, the site knows who you are, whatever else you do. Browsers can also be recognised by their settings and hardware, known as fingerprinting. Privacy online is about shrinking what you share, not becoming invisible.
Stay within the rules
Privacy is legitimate. Using anonymity to harass people, commit fraud, or get around bans is not, and it is against our acceptable use policy.