Online fandoms are good fun when you’re discussing, anticipating, and celebrating movies, TV shows, comics, games, books, and creators. You connect with people who share the same interests, discover new points of view, and engage in conversations that keep the excitement of the content going long after the credits.
But fandoms pose a few challenges: privacy concerns, harassment, scams, and data collection. Here’s what you can do to stay safer online.
Research communities
Whenever you’re thinking about joining a new Twitch or Discord server, subreddit, or social media group, for example, spend a little while reading its rules and moderation policies, and getting a feel for its general vibe. The better, friendlier communities often have clear guidelines, active and communicative moderators, and stickied posts that encourage respect.
A quick bit of reading can help you avoid spaces that tolerate harassment, misinformation, or suspicious activity.
Protect your personal information
Avoid posting your home address, workplace, phone number, travel plans, or other identifying details. Even seemingly tiny pieces of information can be combined to reveal more than intended. Be careful with what’s in the background of any photos, even if the photo seems innocuous and is of an impersonal object like a poster or games controller.
Public Wi-Fi networks can be particularly dangerous if proper precautions aren’t taken. A virtual private network (VPN) helps encrypt internet traffic and adds privacy when you’re browsing. This can be useful when accessing forums, social platforms, and streaming services.
Quick research will make it easy to see why many users recommend ExpressVPN, which has had over 400k ratings on the Apple Store and 450k on the Google Play Store. ExpressVPN works on every platform, offering lightning-fast speeds and servers in 105 countries.
Use strong passwords (and not the same one more than once)
Use a password manager or a browser like Brave that suggests and stores smart passwords. Then you can easily use different passwords for each platform. If one of your accounts is compromised, having unique passwords will help prevent unauthorized access to any others. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever offered (it only takes a minute to check an email or get a code sent to your phone for extra security).
Be careful with links and downloads
Scammers sometimes target passionate fan communities because enthusiasm can lower people’s guard. Fake merchandise stores, phishing links, fraudulent “giveaways”, and unsafe downloads often appear during major releases or highly anticipated events.
Before clicking a link, verify its source. You can hover over the link and check the URL. If it looks at all suspicious, stay away. If a download seems questionable or a promotion appears unusually generous, take a moment to investigate. You won’t be sorry that you took the care.
Manage your digital footprint
Posts made in the excitement of a fandom moment might stay online for years. Taking time to review privacy settings and old content can help you control your online presence.
Regularly check what information is publicly visible on your social media profiles, particularly as socials’ agreements and laws are continually changing. Think about limiting who can view your personal photos, contact information, and archived posts.
It may be helpful to search your username occasionally to see what information is easily accessible. You can do this in a private or incognito window to see what things are like for someone not logged in.
Handle harassment
Online fandom spaces are sometimes hostile. Disagreements about storylines, characters, creators, or fan interpretations escalate into harassment for many unfortunate people.
Check the platform’s tools for blocking, muting, reporting, and filtering content. Document serious incidents with screenshots. This is a practical way to protect your well-being and enjoy the community more.
Stay informed as platforms change
Social platforms, messaging apps, and community tools frequently update their privacy features and policies. Settings that protected your information last year may look very different today. Try to check news on tech websites/social media accounts, and stay aware of any platform changes (X and Reddit, for example, have changed significantly over the last couple of years).
