Covering your online tracks

Perhaps you have a violent partner, or maybe you live on the criminal fringe. Whatever the reason, there are steps that can be taken to protect yourself from harm when you have something to confidentially share with us.

Crime Stoppers strips all your metadata if you send us information online, and our ‘quick exit’ button on the website lets you immediately escape. But that doesn’t mean that someone who has access to your computer can’t go into your history and see what you’ve been doing online.

So, if you’re worried about someone knowing you have visited our website, then there’s some simple steps for you to consider.
Ultimately, the safest way to use the internet privately is to do it in a safe place. That might be in the local library, at a friend’s house, school or even work.

Don’t forget that if you are using a public computer it’s not enough to simply close a browser window or type in another address.

Programs like Web Mail and Instant Messenger include automatic login features that will automatically save your username and password. So make sure you disable that before logging in to ensure that no one can log in as you once you’re finished.

The other thing to remember is that internet browsers save particular information as you surf the internet. That can include images from websites you may have visited, particular words you have entered into a search engine and a history of sites you have visited. You can clear that history and cache through your browser settings to prevent people finding out which websites you have visited.

You can use Incognito browsing on Google Chrome (PC, laptop, Android phones & tablets, iPhone, iPad).	Try launching a private window on Mozilla Firefox (PC or laptop).	Start an InPrivate window on your Microsoft Edge (PC or laptop).	Turn on private browsing in Safari (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch).	Browse in private in Safari (iMac, MacBook).

If you’re using a different browser – for instance UC Browser or Opera – whichever one it is, just look for the keywords ‘Incognito’ or ‘Private’ on any of their options to launch a new private window.