The sex work industry can be risky, and for many sex workers concealing their identity and personal information is a must. That said, personal information is more readily available nowadays than it was decades ago, especially with the growth of social media and similar platforms.
So, how do you protect your identity and personal information as a sex worker?
Well, it can be quite complicated. But if you understand how your personal information is at risk, it’s much easier to determine how to go around protecting your identity as a sex worker.
- How are sex workers’ personal information put at risk?
- Best practices for concealing your personal information online
- Maintaining privacy in your personal life while still marketing yourself
- Tips for screening clients for potential safety risks
- Setting boundaries with your personal information
- Dealing with privacy breaches
- The takeaway
In this guide, we’re going through tips for concealing your identity, why it’s important to protect your personal information and more details on keeping yourself safe as a sex worker.
Read on to learn more.
How are sex workers’ personal information put at risk?
The way our society currently functions is very different. Nowadays, almost everyone has a social media profile that contains photos and personal information like their real name, location, and contact details.
This poses significant problems for sex workers. Most sex workers keep their personal and professional lives completely separate. But if a client or anyone else stumbles upon your social media account, these two lives can start to intersect.
On top of wanting to keep their personal and professional lives separate, personal information breaches can also put your safety at risk. You never know what a person will do with your personal information, which is why it’s very important for sex workers to take steps to conceal their personal identity.
How do you mitigate these risks?
There are many ways to mitigate the threats to your personal information as a sex worker. And in most cases, it’s best to use a multi-faceted approach.
When working in the sex industry, you can never be too careful. This is why it’s best for sex workers to always work to separate their work and personal lives. This could mean using different pseudonyms, and anonymous accounts and choosing what information and content you publish as a sex worker.
It can be hard to mitigate the risks, but it’s important to take all the necessary steps. That way, you and your personal information remain as safe as possible in the ever-changing sex work environment.
Best practices for concealing your personal information online
Many sex workers do a lot of their marketing and networking online. And while this allows you to reach more clients and business opportunities, it also puts your personal information at risk. So, here are a few of the best practices to keep in mind to conceal your personal information online.
Use pseudonyms
This isn’t exactly a new practice, but it’s an important one. When marketing yourself as a sex worker online, make sure not to use your legal name. In fact, it’s best to use a name that’s very different from the name you use in your personal life, to ensure you’re protecting your identity as a sex worker. That way, clients and other people cannot use your name to search for personal information online.
Use anonymous accounts
When marketing yourself online as a sex worker, it’s best to use an anonymous account, even for payments. Similar to using a pseudonym, this makes it harder for people to find your personal information by searching your name.
Use strong passwords
It’s important that you pay close attention to your password strength if you want to protect your anonymity and privacy as a sex worker. This is why we highly recommend using strong passwords for all your accounts, whether they’re personal or professional. When you have a weak password, it’s easier for hackers to get into your account and steal your personal information. Remember, if they can access your account, they’ll be able to view information that you didn’t make public, which poses significant privacy and safety risks for sex workers.
On top of that, it’s best that you have multiple passwords for different accounts that you change regularly. While this might seem like overkill, you can never be too careful when protecting your personal information as a sex worker.
Pay attention to the details in your photos
If you post images or videos online, you must pay close attention to what you post. This is because certain details in images and videos can easily give away your information. For example, if you have recognisable birthmarks or tattoos, people may be able to recognise you in your videos.
Aside from that, even the details of the room where you shoot content or the view outside the window can give away your location and identity. While it’s important to post good content that will attract new clients, it’s just as crucial that you pay attention to the details and ensure that nothing in the photos or videos can give away your personal identity.
Use encrypted messaging apps & VPNs
There are a few extra steps you can take to protect your personal information that goes a long way. This is why we highly recommend that sex workers communicate with clients through encrypted messaging apps and use VPNs when surfing the internet. In our recent Q&A, a dominant BBW MILF creator, Miss Hazel Heart, also recommended using a VPN and a separate phone when protecting your identity as a sex worker and staying safe online.
This gives you another layer of protection against hackers and data breaches that expose your personal information. There are many encrypted messaging apps and VPNs available right now, and any one of them will help you safeguard your personal information.
Maintaining privacy in your personal life while still marketing yourself
Working in the sex industry is an intricate balancing act. It’s important that you find new and unique ways to market yourself online and give the clients what you want. However, this doesn’t mean that your privacy and personal information need to be put at risk.
When you make an effort to keep your work and personal lives completely separate, you’ll find it much easier to market yourself while still living a life separate from the industry. This is why modern sex workers need to be creative with how they market themselves anonymously while still attracting new clients.
Tips for screening clients for potential safety risks
Safety is a major consideration when working in this industry, which is why one of the skills you must develop early on is screening clients. Working with the wrong client can lead to some significant consequences, so make sure to practice due diligence when screening your potential clients.
The first tip we can give you is to trust your instincts. If something feels off or wrong for whatever reason, it’s better to stay safe and stop working with that client. Your gut can be your best friend in this industry, so always listen to your instincts.
Another thing you must do when screening clients is collect all the information that you possibly can. If you’re working online, it’s much easier to gather personal information, which allows you to judge whether or not a client will bring safety risks. And if you feel like your client is not safe, then call off the transaction.
One of the ways sex workers can screen clients before meeting up with them is by calling them and rescheduling the meet-up. From there, you can gauge the way they react to the change and determine whether or not this is a safe client.
It would also be very beneficial to stay updated on sex offender lists or sign up for National Ugly Mugs, an organisation dedicated to creating a safer environment for sex workers in the UK.
Setting boundaries with your personal information
When working as a sex worker, setting hard boundaries is very important. This doesn’t just go for your clients and co-workers, but also family and friends. It might take some time, but when working as a sex worker, it’s important to enforce your boundaries when it comes to personal information.
Even if clients or other people start to ask personal questions, always establish your boundaries and stick to them.
Dealing with privacy breaches
If you want to deal with privacy breaches as a sex worker, you need to stay updated on local rules and regulations around data privacy, especially those related to sex work. There are various websites that display the rules and regulations around sex workers in the UK, but make sure to read up on the ones in your local area.
In the event of a privacy breach, you can seek legal help as a lawyer will be able to look at your particular case and lay out the best moves forward from there.
The takeaway
It’s legal to be a sex worker in the UK, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with dangers and risks. In fact, sex workers are always at risk in the UK, especially when it comes to their personal information.
With a lot of sex work moving online, protecting your identity and personal information is even more important. So, make sure to read through our tips on protecting your identity as a sex worker to give you an added layer of safety in the industry.
