Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

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Dullard du Jour
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Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by Dullard du Jour »

A bit off the wall topic no doubt but as I have started digging into genealogy ( I am retired now ) on 23andMe as well as Ancestry a thought came to mind. 23andMe has information only if there is a hit with your DNA sample, whereas Ancestry has a treasure trove of records and other trees. A big thank you to the Mormons for spearheading genealogy to the public mass consciousness.

Seeing this wealth of personal data on people ( Ancestry ) reminded me of how little anonymity people actually have, and of course that brought to mind all the effort that Linux users and others on the web go to, to hide who they are and to protect even public information, that may not be known (but probably is). Those efforts are mostly in vain I would say, except for perhaps the due diligence for protecting online banking and the such. But the rest...who you are, where you have been, even where you may be going and with who is not so protected.

We have Edward Snowden to thank for letting the masses know about government surveillance but actually, many of us already knew that. I retired from a career where I had knowledge of surveillance. I never was a "spook" but had knowledge of some systems and techniques. I got that career because I was previously in the military. Again, never was a spook but was in communications. I was not shocked to read of the governmental mass recording of web and cellphone data and frankly no one should have been.

And so that brings me to ask why would someone pay to have their DNA on 23andMe or Ancestry and then use a "handle" for a name and not add any personal data about themselves? Some add no personal data but will use their name. Regardless, what I have found is that if they fall, DNA wise, somewhere in my tree, I can usually find them with an internet search or with existing family documents I have in hand. It has become annoying to deal with these unknown members of my family who want to know there past but at the same time want to remain anonymous.

Anyway, just some thoughts on anonymity and the futility of attempting to achieve total anonymity. For the most part, I don't think you can; for certain I would have problems finding a member of this site as I have no access to IP addresses. On the other hand, people often use the same handle across multiple sites and searches of those "handles" often will eventually point to someone and where they are.

OK...mild rant and random thoughts are finished. :lol:
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Mar 08, 2023 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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You have the right to go through life unoffended. Children under the age of 13 get a pass on this...others do not.
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RollyShed
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Re: Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by RollyShed »

Some people go to great lengths to let everyone know who they are and what they are doing. Often stupid things too.
Yes, I have a website and on it stories of travel that have been published in magazines or newsletters.
Some want to be known so they can get a (better?) job.

This means that only some (vocal?) people actually want to be anonymous.
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Moem
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Re: Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by Moem »

Am I as anonymous as I think?
It depends... how anonymous do you think I think I am? 8)
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Re: Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by Pulegium »

Who said that ?
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all41
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Re: Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by all41 »

Mentally or physically?
Everything in life was difficult before it became easy.
Dullard du Jour
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Re: Are You As Anonymous As You Think?

Post by Dullard du Jour »

Moem wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:32 am Am I as anonymous as I think?
It depends... how anonymous do you think I think I am? 8)
LOL :lol: Not a clue. :lol: What amuses me though is that so many people go out of their way to be anonymous on the web but then reveal everything about themselves on their cell phone social media. Having started doing genealogy I have found how easy it is to find someone with only a wee bit of information. I have a second cousin (single parent birth it appears, based on last names on certificates) who found me on the web through DNA, I quickly tracked her down with Google, her profession, her location, a set of pictures, her mother (that she knew, but apparently not everything about), her father (who she knows very little about) and her husband. As I got close to some truths she stopped communicating. I have her in the gene tree now, perhaps one day she will want to know more.
You have the right to go through life unoffended. Children under the age of 13 get a pass on this...others do not.
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