Online Safety

Privacy Journal is committed to helping everyone have a safe, fulfilling time online. Our “online safety” articles pull together information from verified sources into comprehensive overviews of difficult topics — from protecting yourself as a woman or LGBTQ individual to ways you can reliably protect your biometric data.

In this section, you’ll find guides on every aspect of online safety, security and privacy. Since we’re VPN-positive here, we’ve got plenty of information on how to understand the VPN world — especially what you’ll pay for top-tier service, which isn’t always as clear as it could be.

Why You Should Care About Online Safety

It’s not a conspiracy theory, but documented fact: people out there want to violate your privacy and security online. As you’ll read in Privacy Journal’s guides to online scams, cyberbullying and other crimes, you can’t always exist freely on the internet without taking precautions.

Many women online face harassment from men who will do anything to get revenge for perceived slights, from insults to revenge porn to full-on real-life stalking. As unfair as it is, women have to be more careful than men online.

That’s to say nothing of the many times the government itself violates our privacy rights. We all want to fight back against an unjust state of affairs. We want female autonomy and the privacy rights of all humans to be respected online. But it’s hard to know where to start. Privacy Journal team members are ready to step in as your mentors.

Advanced Guides

To really take online safety into your own hands, though, you’ll need more information than just how to use a VPN. For example, our ultimate guide to anonymous browsing will reveal how hackers, stalkers and criminals can track you online, equipping you to fight back.

You’ll learn which privacy settings on your browser are the most important, how to block trackers and what makes a private search engine like DuckDuckGo superior to Google. You’ll finally understand the difference between anonymity and privacy, and learn how to protect each one.

And if you think you’ll never be able to remember a strong password — or even understand what makes one strong in the first place — we’ve got a balm for your soul. You’ll even be able to use social media for work or pleasure without fearing that you’ll accidentally submit personal information to Mark Zuckerburg’s blackmail vault.

Conclusion

Our intensive privacy guides for women and journalists help you reclaim your autonomy with actionable tips. Protect yourself and your sources using secure channels, understand the true power (and mitigate the risks) of Tor browser and never accidentally broadcast your location again.

When crafting our guides, we never forget that you’re a busy person with needs in the real world. Every tip you pick up here can be put into practice today, with a minimum of fuss and cost. We also love getting feedback so we can sharpen these guides to an even more useful point, so don’t forget to sound off in the comments about what did or didn’t help you!