As we discussed last week,
some social media users strive to gain greater privacy with their
communications online. While some users have been protecting their online
communications for some time, there is currently a shift to a more private
online existence happening in some demographic groups, mainly with teens and
young adults. This can be seen in trends throughout Internet-based activity,
whether it is a switch to private browsing using Tor, the increasing
usage of mobile messaging applications,
or backlashes against violations of privacy laws.
These savvy social media users can prove to be a challenge for online
researchers and analysts. By using privacy-centric platforms, privacy settings,
and fake or obscured identities, users can problematize online research of
their identities and patterns of behavior.
Privacy-centric
Platforms
In many cases, it can be almost impossible to locate a subject’s
information due to the sheer nature of the platform itself. Many mobile
applications do not have a corresponding website, browser accessible profiles,
or search-indexed content. Additionally, many of these apps do not push content
to other social media platforms, which restricts outside access to hidden
content. These apps often require users to be connected in order to access
information. For analysts, this would require us to use the application and
request a connection to the person of interest. As many investigations are done
without the knowledge of the subject, this can be highly problematic and may
cause the user to delete their information. When these situations arise, the
most complete information can only be obtained by accessing the device itself
or through the use of surreptitious techniques, such as shadow accounts and
device cloning.
Privacy Settings
A major hurdle for all investigators is privacy settings. While
each social media site is different, in many cases, users can leverage four
types of settings to make locating their social media profiles and content more
difficult. First, whether by design of the social media platforms themselves or
user settings, many social media profiles are removed from search indexes. This
makes broad searches more difficult to execute and requires investigators to
dig deeper into each individual social media site. Second, some social media
sites allow users to remove themselves from the internal search feature and
from friend/connection lists unless the person searching for them is connected
to them. This means you either need to establish a connection with the
individual or find a static link on another location or social media site.
Additionally, users can restrict access to their profiles as a whole and the
content contained on it. Finally, users can also restrict how unconnected users
see their content posted throughout the rest of the social media site. All of
these privacy settings can increase the manual work necessary to locate
relevant profiles and content.
Obscured and Fake
Identities
To hide their online activities, a user may opt to either
obscure their real identity or create a fake persona. Obscured identities can
take many forms. Users can employ false names, nicknames, unique usernames, or
misleading profile information to hide their true identity. They can also
choose not to link social media profiles together and use photos which conceal
their faces and are not used on any other site. Users can also opt to use fake personas
online. By using a fake identity, many users can break the connection from
their real identities. In addition to some of the methods used to obscure their
identities, many of these users will create completely new identities that are
disconnected from their real social networks. Often, they will also use a
variety of other means (i.e. VPNs, proxies) to conceal their actual physical
location and network connection to prevent doxing.
Making the Information
Work for You
It is important to always understand the limitations of
social media data and the challenges you will face during open source research.
Every social media site and application has its own limitations either through
design or the use of privacy settings by savvy social media users. Before you
dive into your online investigations, it is important to learn as much as
possible about your subject and take note of the issues you might face along
the way. Each piece of data will help you find potential obscured or fake
identities and better assess the corners of the Internet to explore to find
your person of interest.
