I see dead people (giving away your location)
Here's how you can be tracked in a cemetery + bonus clothing analysis
The other day, I posted this photo on Twitter and asked people to geolocate me:
As usual, my precise location was tweeted out very quickly (for all of you just joining this newsletter, this is one of the main points of the challenges β seeing how quickly people will pin down the exact spot, which says a LOT about online safety and safety in general these days).
I believe the first person to do it correctly was Ken:
Ken also helpfully provided his methodology for anyone who felt particularly stumped:
Ken is an absolute star, and he is not the only one who has pointed out just how useful Find A Grave for researchers (and, unfortunately, for stalkers).
I really like Find A Grave, even though itβs often overlooked as a tool:
And as Dr. Lupton points out, Find A Grave is honestly just fun:
βOK,β youβre wondering, βBut this newsletter is dedicated to online safety first and foremost. How does Find A Grave help us out here?β
Think about it this way: If you share a strong connection to a dead relative, youβre likely to visit their grave during anniversaries or other occasions you deem important. If you have a stalker, or, God forbid, a foreign intelligence professional on your tail, and theyβre trying to figure out your habits, what cemeteries you visit and when can serve as important information for them to exploit.
Iβm a big cemetery nerd myself (I literally made my dad take me to PΓ©re Lachaise in Paris on my 16th birthday, Iβm that level of nerd), but if I had a sensitive job, I wouldnβt necessarily advertise it. I especially wouldnβt advertise it if anyone were stalking me, because, uh, cemeteries are usually pretty secluded. In trying to teach people how to Think Like A Creepβ’οΈ, for preventative purposes of course, I remind them that it helps to not advertise certain patterns of behavior if you believe that they can be used against you.
Also, if you have particular safety concerns, especially if youβre a woman, sometimes it can be safer to post pictures (and stories, and now fleets!) from a secluded location after youβve already left. Itβs a very simple thing you can do to take charge of your digital footprint and it can help put your mind at ease.
Itβs not all gloom and doom, though! Many people noticed the very distinct clothes I was wearing. The brilliant CD Reiss even figured out that by using Photoshop and a bit of reverse image searching, she could come close to figure out where my pants were made:
She didnβt quite figure out the designer, but she got the country right! Those pants were indeed made in Russia, by my old friends, the team behind the Odevaisya Legko fashion label, which is sadly going out of business (thanks, Covid-19! Love you too!). I used to model for them when I worked in Moscow, and I loved everything about them: Fun, different, ethically made, and run by two awesome women who used to be journalists in another life, until they got fed up with it all (I feel them on this).
CD also knew right away that my coat was vintage. As, apparently, did Gennady, heh heh:
I like niche fashion and I like vintage shops. Now, for the less fun part, letβs think about this:
Could that information be exploited? Sure. To illustrate how, consider the fact that I almost never tweet from/about the pubs and bars I visit in DC (or used to visit β again, thanks Covid-19! Really love what youβve done with our lives!). This one time, I performed an experiment though β I tweeted about a local pub I really liked. Within days, a person who was stalking me was tweeting from there. A friend who was aware of the situation and concerned for me actually alerted me to this, because he didnβt think it was a coincidence. Was it? I donβt know for certain, but I do know that stalkers looooooove to play little head games like this. Itβs a way to remind the victim that theyβre always watching, because a lot of what motivates people to stalk someone in the first place is bound up in their need to control their target.
So if I were to tweet about one of my favorite vintage shops in the area, and Iβve got a dedicated enough stalker whoβs aware of how much I love vintage fashion, could they try to intercept me there? Itβs possible. Again, stalkers, and other unpleasant people, always look for patterns and then they try to exploit them. As I always like to point out, this doesnβt mean that you must NEVER POST A PICTURE AGAIN β it just helps to be aware of how this process can work. And to act accordingly if you have serious safety and/or privacy concerns.
If you believe someone may be stalking you online, you can e-mail me at nvantonova [at] gmail (dot) com. I may be able to help. If you learned something cool and new today, please consider a paid subscription. $5 goes a long way in this pandemic!