How to Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger | 11 Handy Tips

We live in a technologically advanced era where Hacker Ransoms are becoming common. How do you Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger, unfortunately, I am not excluded from the horrors of working online?

Over the years I have taken steps to be spared the horrors of working online as a blogger. Every so often we hear about cyber attacks and it makes sense to have *Cyber Security Insurance that protects your website from malicious attacks.

One aspect of blogging that can be truly terrifying is knowing your personal details are bared to the world. When I started blogging I knew I wouldn’t be blogging anonymously but I didn’t know how much I would be sharing either. Early on I learned the hard way to ensure you Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger.

In this post, our aim is to share ways to Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger and highlight handy tips to follow.

11 Ways to Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger

Blogging is an exciting adventure more so when you get paid to share what you love. But one thing that we almost always forget is protecting our privacy as bloggers and this more than using another name. In this article, I will list 11 ways in which you can Protect Your Privacy as A Blogger and safeguard your personal information. 

But, before I proceed with these 11 handy tips, I wanted to talk a little about cyber liability insurance. I can hear crickets as people ask, *What is Cyber Liability Insurance and do I even need it as a blogger? The answer to this comes in two parts;

• What is Cyber Liability Insurance? – It is a type of insurance that “is used to guard your business against internet threats such as a cyber-crime hack.” Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen big firms and corporations targeted and customer information was stolen. It is therefore paramount to ensure, any businesses big or small working online to have adequate protection of their systems in place.
•  As a blogger, do I need Cyber Liability Insurance? – Yes, and No, the yes part is agreeable to those whose blog is a business. And the no is for those whose blog is a hobby and no important personal details have been shared. Most insurance companies that offer cyber liability would always tailor the cover to your specific business needs.

Now that we’ve explained the cyber liability insurance, it is time to focus on protecting your privacy. Below we’ve listed 11 handy tips that you can use to safeguard your information.

1. Domain Privacy

When registering your website domain, you have to provide your personal details which appear in whoswho. All a someone has to do is type your domain in and they will know your personal details. Adding domain privacy when registering ensures your host is listed as opposed to yourself.

2. Back-up your Website

Though not a no-brainer but often overlooked, always back up your information somewhere secure. I am always wary about visiting unsafe websites and never enter my details on them.

3. Use a P.O

Though in the UK we are not familiar with P.O boxes, the Royal Mail does offer this service for a small fee. In most marketing emails, your address is required is this is one ways your information can be retrieved. Use a P.O box in all email marketing and even receiving products.

4. Use unique Passwords

Like most people, I used to use the same passwords from almost all my social media. Now each social media account: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all have their own unique passwords. Make sure your passwords do not have anything personal in them that can be easily guessed.

5. Limited Personal Details

As bloggers we often provide our personal email addresses and names online, be careful about what you provide. When I started blogging, I created a email address specifically for the blog. I try and limit how much personal information I provide to people especially those I meet only online.

6. Click Smart

Over the last few years one of the most common traps hackers have been setting are click baits. We all love a good story, a good gossip but that can be a trap for hackers to steal your sensitive information. Be smart about what you click on and not only on your laptop but mobile too.

7. Firewall and Antivirus

For most of us bloggers, we get a million and one spammy comments and various login attempts. One thing to make sure you have is internet security, laptop firewall, antivirus and ways to blog malicious attempts.

8. Be Careful what you share

Most blogs are personal and we share personal information about our lives. Be careful what you share, make sure you don’t share exact locations, or even share pictures of your home. Be slightly ilusive instead of sharing your exact home, I share the city.

9. Respect other People’s Privacy

Most of us have people who know about our blogs and it’s important to protect their privacy. The same is expected of them when they share your content on social media. I often prefer to tag someone’s social media accounts rather than their personal accounts.

10. Be up-to-date with Software

Almost all software updates are designed to close up any bugs or breaches that might made customers vulnerable. It therefore makes sense to ensure you’ve updated to the latest software updates.

11. Separate Blog and Private Life

When I started blogging, I wanted to tell anyone who would listen and even work colleagues. I learned the hard way that this is a bad idea, it is always best to keep these two separate.

Though blogging is a great side hustle and for some the major job, it has its challenges. One of which is cybersecurity and ensuring we keep our personal details safe online. As technology advances, hackers evolve with it and become much smarter in how they get your personal information.