Blogging Without Showing Your Face

Blogging Without Showing Your Face

There are a lot of bloggers out there who don’t mind putting a face to match their writing. In fact, many people prefer to stand out with their identity, because it makes the author seem more relatable and genuine, and their statements have more credit as they’re staking their actual reputation on them. However, many people don’t feel comfortable doing this. Maybe your personal opinions expressed on the web can have an effect on your real life, or maybe you’re just not ready to identify as the author of your writing – it’s common practice to look for a way to blog anonymously. Whatever the reason may be, we’re here to answer the question: how to blog without showing your face?

There are different ways to blog without showing your face; use an anonymous email to register your blog, use an anonymous blogging platform, use a pseudonym, be careful with the information you give out, make sure that your IP address isn’t logged when you register or post to the blog, and register a domain anonymously.

However, there are many things that need to be taken into account when discussing internet anonymity. Everyone knows that what’s uploaded to the web stays on the web, and this is true for blogging, as well – so just how anonymous is anonymous? How can you blog anonymously? Can you even blog anonymously and can you use a fake name for your blog? And lastly, can anonymous blogs even make money? These are the questions we’ll be answering in today’s article. So, stay strapped, and let’s delve into the rabbit hole of anonymous blogging.

Can You Blog Anonymously?

Yes, you can absolutely blog anonymously. Many people take a turn in this direction for many different reasons. Whistleblowers, in fact, who find out that their company is doing something illegal often turn to this method, as coming out publicly with that information could cost them their job. Another reason is that so many people nowadays are completely devoted to the well-known ‘cancel culture’, where you’ll be slandered by people who disagree with you, even if you’re stating true facts.

The latter is one of the reasons celebrities tend to keep their opinions very private, society is currently concentrated more on everyone else’s feelings instead of the truth, and many people turn to anonymous blogs when they want to say something. Just because you’re right, doesn’t mean that people are going to approve of your statement.

Starting an anonymous blog will keep your professional and private life separated. It will allow you to discuss something you’re interested in outside of your professional environment, without it harming your professional reputation.

You may be nervous about the negative connotations of your posts being traced back to you, as your friends, family, and clients may not approve of what you’re talking about.

You may also be afraid of being embarrassed, as there are many topics that while not being controversial, still bring shame to people who discuss them. Topics like divorce, bankruptcy, illnesses, etc. – are all still very much surrounded by stigma (unrightfully so), and many people are still afraid to discuss them openly. You don’t want this reflecting badly on you and that’s why you write anonymously.

You may also be protecting other peoples’ identities. You may want to blow off steam and rant about your boss who’s giving you trouble, your clients who are hell to work with, or even one of your friends. It’s okay to be dissatisfied, but you should always keep these peoples’ identities safe.

You should also tackle controversies safely, as you don’t want your name attached to a lot of things (that may be unrelated to your professional life), like politics, law, medicine, terrorism, etc.

Can I Use a Fake Name for My Blog?

Yes, you can always use a pseudonym for your blog. Moreover, this is actually encouraged if you want to remain anonymous, as your name won’t be hard to trace. If you’re using more blogging platforms or using names on different services on the internet (not just blogging services, but things like YouTube, Reddit, etc.), try to keep those pseudonyms different – someone could easily connect the dots of those pseudonyms if they’re all the same.

How to Blog Without Showing Your Face?

Firstly, you have to keep in mind that the internet is a very unsafe place. Yes, there are blogging platforms that are supposedly anonymous, and they are like that. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be hacked, and if they do, everything that you thought of as anonymous now becomes wildly public. There are different ways to blog anonymously, but we’ll firstly cover some of the most popular and best (in quality) anonymous blogging platforms.

Write.as – this blogging platform is intended for users who want to get into anonymous blogging without the whole registration hassle. This blogging site started in 2015, defines itself as a minimalist writing platform, focused on privacy. Write.as will set you as an anonymous user by default. You are entitled to the option of changing this and setting a real username.

Telegra.ph – it was launched in 2016 by the same company behind Telegram, the anonymous texting app. The site doesn’t require you to register or sign in with any social media accounts.

Txt.fyi – a very simple text editor, one that publishes your pages as a static post. It’s powered by WordPress. The site is very fast, light, and has an 80s retro look.

Notepin – the main advantage Notepin possesses over other blogs on this list is the option of posting images and videos. When working with Notepin, you pick a username that becomes part of your URL. When creating, you can write whatever you want and add images, as well.

Vigyaa – according to the creators of Vigyaa, they’re the only 100% anonymous platform – there’s no login required and no IP tracing. The site was imagined as a safe place, where anyone who wishes to express their thoughts, concerns, emotions, ideas, experiences and more, can do that without the fear of being judged and labeled.

To blog anonymously, you should choose a hosted blogging software that doesn’t require you to have a domain, web hosting, and you don’t have to buy a license. There are even ways to blog anonymously with WordPress.

Make sure to use an anonymous email when registering for your blog. Even though it’s unlikely that any of these blogging platforms will actually trace your email, you can just post anything with them – and with the platforms that require an email, you can use a temporary one. Check out MintEmail and FilzMail, these services give you temporary emails that expire after a while. You can make your post using these services, and your blog post remains online even though your email had already expired.

You should also look into services that mask your IP address, and if you’re registering a domain name – do it anonymously.

Can Anonymous Blogs Make Money?

Yes, you can make money even if your blog is anonymous. The fact is, your blog’s anonymity is only a big deal to you. Your writing is the same as it would be if you weren’t anonymous. Imagine if you identified yourself, say your name is Mark Johnson – it’s completely unimportant to most internet users (keep in mind that there are literally billions of users online). So, to the rest of us, it’s mostly unimportant whether you’ll come out with your real name or remain hidden. Only a few people (people who are somehow related to you, professionally or personally) would like to know if that’s you behind the writing.

So, since your identity isn’t important to the great majority of the internet – your writing can attract people regardless of you personally. And this is the way bloggers make money – get more clicks, which will eventually lead to commercials and advertisements. So, yes, you can make the money in the traditional blogging fashion, even if you remain anonymous.

You won’t be making money by creating tutorials and promoting your book, however, since you would need to identify yourself to do that.

There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to make money just because your blog is anonymous. This blog is just as time-worthy as any other blog, as your writing is just as real as any writing published by a publicly known writer. You shouldn’t restrict yourself just because you wish to remain anonymous.

Author

  • Tristan

    Tristan has a strong interest in the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative expression. He has a background in computer science, and he enjoys exploring the ways in which AI can enhance and augment human creativity. In his writing, he often delves into the ways in which AI is being used to generate original works of fiction and poetry, as well as to analyze and understand patterns in existing texts.