Privacy is something bloggers talk about a lot. It is definitely a concern, and something that should be considered carefully as you enter the online world with your blog. Deciding how much you share online is a very personal decision, you have the final say on everything that is published to your site, which can be liberating, but also intimidating!
It took me awhile to nail down my “privacy rules” for my blog and I’ve finally settled on what I feel is the safest thing for myself and my family, while also giving me room to be open and honest with my readers and give them a glimpse into our lives.
Here are my privacy rules – Other people’s rules may differ, it’s up to each blogger to figure out what rules he/she wants to set for their own site. I don’t think my rules are perfect for every one, but they can provide a starting point for creating your own set of privacy rules.
- Our Home – I never provide distinguishing information about where we live. My readers know that I live in Houston, Texas. That is a city with a population of over 6.8 million people, so I’m not too concerned that any creepy-internet-person is going to be able to hunt me and my family down among so many people and in all the many suburbs of Houston. My readers also know that I live in an apartment on the 3rd story. Again, this does not narrow it down enough for any one to be able to figure out where I live, but it does give plenty of information about our lifestyle to allow me to connect on a personal level with my readers (especially those that also live in tiny apartments with small children).
- Real Names – I only use my own real name on my blog. My husband’s name and those of my children remain private. I do this for several reasons, but the main one being that I don’t want my stories to be a part of my children’s digital footprint their entire life. When my son goes to apply for his first job, I don’t want his potential employer to do an internet search of his name and come across something I’ve written about his many tantrums as a toddler. I want him to be able to share his own things online and be accountable for them, instead of him needing to be accountable for the things I’ve shared when he was too young to give his permission. I refer to my family as “hubby, Little Man and the Princess” on my blog. Some people choose to use just first names, initials, or made-up names. It’s a personal decision, but made-up names are what works for me.
- Photos – This one was another hard decision for me, do I share photos of my kids online, or not? I finally decided that I would share photos but not names (see above). Th way I look at it is this, the photos that I share are no different than taking my children out in public. Some creep could see them there just like some creep could find them in a google search. The danger/safety levels seem about the same to me. I could be wrong, but that’s just where I stand on it. However, I don’t post diaper pics of my little girl, and I’ve gone back and removed several diaper pics of my little boy. Yes, they are adorable and innocent photos, but sadly, not every one sees it that way and I don’t want some creeper doing searches for diaper-clad babies to come across pictures of my kid. I only even thought about this when some one found my blog by doing an image search for something like “baby in a diaper”, it could have been a completely innocent search (probably was) but it also alerted me that those images could also be searched non-innocently, so I decided it wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice to take them down. I am probably over paranoid with the diaper pictures, but that’s just where I’ve chosen to draw the line for my family. If your line is elsewhere that’s totally fine with me! I know a lot of people who don’t use their children’s images, and others that use them all (even the diaper ones!) it’s just something to think about for yourself and decide where you want to draw the line.
- Photos part 2 – Becky blogged about this a few weeks ago, but it’s also worth mentioning here. I’ve started watermarking photos of my kids over their faces, so that the pictures can’t be stolen and used elsewhere. I’ve had it happen to me once, and while it wasn’t a huge deal, it could have been, so I’ve started using a watermark where it cannot be cropped out of the photo to hopefully deter people from snagging the pics of my kiddos.
- Discuss – Remember to let your family into the conversation. If your children, or spouse are uncomfortable with you share certain things, respect their wishes and keep them off the blog. Blogs should be a happy and safe place for every one! 🙂
There are 5 things to consider about privacy online. Have you made any privacy rules for yourself? Where do you draw the line?
I don’t talk about my teenager overall – years ago I read a great thing on a blog about how the babies belong to us, but the older kids need their own life. I don’t use his full name so he has some privacy.
Being an author, my name is out there – and yes, I have had people track down my home # (it is unlisted!) and call me there – but that is OK overall. I use a PO Box and my cell phone # for business. If someone wanted to, it is easy enough to find me in real life….my security detail (the husband) would show them the other way. Which leads to….I used to do a lot of talks for my business. In the outdoors industry there are not many females. I had a few “fans” who showed up all the time. Harmless and I didn’t worry about it.
But…I also don’t talk about my husband much – since I respect his privacy 🙂
I am uncomfortable in putting up too many photos of myself or that of my family members esp ones where you can see faces clearly..The faded watermark is a great idea though
Privacy was the first thing I thought about when I posted my first blog post. I’m more on the private side anyway, and don’t normally like sharing my kids names on my personal fb page. I decided that if I wouldn’t do it on my personal fb page, I shouldn’t be doing it on my public blog. I don’t use my kids names, but I’m still working on figuring out what to call them online. 🙂 This is a great post!
This is one of the topics I’ve struggled with as a new blogger. The watermark is a great tip!
Really enjoyed reading what you do and why! I try to be kind-of careful but should probably thing through everything and come up with a plan of what we are comfortable with as a family.
Great post. Your ideas definitely have me thinking. I’m going to discuss this with my husband and come up with some rules of my own.
One thing I have struggled with is sharing stories about my family life that involve others. I’ve decided that I only share stories that are mine to tell, so if something is primarily about a family member, I don’t talk about it.
I totally understand what you are saying. I am a photographer and I post a lot of photos of my own daughter on my blogs as well as my photography websites because I do use my daughter to add to my professional portfolio because 1) she’s cute and 2) she is readily available to photograph whenever I think of a concept for a photo shoot. I do not use her name online and I state that I am a photographer in a particular area, which encompasses a lot of towns and cities. Having said that, I was disgusted when I saw in my google analytics that someone had found my baby photography website when they googled photos of little girls and little lolitas. (My baby website name is Little Lamb Photography) I felt violated that some pervert clicked on my website (they left after 11 seconds when they realized that it was not filled with the kind of photos they were looking for). It has photos of newborns, babies and little children, including my own. In this digital age where info is easy to come by, we definitely need to watch what we post online for the world. Thanks for the tips.
It would pretty much blow my mind if something I wrote about toddler tantrums affects my child fifteen or twenty years from now, but I especially appreciate the idea of giving them more and more space and privacy as they become teenagers. And I, too, recently read the idea to watermark children’s faces, and I think I am going to start being pulling the watermark up. Thanks for the ideas, Paula!
I follow about the same rules that you do…the only real name used on my blog is mine (my 2 oldest kids are Princess and Little Man too :), I only post fully clothed pics of my kids, and I watermark my pictures. I haven’t figured out how to fade out watermarks in GIMP so I can put them across faces, but I would like to be able to do that. I’m very careful not to reveal too much about where we live (southeastern Minnesota in a tiny basement apartment is as specific as I get), our daily routine, plans to travel, and Hubby’s work schedule.
Wonderful guidelines & gives us all much to think about in this day and age. I visited from Titus2sdays today. Have a great day!
Im beyond secretive when it comes to blogging. I don’t have a picture of me anywhere on my blog, and my family will never be seen. Thats the main reason i don’t jump on the instagram band wagon. I love your tips and now im even more sure im doing the right thing by keeping my life separated from my blog.
Great post! Definitely a lot to think about!
I love this. I am glad that there are those out there who think about this stuff. I see a lot of bloggers disclosing so much personal info. I just started blogging in April but I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. My hesitation was with the privacy issue. I do not share my last name but am highly considering rolling my last name out to gain more credibility.
My husband is a police officer so this is why I am concerned about the name. I also don’t even share what state I live in…currently people know I live in the Pacific Northwest. I feel that I am not being personal enough though. My last name is actually cool and always brings a smile to people…even with my husband’s job. It would totally help with the blog and my brand but I worry about “crazies.” My kids and husband have nick names…my boy is also known as The Little Man 🙂 I do show pictures but limit those of my husband. If I show pictures of anyone else I ask permission and only include others if it really pertains to the post. I like the idea of the faint watermark over the kids faces. Thank you for the point about the kids names and future employment….never even thought about that.
Great post. I agree that it is a balance between sharing with blog readers and keeping some things private. I especially appreciate your thoughts about being aware of what you post about your children. I think a lot of us adults are glad that there weren’t blogs when we were two years old.
Sounds like you’re striking a great balance. I often wonder about some bloggers who share soooooooo much info about their kids, etc. for exactly the reasons that you mention. By the time they’re old enough to have a say in the matter, it’s too late. As for pics, I don’t even have kids, but I even freak out when team pics are posted in the newspaper with names. It’s one thing to acknowledge the kids in the paper, but the names should be listed separately and not in such a way that they can be tied to the kids specifically – too many creeps out there! [#PinItThurs]
WOW!!! I am new to blogging and this was a FABULOUS post!! I have been having the internal dialogue about my kids pictures and came to the same conclusion as you. I also decided that all my photos must be watermarked but didn’t think about the placement of the watermark. Thanks for the lightbulb moment!
Interesting view. Since I don’t have children I’ve erred on the side of less privacy. I hope it doesn’t come back and haunt me.
Stopping by from Thurs Fav Things.
bisous
Suzanne
Great post. I do my best to be as careful as possible. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Hugs!
I don’t ever use my son’s last name (which is different than my own) or husband’s last name. I’ve started contributing at another blog and my full name is out there and people know I live in a small town in Kansas, though I have never shared the name or location, so it probably wouldn’t be too hard to find me. I’m not sure what to do about that. Any stranger in town would immediately draw attention though, that’s for sure. I also use an old cell phone and camera with no GPS associated with them, so am happy about that.
I found your post on Thursdays Favourite Things Blog Hop. Thank you for sharing! This is something I’ve thought about as a blogger too! I do most of what you do too. As for pictures of my kids, I try to get them from angles where you don’t actually see them from right in front (except if their faces are painted), so you can’t really see what they look like 🙂
This is wonderful information! I pinned it to my “e learning” Pinterest board.
Privacy is a tough thing with blogging. I want to share my life and pictures with family through social media, etc. but there is always that danger of creeps. Thanks for sharing your tips on the weekend re-Treat link party.
I love this post, Paula! I’ve really thought about this topic for awhile and I agree with all your points. I never want to share too much about where I live or too much info of my kids. I also have a rule that if my children appear in any of my blog photos I watermark it just for added safety. I’m hopping over from Saturday Show and Tell. Have a great weekend!
Yeah, it’s definitely a fine line to walk. We have a “family” blog, so as the kids get older, I am working on having Mom blog about their goings on less… and having them do it themselves (it’s good writing practice!) I hadn’t thought about watermarking through their faces… that’s a good idea.
Hi Paula, you made some good points especially about using real names. I have been slowly changing real names in my blog over to their nicknames.
I’m always worried about how much personal information to share online as well. Thank you for sharing this informative article at last week’s Pin Junkie Party. It was featured at this week! I hope you’ll stop by to grab a featured button at http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2013/11/friday-link-party-42.html and share again at this week’s party.
These are eye-opening and I will definitely keep them in mind with my new blogging site. I’m happy I stumbled upon you! How timely!
Welcome! 🙂
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve just launched a blog and I’ve chosen to keep my family’s names private for the very reasons you’ve listed. I’m going to put a link on my blog to this post. Thanks!
I’m a new blogger – actually host of a travel blog – and I’m insanely worried about my own and my companion’s privacy. They know which university and city I’m studying abroad in, but I do not want them to know exactly which location and what I’m doing daily. Some may say, YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT BLOG, but I feel like there is a fine line between sharing and over-sharing.
Can you please give some advice? I keep my friends’ names to initials and will never post faces/conspicuous places; only locations AFTER I’ve visited and gone.. eg: I’ll never post something like “I’m at XX place now, staying until [time]”. Is that a good enough content yet allowing for my privacy?
Thanks!
Nice post, Paula. I have struggled with this as well. I’m not ready to identify myself personally, particularly because I have a very conservative daytime job, but at the same time, I would like to open up and share more. It’s always something to think about with no true right or wrong answer!