Protect where you are
- Kill location metadata. Photos and videos can carry GPS coordinates. Turn off location tagging in your camera app, and never post from home with the location sticker on.
- Watch the background. Street signs, house numbers, school logos, vet-clinic paperwork, delivery labels and reflections in a pet's eyes or a TV have all been used to find creators. Scan every frame before posting.
- Delay real-time posts. "We're at the dog park right now" tells a stranger exactly where to find you. Post the fun after you've left.
- Separate your handle from your legal name where you can, and use a PO box or a business address for any brand shipments.
Handle harassment and doxxing
- Don't engage the pile-on. Responding usually feeds it. Mute, block, and restrict comments (most platforms let you filter keywords or limit comments to followers).
- Screenshot and report threats before you block — you may want the record. Every major platform has a reporting path for harassment and threats; use it.
- If you're doxxed (personal info posted), report it to the platform immediately (it violates their rules), document everything, and if there's any threat to your safety, contact local law enforcement. Ask data-broker sites to remove your information.
- Lock down your circle. Ask friends and family not to tag your location or share identifying details about you.
Spot fake and predatory "brand deals"
- Real brands don't ask you to pay. If a "deal" requires you to buy the product first, pay a "shipping fee," or hand over a deposit, it's a scam.
- Never share banking passwords, full card numbers, or your account login. A legitimate partner never needs your password. Use platform-native paid-partnership tools instead.
- Be wary of "gifting" that demands guaranteed posts plus your home address plus rushed timelines — a common pattern for both scams and exploitative terms.
- Get it in writing. Deliverables, payment amount, timing and usage rights, in a simple contract or even an email. See our creator-economy glossary for what those terms mean.
Lock down your accounts
- Two-factor authentication on every account — ideally an authenticator app, not SMS. This is the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a hijacked channel.
- Unique passwords via a password manager. Reused passwords are how one leak becomes ten.
- Beware "collab" and "verification" DMs with links — account-takeover phishing is rampant among growing creators. Never enter your login on a page you reached from a DM link.
- Keep a backup of your best content off-platform, so a lost account isn't a lost body of work.
Keep your pet safe too
- Never stage anything that scares, strains or endangers your animal for a video. No trend is worth it, and audiences increasingly punish it.
- Don't broadcast valuable or rare animals (some exotics, pedigree pets) in ways that advertise them to thieves.
- Read a platform's animal-welfare rules — content that looks like distress can be removed even when the pet is fine.
This guide is general information, not legal or security advice. If you're in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number. Struggling with the emotional side of all this? See our creator wellbeing guide.