Safety Discussion - Using Your Photo as Your Profile Picture
Hi everyone! 😊
This week’s discussion is on one of the things which has come up a few times in previous room discussions, as well as in the forum discussion on profile pictures here - setting your photo as your profile picture on 7 Cups.
There have been differing opinions on this - some users felt that it is perfectly okay to use your photo as your profile picture, as long as the same picture isn’t found on other sites online. Whereas, some felt that it should not be allowed on 7 Cups as it could violate confidentiality.
Nevertheless, many agree that it’s a fine line, between being safe and being supportive on 7 Cups.
So, let’s dive into this topic!
Why is it okay to use your photo as your profile picture?
- To appear more approachable and friendly
- To show some of your personality to others
Reverse Image Search - what is it?
It is similar to a search engine, except that instead of typing in keywords, you simply upload a picture. The results are returned in the form of images which are similar-looking to the uploaded image.
This can be unsafe, in case you decide to use a similar/same photo from your social media/external sites as your 7 Cups profile picture. Someone can just screenshot your profile picture, upload it to one of the many reverse image search sites, which will return links to your social media accounts. That way, they can find who you really are.
Facial Recognition
These days, facial recognition is useful for identifying peoples' faces in a large number of images from a single given photo. It does this by distinguishing facial features.
So, what does this mean for profile pictures?
It means that it is easy for someone to use a single photo of you, to identify you from a bunch of photos, even if they are different. So, using your photo as your profile picture on 7 Cups is not really protecting you from being identified online.
Dangers of your photo being ‘stolen and reused’
There is also the danger of identity theft. What is identity theft?
It is simply someone stealing your personal identifying information (can be your email ID, photo, or any sensitive information), and posing as yourself using that info. Identity theft is commonly used to deceive others.
Using your profile picture is a good way to fool others into believing that they’re interacting with ‘you’, when it is really someone with malicious intent.
How to protect yourself and your photos on 7 Cups?
- Don’t use the same pictures you use for your social media accounts, as your 7 Cups profile picture
- If you wish to use a photo of yourself as your profile picture, make sure that the picture is not out in the ‘digital’ wild, i.e. has never been used anywhere else on the Internet
- Another way is to obscure your identity in your photo which is used as your profile picture. That way, facial recognition won't be able to identify you.
- A good way to show your qualities in your profile picture, is to use symbols. Here’s a useful post on this: Profile Pictures on 7 Cups: Staying Safe Online
If you have spotted a profile that needs to be flagged, feel free to report them here
Join our Safety Discussions taglist here to receive notifications whenever a new discussion is posted!
Resources:
- Profile Pictures - Staying Safe Online:
https://www.7cups.com/forum/safe7cups/IVSafetyResourcesEvents_1059/ProfilePicson7CupsStayingSafeOnline_192636/