Am I being unreasonable to remain silent ?

No, you're not being unreasonable- You're concerns are legitimate - We're all susceptible-

I always just say the county.. I think that's enough

Nothing wrong with being cautious

I think some posters forget that they are not just chatting to the posters in that thread who are also oversharing, its not a closes board. A thread with 5 posts could be read by 100 people! On open forums there are many many more lurkering members than posters, and many non members also browse.

I also think people forget how easily jigsaw pieces can be put together. If you put a little bit of info on one thread, and a little bit of info on another.... it can add up to quite a big picture!

Some posters share A LOT! where they live, what companies they use, when their homes will be vacant.

Post on one thread your county
Post on another thread that you need specialised home insurance e.g. for a thatch.
Post on another thread that your village pharmacy just closed.
And that can be enough for someone to recognise your exact house!

Then you go and post elsewhere personal info about your DH, friends and colleagues too!

Hadn't thought about it. Feel a bit worried now.

I think as long as your username has no connection with your actual name and you’ve only indicated the area/county, folks with evil intent would be hard pushed to pin point your actual home.

I defy anyone to give my address on here from information I’ve posted - perhaps that could be a GN challenge for all cryptic puzzlers!

It is the reason I never post pictures of the grandchildren. As it is an open forum they could be used anywhere. There are no privacy settings on here.

I never post photos and have deliberately not created a profile on here. I have only ever
said the county I live in although have mentioned I’ve relocated from Wales. Don’t think it’s enough to identify me though , I am careful about personal information

It would be daft to give your address but the area isn't a problem.

People still identify themselves on social media - then tell everyone that they're going on holiday (or are on holiday) and wonder why they've been burgled when they get back!

I'm very careful. Your house insurance can be invalid if you're burgled whilst away on holiday whilst posting lots of photos and details of where you are on Facebook. Some folks find they've shared their photos not just with Facebook Friends, but Friends of Friends etc. Dangerous.

I am astonished at the photographs of named grandchildren in school uniform, clearly displaying logos of their school brandishing certificates for good behaviour naming their school and class, accompanied by much additional information about the area they inhabit.
Basic child protection.

I’m hiding in plain sight.
?

We don't have to contribute to any threads we don't feel comfortable with, where we live, how old we are, are we religious or anything else we feel it's private. Just put: 'No comment' or skip it altogether.

Gemini1789, I think you are being very sensible. If someone really wants to find about you, they will.
It's so much easier nowadays, thanks to technology. An internet search can bring up so much personal information about an individual.

I would never post pictures of my DGD online, but it is easy to let your guard down, on a chatty thread.

There was a similar thread to this about 5 years ago. I said I was careful not to name the town I lived near but received a PM from another GNetter saying s/he would have no trouble finding me from lots of different things I’d said, It was just a one-liner and I admit I did find it rather sinister. As pointed out above, we do contribute in so many ways via different threads and this info could be added together to identify where we come from and possibly who we are. Posting pictures of GC I think is quite risky unless they are quite small. It’s sad to realise this but we are open to anyone with a phone.

It would be daft to give your address but the area isn't a problem

I disagree! There was a very unpleasant incident in 'real life' because someone had been outed without having given their home address. A GNetter had obviously been collating enough information from various threads to track them down.

I think I know the incident you refer to but the photograph that had been put up before being deleted at the poster’s request was an unusual one I suppose and enabled neighbours to put 2+2 together quite easily.

There was one poster (cant remember the name ,sorry) who was appalled that a 'nice' person from here printed out her posts re her boss and sent it to him!!

I think as long as your username has no connection with your actual name and you’ve only indicated the area/county, folks with evil intent would be hard pushed to pin point your actual home.

Thats not true. Not if youve chatted about your home a lot on the buying/selling thread as well for example.

Its not hard for people to link up your past posts.

Posts can also be used to groom children/grandchildren as they can be used to build trust and imply the groomer "knows" the family.

Its not that "out there" its happened on two forums Im on.
One was a specialist hobby forum that was being used to "steal to order".
Another, a poster had compiled files on other posters: collating everything they posted on individual threads all together. This was "just" used to bully posters online but people were really shocked about the things he knew: they had forgotten how much they had posted on prior threads.

Another forum again, a poster copy and pasted threads into a word doc.

The daily mail often lifts forum posts for their femail section, you might feel confident that nobody involvef in the situation who would recognise the people are reading GN, but they might see the mail piece (you dont have to be a DM reader to see them they go viral on SM)

Urmston and Jane10 Exactly! Which just goes to show how devious some people can be! It's very sad that even 'friendly' GN can be abused.

The house/buying thread is one of the worst. There are several posters on there whose exact house could be identified if one was so inclined. And being GN some people will have paid off mortgages and will be buying with 100% equity. Mortgage free properties are very vulnerable to land registry fraud and its not that uncommon.

It's very sad that even 'friendly' GN can be abused. sad

Its not necessarily going to be another poster.
For every poster there are god knows how many readers and lurkers who dont post.
Its an open forum.
You may feel you "know" the other posters on a thread but you have no idea who else is lurking and reading.
You dont even have to be a member to read

It’s not necessary to know where we all live, you’re quite right to be cautious.

Notanan - I don't know how land registry fraud works but wouldn't Rightmove and Zoopla give more information for fraudsters than anything on the house buying/selling threads here?