Protecting Your Safety and Privacy Online
Not everyone can be trusted online. Some people may be out to harm you in ways you may not be aware of. Sharing too much personal information can lead to identity theft, cyberbullying, unwanted contact, and exploitation by online predators. You may even regret impulsive online actions or comments, potentially damaging your reputation or leading to others wanting to attack you in some way.
To help protect yourself online, please consider the following tips:
- Use fake names and profile pictures online. Sometimes even signs or landmarks in photos can reveal where you are.
- Think before you share something. What you do online may be permanent and can sometimes be found even after a profile or comments are deleted.
- I repeat, think again before publicly sharing your age, gender, and sexual orientation as this might make you a target for harassment.
- Make sure your online friends are people you know IRL. Not everyone is who they say they are and they may be out to hurt you in some way.
- Do not engage in any form of trolling, catfishing, rage baiting, scam baiting, pranking, harassment, etc. You may not be as anonymous as you think and could become the target of social engineering or other attacks online and IRL (such as swatting, stalking or physical attacks). This may also violate the Chess.com Community Policy.
- Tell your parents or guardians if something you don’t like happens online.
If you experience or witness any abuse or harassment on chess.com, please use the report button on the comment or user's profile. For details, please read my blog post about abuse and harassment.
