Profile Pics on 7Cups - Staying Safe Online

Hey Everyone!

Misty Here!

I am writing this discussion post because of the importance of choosing the safest profile picture that you can!

This applies equally to members and listeners.

I am a mentor here at 7Cups and part of the welcoming team too so I have a lot of new listeners and members that contact me.
Sadly a lot of these people that are new to 7Cups have problems caused by their profile pictures, that could easily be avoided.

We all know that it is very important to stay anonymous on 7Cups and one area that we need to be careful about is choosing the right picture.

I know that there are threads that have already been written, one in fact was written almost 4 years ago to the day but the internet has changed since then. We all know about internet safety, or we think we do! But do we really?

Basically remember that anything posted online stays online.
So let's use that and discuss profile pictures and how to choose a safe one?

Q. What is a 'safe display picture'

• A picture that cannot be traced.
  Did you know that it is possible to take a picture and trace it back to where it came from?
  So please, think about that for a moment.
  Do you really want some internet stalker turning up outside your the front door of your home?
  
• A picture that does not reveal your true identity
  Imagine that you share your true mental health problems and then your boss reads your thread
  and sees the picture and recognises you?
  
• A picture that has not been used anywhere else on the internet ever!
  You take a lovely selfie and post it to your social media accounts. You are proud of it. You want everyone to see how beautiful you are and how clever at taking selfies. You use it as your profile picture on 7Cups and then start sharing about your problems with your relationship, next thing you know your whole family recognise the picture and know all about your personal problems.
  

Q. But I want to show how attractive I am, lots of other people show their faces why shouldn't I?

💡You can of course! In fact a lot of 7Cups guidelines appear to encourage the use of a face picture! (but perhaps those suggestions should carry safety warnings or be amended to reflect the current state of internet safety). However, please bear in mind all the points above and then also these:-

❌Sometimes people join us here and they are bullies or unkind people and they like to target those that are new or inexperienced.
They will look at the picture and maybe even actively seek out people to target.
Choosing an anonymous picture can help to limit the possibility of this happening.
Instead of a young blonde female they see a picture of a daisy or a cat.
Instead of an attractive male they see a picture of a wolf.

⭐For New Listeners in particular- consider this point whilst you gain experience of handling different chat scenarios. Do you really need to have a pretty picture and your gender in your profile, and say you will listen to anything? Wouldn't you rather know that those things weren't why you were contacted?

Q. If this is all true then surely this applies to ALL pictures we post on 7Cups then?

✅YES YES YES! posting pictures of our own dogs or cats or Christmas tree can leave us all open to taunting, personal attacks, bullying or worse, tracking and stalking.

Q. Ok, so if it applies to all pictures what about other details in our profiles? Are they safe?

1. We all need to take responsibility for our own safety online.
2. Any details we give should still allow us to remain anonymous, so please think carefully.
3. Giving some personal details may help people reach out to you because of shared experiences but also they may attract the wrong people and unwanted attention.
4. People often think that they are safe if they only give out tiny bits of information here and there but that adds up and up and up.

Q. So what can I do if something goes wrong? How do I get help here?

• 7 Cups works hard to keep everyone safe.
  
• There are three Community Managers @Heather225 @ASilentObserver @Hope
  
• You can email community@7cups.com

• You can change your profile in your Settings (use the browser version www.7cups.com then top right profile settings)

Safety is Your Responsibility Too!

Profile Picture Policy changed October 14th 2019 see This Thread

Listening .... One Step At A Time