Translations of this email will also be available on this page: https://w.wiki/EVFh
Dear all,
We hope this email finds you well.
We are reaching out to share some digital safety and privacy tips and suggestions. As a movement that thrives on transparency and openness, it can be challenging to prioritise personal privacy and take appropriate security steps. However, maintaining privacy is crucial for safeguarding yourself and those close to you. We hope you will find this useful.
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Review your public footprint: Take a moment to assess what information about you is publicly accessible on Wikimedia projects (eg: user pages), other platforms, search engines, and people search sites. Also think about old accounts and profiles that you may not use anymore. Ask yourself if you are comfortable with what someone could learn about you from this information? What felt safe to share years ago may feel different now, especially as contexts change. It’s okay to update or remove details to better align with your current comfort level and risk environment. -
Be cautious of suspicious communications: Stay alert to phishing and other suspicious communication attempts. Bad-faith actors may try to impersonate trusted contacts, journalists, researchers, potential new employees or organisations to extract personal information. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, and consider verifying the sender’s identity with trusted third parties or with the organisation they claim to be from before engaging. -
Tighten privacy settings: Ensure your social media accounts and other online profiles have strict privacy settings. Limit who can view your posts, contact you, or see your personal information. Regularly review and update these settings. -
Review and be cautious of your online activity: If you frequently post stories or updates on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or X, pay attention to who is viewing or engaging with them. Do you recognise all of the people? Are there unfamiliar accounts regularly watching your content? Be cautious if you see accounts with little personal information, strange usernames, or no mutual connections. These could be fake or anonymous profiles used by bad actors to monitor your activity. -
Take care of each other: If you notice someone else being targeted, reach out to them. Solidarity, even quietly expressed, can make a big difference. Report threats or abuse through appropriate channels, such as the Wikimedia Foundation's Trust & Safety https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resilience_and_Sustainability/Trust_and_Safety (ca@wikimedia.org) team or local project administrators. For threats of imminent physical harm https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Threats_of_harm, please contact emergency@wikimedia.org
For further resources, please see the Meta: Digital Safety Resources Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resilience_and_Sustainability/Human_Rights/Digital_Security_Resources and the links below:
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Learn.Wiki Module Assess your digital security risks https://learn.wiki/courses/course-v1:Wikimedia-Foundation+WMF_HUM001+2022/about -
Meta: Digital Safety Considerations for Wikimedians https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Digital_Safety_Considerations_for_Wikimedians
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Diff: Privacy and Transparency: Staying safe in an open movement https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/02/26/privacy-and-transparency-staying-safe-in-an-open-movement/ -
Diff: How can a username keep you safe https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/12/01/how-can-a-username-keep-you-safe/ ? -
Diff: Doxing: Why should you care https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/27/doxing-why-should-you-care/? -
Diff: Doxing: Have you tried doxing yourself https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/05/01/doxing-have-you-tried-doxing-yourself/ ? -
Meta: Digital Safety While Traveling and Attending Events https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resilience_and_Sustainability/Human_Rights/Digital_Safety_While_Traveling_and_Attending_Events
For chat or group admins, please consider the following:
If you administrate or monitor chats on other platforms or other lists, you play an important role in safeguarding the privacy and safety of members. Please consider the following actions you can take to enhance the group's security and protect its members:
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Activate anonymous admin mode -
Hide members list of the group -
Limit message forwarding -
Set messages to auto-delete after a certain time
Here is some information around this for WhatsApp https://faq.whatsapp.com/1003616827680090, Telegram https://lifehacker.com/8-telegram-privacy-settings-you-should-enable-immediate-1848931353, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/help/412300192139228 and Discord https://itssc.rpi.edu/hc/en-us/articles/32018134944013-Discord-Best-Practices-Guidelines-on-how-to-keep-Discord-safe-and-secure .
For any questions or further support around this, please reach out to talktohumanrights@wikimedia.org. Additionally, please see the Digital First Aid Kit https://digitalfirstaid.org/ which provides some preliminary self-diagnostic support for people facing the most common types of digital threats.
With best wishes,
Human Rights Team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Team