Lived Experience Forum

[anonymousfriend]

This site (SANE) makes your username searchable so if you have an account on Twitter, Pinterest or any other site and you have used the same username a Google search will bring up all the sites where you have used that name and link this account to your real name so anyone you know can see everything you have posted here. This is just an PSA as it happened to me.

I did not feel I got any warning my username on this site would be searchable. I have looked at about 20 usernames on here and of them I found the real name of 6 people on the first search. Other sites with real names included Instagram, DeviantArt, Twitch, YouTube  -- all of these accounts might be associated with your real name and the username you often use and decided to use here.  

You can see an example screen shot I took of a search (which I annonomysed) on Imgur here: https://imgur.com/a/w62DNRV 

[chibam]

Well, I'm okay. I keep my MH dialog and the rest of my online life very separate. I can't remember if I've used chibam on any other MH-themed web platform, but I can say in no uncertain terms that I've never used it anywhere else in my life.

BTW, do I know you under another name on here? This seems like a topic another user I know brought up with me some time ago.

[anonymousfriend]

@chibam No, I don't think we've met. I came on here once, under another username, because i was in crisis and spilled my soul only to find the next morning that my soul was on display for the world to see.

I felt humiliated and violated. I am still fighting to get them to take down my name and deidentify my posts. They provide no process and won't give any information on how to delete an account.

I feel other people should know. Even if they don't feel violated this place is a clearing house for anyone looking to steal an identity because of the wealth of personal information.

BTW all I get when I search your name is a town in Yemen so I think you're good 😉 

[greenpea]

@anonymousfriend @chibam  Hey that is very interesting and a bit disturbing but also not surprising. Dont know what to say will have to digest it a bit longer I think. greenpea

[chibam]

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@anonymousfriend wrote:

@chibam No, I don't think we've met. I came on here once, under another username, because i was in crisis and spilled my soul only to find the next morning that my soul was on display for the world to see.

I felt humiliated and violated.

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Ouch! Sorry to hear that.

I hope you get some sort of resolution.

I can understand your distress, though. That sort of thing has always terrified me - that someone I know might be able to identify me - or my statements - in a place like this. It's why I'm so paranoid about keeping my identities separate.

[anonymousfriend]

Thanks, and I think a small amount of paranoia seems wise. I know I'll be applying a lot more from now.

[NatureLover]

Hi @anonymousfriend , welcome to the forums, second time around! I'm sorry to read that you feel violated. 

I just want to reassure you that SANE take our anonymity very seriously indeed. We are warned during the process of signing up not to use any username that we have used elsewhere online. It's not in the interests of SANE or its members for people's real life identities to be discovered - the anonymity is what makes these forums safe for people to be honest about their mental health. 

I would certainly not like my real name to be discovered, so I wonder if you could maybe talk to the SANE team about the possibility of changing your username, if it's the current one that you have also also used elsewhere? You can email them on team@saneforums.org. They might be able to help, if your identity has been compromised here. They don't change usernames lightly though. 

Wishing you all the best.

[anonymousfriend]

@NatureLover

I do not agree with you. When I signed up, under a different username, I was warned not to use my real name but I was NOT warned not to use a username I had used before and I was NOT warned that my profile would be searchable, quite to the contrary I was told my profile would only be visible to other members. Here is a screen shot of what new users are told about picking a screen name (https://imgur.com/a/XMjFHmI). A person in crisis can easily fall back on a username they are familiar with.

Also legally there should be a SIMPLE mechanism to request the deidentificaiton of personal information. This should be particularly true of a site which caters to people with affective disorders including social anxiety. Instead you make people email you, which exposes their real identity to your team, as the only method to have personal information removed.

I do not think this site takes anonymity seriously at all and I can point to at least 6 examples beyond my own, some posting about domestic violence, where real identities are clearly compromised.

[Peregrinefalcon]

Hey @anonymousfriend,

I am really sorry to hear that this has been your experience - thank you for voicing your concerns. We take privacy and anonymity very seriously. For anyone else in the thread who may want to read more, please see our privacy guidelines here: https://saneforums.org/t5/help/faqpage/title/privacy.  

We value your feedback and want to make sure you have the right channel to express this. I will encourage you to reach out to team@saneforums.org to have a further discussion about this and we can provide some information about our formal complaints process if you wish.

Kind regards,

Peregrinefalcon

[Mazarita]

Hi @anonymousfriend. Having been on this site since 2015, I agree with you that SANE has some significant problems in the area of privacy. They really need to be seriously addressed in my view (directing this message to @pipinya and anyone in power about these things at SANE ).

As you point out, privacy warnings on the SANE website are too easily overlooked by members with mental illness. I believe there is a large portion of the SANE forum community who did not and still do not understand the permissions they gave on signup and the way their personal posts may be appearing on the wider web. Even if the username is untracable, finding ones highly personal words anonymously circulating on Facebook and elsewhere on the web can be a shock and very distressing.

Like you, @anonymousfriend, I believe there should be no searchability of SANE posts on Google, nor quoting by SANE of members words or usernames on any other website than here. If this is done at all, it should only be by contacting the member directly and asking for individual permission.