r/YouShouldKnow • u/Fresh_Translator240 • 14h ago
Technology YSK: Organizing your digital identity really matters
Why YSK: everything is digitalized nowadays, it's important to learn how to keep your digital identity secure and convenient to avoid a mess later
Edit: Some of these are really my personal preference and you can adjust to your likings, it doesnt have to be very complicated as well. e.g. If you are find with one email for browsing everything that's perfectly fine. This post is mainly to inform and not telling you should do this, knowing this information always acts as a backup plan.
Edit: I removed a point that could be interpreted as encouraging rule evasion. That wasn’t my intention, I only wanted to discuss privacy and account organization, I apologize for anything caused, didn't mean that .
Edit 2: For people that don't use the internet that often most isn't that necessary and keeping it simple probably works best for you, its always useful to know this tho/ This is mostly for power users
- Use one anonymous email and one real-name email for specific platforms, like reddit If you dont want to associate some feed and algorithms for your main account, you may use a new one. For example if you are watching something for an extensive time but you won't any time in the future, watch it on a brand new account
- BACKUP ALL YOUR DEVICES AND DATA PHYSICALLY ALL THE TIME PLEASE
- Reserve your real-name domain and email(e.g. firstnamelastname.com). If you are a student getting a email linking to your graduation is very helpful.
- Keep your personal inbox for family and important contacts—not ads and newsletters.
- Consider using separate emails for shopping, newsletters, hobbies, or other categories if you prefer a cleaner inbox.
- Separating emails by what you do is a personal preference, but many people find it easier to stay organized.
- Don’t rely on one Google account for everything This is my preference to keep corps from complete control over you data.
- Understand the difference between “Sign in with xxx site” and creating an account with a separate password directly on that website
- Use a password manager for ALL OF YOUR PASSWORDS
- Enable 2FA on every important account. Be sure to use multiple methods, like if you only use your phone number, you're going to be screwed if you lose your phone, so add an email or authenticator
- Save your backup/recovery codes. These come in handy in case anything happens
- Have a professional email address you’ll still like years from now for business.
- Use a consistent username (or anonymous alias) across platforms if you want to build a recognizable online identity, its also fine if you don't and a lot of people don't have a consistent username.
- Think before creating an account, creating one is easy, but deleting it completely can be much harder.
- Keep your recovery emails and phone numbers up to date.
- ALWAYS RESERVE A LIST OF all the app/website/platforms you signed up for all the emails you have. Some will be hard to find and your future self will thank you later.
- Keep a physical backup for all your passwords and information in one secure place.
- Some people prefer multiple accounts for watching different content for keeping algorithms separate. e.g.
- Separate work and life emails. Using one is not recommended as you might send some family information to your boss.
- Read the terms of conditions and understand your rights.
- You might want an email specialized to something that the email is never used for any platform
- If theres anything you disagree with or something you'd like to add or you have some questions, please include it in the comments.
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u/NowCheesers 14h ago
This is all great info. I work in IT. All of this is so important, but it can be hard for the average person to adopt these principles because they don’t fully understand the systems.
There is a lot of overreach going on in the tech space. For example, I wouldn’t recommend cloud storage in general. It opens you up to data breaches of course, but we also know that these companies are looking at the files as well. People have been banned and data has been deleted based on what’s stored in there. You’re trusting a big company and the people that work there with your sensitive information. There is a cost to convenience and we are starting to pay now.
The password manager is another big one for me. All of my passwords are 20+ random characters/symbols long. It took me a couple of nights 10 years ago to move everything over, but I never looked back. When I die, accessing our accounts is the last thing my wife will have to worry about.