- It is important for you to protect your personal details properly. Your name, for example. And where you live
- Are you not doing this? If you aren’t, the people around you can find out that you are a sex worker. Or a client will know where you live
- There are things you can do yourself to protect your privacy
- Use a professional name, for example
- Use separate telephones for work and personal calls. And secure your laptop and mobile phone
Your professional name
What if you don’t want people around you to know that you’re a sex worker? Or don’t want a client to be able to look you up on Facebook? Come up with a professional name. That is the name you use in ads and tell to your clients.
You can create a separate email address using that name. You should preferably use a different service than the one you use for your personal email. Don’t create both addresses on Gmail, for example.
You can also create social media accounts especially for your sex work. Facebook actually doesn’t want you to use a fake name. They can close your account if they notice it.
Also use a separate telephone number for your work. A separate telephone is the safest. Not possible? There are also telephones that take two SIM cards. If you do that, make sure you don’t call your client using your private number.
Keeping work and your personal life separate
Keeping work and your personal life separate
- It is important that your work identity and your personal identity are not mixed up. This is how to do that:
- Do you have two telephones? If so, only use your work telephone for work and your personal telephone for personal things only
- Do you have one telephone with two SIM cards? If you do, make sure you don’t call a client using your private number by mistake. Or send a message
- Do you check your work mail and private mail using the same device? For example on your telephone or your laptop? If so, use different browsers. For example: Chrome for your personal mail and Firefox for your work mail
- Do you use Facebook for your work? If so, don’t check it on the same device as your personal account. Otherwise, Facebook will allow your personal friends to see your work profile and your personal account to your work friends. For example, use your work account on your telephone and your personal account on your laptop. Or use two different telephones
- You can use an Incognito window on the Internet. Your history will not be saved if you do
Read more about using the Internet safely (Dutch only)
Securing devices
You don’t want everyone to be able to access your telephone or your laptop. This is how to secure your devices:
- Use the screen lock on your telephone. You will then have to enter a code before you can use your telephone. On some telephones, this is done using a fingerprint
- Also secure your laptop with a password or fingerprint
- You can also create a password for apps. WhatsApp, for example. That way, no one can read your messages. Not even if your telephone is already open
- Carry out security updates on your device when necessary
- Install a virus scanner on your laptop and your telephone
- Check program settings properly. What data do they store? Do you want them to store less? You can usually adjust your settings for that
- Use a password manager (Dutch only) to create and save secure passwords. Lastpass, for example
- Do you want to be extra safe? Turn on two-factor authentication (Dutch only) for your email and social media accounts. You will receive a message on your telephone when you log in. It will include a code that you need to complete the log in
Read more about online security for sex workers.