I know that as leftists, participating in online communities requires a certain level of discretion. I’m admittedly not as privacy focused as I probably should be, but I would like to at least minimize the chances of being put on someone’s list. Do I need a VPN every time I open this site or do I just need to be careful of what I post?
First, don’t post any personal information or any identifying information. No pictures of local scenery, or any text describing where you live or your culture or ethnicity.
Second, don’t reference any accounts you’ve previously had. Never give any info to reference accounts. Also, create multiple accounts to spread out your information in case you post any identifying information, so it’s difficult to piece together. All my accounts across multiple platforms have less than a year of activity.
Third, don’t post anything inciting. If you’re going to post stuff that’s likely going to be picked up by filters, use a euphemism or leave it as an implication. It takes effort to dox someone, or to pin an account to an actual person. Don’t make it “worth it” for them.
Fourth, use browser based solutions, and not dedicated apps. and don’t use a browser where you can log into like chrome. Firefox is a good alternative.
If someone really wants to find you, the info is always out there, whether it’s your chromium browser linked to your google account that’s recording what you type, or your Apple OS, etc. but to requisition and to compile that data takes time and effort.
The third one is a big one. The others honestly won’t really get you noticed by anyone, but the third one, that will, and if you’ve broken rules 1 and 2 already, the feds can find you easily.