Online and Social Media Presence

Having a presence on the internet now is all but inevitable these days, with social media and video streaming services being incredibly common. You can't even use most smartphones without creating an account with Google (for Android), Apple (for any of their devices), or even Microsoft (for Windows 10, although you can bypass the account requirement.) All those accounts track your usage, browsing habits, stuff you purchase online and usually sell the data or use the data serve you targeted ads.

I manage to mitigate some of the tracking, for example, I use an ad blocker (uBlock Origin) on my browsers. Additionally, I have a Pi-hole setup on my home network, which utilizes DNS to redirect known ad and tracking links to a non-existent IP address, blocking them before they even reach my computer (you can read more about that here). I might write a separate article about DNS-based ad blocking later. Also, I use a program called Windows 10 Debloater to disable most of the telemetry Microsoft has embedded in Windows 10.

Now, for social media, all my accounts are private, if a company wanted to find out anything about me from my profiles, they would have to send me a friend request. I also don't post anything with any profanity of my social media accounts, in fact I don't post on Facebook or Instagram very often, at all. I try my best to keep my mouth shut when I'm on social media when it comes to controversial topics

As for having multiple emails, I do indeed have two main emails. One I use and try to keep separate from my real name and I use it for Steam, Discord, and a few other websites. If need be, I also have the ability to create virtually infinite email accounts through the website my dad owns.

My advice for maintaining and online presence is keeping your social media set to private, keep separate email accounts for your more personal accounts and information, like Facebook and Instagram, and another for places where people really don't need to know your name, like gaming platforms (Steam, X-Box Live, PSN, etc). Also, for browsing the internet in general use an ad blocker and practice common sense (don't fall for those stupid virus scams).

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