Make a plan to protect yourself

You cannot control the actions of harassers. However, there are still steps we can take to make our online spaces safer. Tech companies can work to prevent harassment and bullying on their platforms. Public health institutions can better protect their workforce and their students. You can also take steps as an individual to reduce harm. For example, you can make it more difficult for online harassers to find you in real life. You can also make it harder for them to contact your friends and family.

It’s important to know that you have the right to be online and support public health. It’s okay if you can’t do everything on this checklist. And it’s okay if you choose not to. This checklist is about your comfort, boundaries, and what matters most to you.

Shield your accounts

It is not your fault if someone hacks one of your social, messenger, or email accounts. But there are still ways you can help protect yourself from low-effort, high-volume attacks and worst-case scenarios.

Get the account checklist

Post like strangers are watching

You can’t fully know the risks of sharing information about yourself online. Use our reflection questions to define your own comfort level.

Use our reflection prompts

Limit your audience

Once something is online, you can’t control where it goes. But you can control who you give access to.

Explore our privacy tips

Block off work from other social circles

Take these steps to make it harder for someone else to connect information from different parts of your life.

Set privacy boundaries

Leave behind a smaller digital trail

You don’t have to go off the grid. Instead, make it harder for strangers to learn more about you.

Evaluate your digital footprint

The Digital Safety Kit was created by Sam Mendez for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health Communication. It is designed to help you prevent and reduce the harm of online harassment in public health.