By following these tips you can have a more enjoyable and secure time in chat rooms. It is always worth approaching online conversation with caution and awareness.
Protecting your identity
- Stay anonymous
- Avoid using your real name. Pick a nickname that gives nothing away. Privacy should be your first priority in a room full of strangers.
- Limit personal details
- Never share your address, phone number, school or workplace, or anything else identifying. Those details are exactly what someone needs to social-engineer you.
- Profile pictures
- Be careful with the picture you use. Avoid anything that identifies you or shows where you live.
- Log out on shared devices
- If you use the chat on a shared or public device, log out when you are done.
Avoiding scams
- Beware of phishing
- Do not click suspicious links, even from users who seem trustworthy. They can lead to phishing sites or malware. In our chat, hyperlinks are blocked for anyone without a badge.
- Never share financial information
- Do not share card or bank details, and do not send money to someone you met in a chat room.
- Use strong passwords
- Make your chat password unique and strong. Do not reuse a password from another platform.
- Be sceptical
- People are not always who they say they are. Treat personal stories and claims with a degree of scepticism.
While you are chatting
- Stay in public
- When you are getting to know someone new, stay in the public rooms. Private chats with strangers carry more risk.
- Trust your instincts
- If a conversation or someone’s behaviour feels off, trust that feeling.
- Keep personal emotions in check
- Be careful about forming intense attachments or revealing sensitive feelings to someone you have only met in a chat room.
- Block and mute
- If someone becomes inappropriate, block or mute them. You will stop seeing their messages, and it usually ends the problem before it grows.
- Report suspicious behaviour
- Use the reporting feature to alert moderators to inappropriate behaviour or content.
- Keep conversations respectful
- Avoid engaging in or encouraging hate speech, bullying or discrimination of any kind.
Off the platform
- Avoid meeting in person
- If you do decide to meet someone from a chat room, tell a friend or family member first, meet in a public place, and take every normal precaution.
- Keep software updated
- Keep your browser and your device’s operating system up to date so known security holes are closed.
- Educate yourself
- Read the platform’s terms, privacy policy and safety features so you know what is available to you.
If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. For anything involving a minor, write to [email protected] with “child safety” in the subject — those reports come first.