When you exist online you have to be careful about the services and servers you use to communicate on and search the web. There are some services that will collect and store your personal information and data. That means that clever and menacing people online could take advantage of loopholes and gaps in security to extrapolate your private information, including your home address and personal phone number.
One of these unreliable services is probably an email server you are very familiar with: Gmail. You might be surprised to hear that one of the most popular and trusted email services is actually incredibly easy to take advantage of. Private investigators, stalkers, and court orders can all gain access to your Gmail account information far more easily than with an encrypted email account.
This is why you should never have a Gmail account that has any personal information included in it. If you need to use Gmail for convenience, set it up under an alias, including fake name, fake number, and fake address or no address included at all.
Below, you will find why Gmail and other Google services can leave you open to cyber attacks, threats, and complete lack of privacy.
The Dangers of Using Gmail
It is not recommended that you use any Google products, including the very popular Gmail emailing service. The reason is that Google tracks everything that you search. Additionally, with Gmail, if there is some kind of civil or criminal issue with an individual, the law enforcement agencies and attorneys can subpoena Google in order to collect all kinds of information, private correspondences, and even personal images stored on Google Photos.
This means that if you are sued, it may be possible for the opposing side to be given all kinds of very sensitive information on you, which can lead to damage to business, reputation, and personal life.
It is not just the legal system that poses risks though. Dangerous people like stalkers or invasive individuals like the paparazzi can also take advantage of Google and Gmail’s lack of security and encryption.
If you have a Gmail account, these types of people will go straight to the email account and can plug it in to get all sorts of information on you. Even if your Gmail account does not include your name, the individual searching can simply plug in the account handle and find out all manners of information and details about the person behind the account.
An investigator knows that if they have someone’s email account and phone number, they have a key that will unlock all the information they are looking for. In fact, your home address is probably discoverable to investigators if they have these two small pieces of information.
For anyone, this should be a big wake up call about the dangers of using Gmail, but especially for billionaires, high profile executives, and celebrities this shows that Gmail and all Google products should never be used. It opens you up to too many risks and dangers, both online and in the real world.
How to Keep Your Privacy Information Secure
It is always recommended that you instead choose to use an encrypted service and email. With an encrypted email system that you buy, there is no connection to your name with this email.
Protonmail is an excellent example of an encrypted email service. With Protonmail, you are also given a free email when you register with an account. Upon registration, you don’t have to input all your sensitive and personal information. Instead, your privacy is respected and your communications are encrypted, preventing hacking and cyber threats.
How to Keep Your Social Media
You might think that if you want increased privacy online that you have to forfeit your social media accounts. However, it is understandable that some people love their social media accounts or need a strong presence on Instagram, Twitter, or other accounts for work.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to sacrifice your social media and online presence to stay safe, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
Many individuals trying to make it on Instagram make the biggest mistake of putting their email account on Instagram to encourage businesses to reach out to them. This is the worst mistake they can make for their own personal protection. An intelligent stalker who has fixated on you could then find out everything about you in a second–including your home address.
To prevent this nightmare scenario, do not use a Gmail account on social media. In fact, use fake emails with aliases when setting up your social media accounts. These ‘fake’ emails are real addresses but registered with an alias and fake personal details, which means nothing can be traced back to you. This will ensure that dangerous people on the internet cannot get ahold of your personal information and sensitive data, but you can still enjoy your Instagram or TikTok.
Other Steps You Should Take to Protect Yourself
Alongside using an encrypted email account that is registered with an alias and false information about your address and age, you should also be using other encrypted services. For example, there are certain apps that will allow you to communicate via alias numbers so that your number cannot be traced back to you. This will make your life far easier if you are a high profile individual because your personal number cannot be leaked.
You should also only use search engines that fully respect your privacy and do not collect and store your search history and personal data. While you might think that your data is only being shared to advertisers for more targeted advertisements, this is not always the case and you never know when your search history might become public information.
No matter how low or high profile an individual you are, you should take the necessary steps to protect your private information and keep yourself physically safe at the same time.
