An old topic, but an issue near and dear to me..
Okay, so, there are more reasons than being trans for desiring a clean break from the past. For people with active dual-life realities involving social media, such as porn stars, the likelihood of being 'outed' is much higher, whether from facial or image recognition software or some other electronic trail they may leave behind them.
But, in the 21st century, no matter what the reason, the very lack of a visible online history can be a 'tell'. And the more 'tells', the more likely some nosey person is going to think they have spotted somebody in hiding. Even for those in witness protection, there is no perfect solution, but there are principles you can adopt that will improve your odds of living without being at risk. I am obviously breaking a prime directive by posting here, lol. If you don't want to be mistaken for a chicken, you gotta stay out of the henhouse, ya know?
So, yeah, I am not trans, but I do have a history that could be mistaken for trans. Yes, there are legitimate arguments for just being transparent with one's history, and accepting whatever happens afterward with grace, and to those people that choose such a path, I say: "Good for you", and I mean that. But, I am not such a person, though it does grate on me to be dishonest, for certain. What I want, is to live without the albatross of my medical and life history hanging over me, to live without having people digging into my past inconsiderately, eventually forcing me to explain everything that lead up to the present, in order for my life to 'make sense' to them. You see, unless I tell everything, because something just doesn't explain anything, I find myself compelled to tell everything, or nothing at all. And most all, if not all, of my past really is MY business, and my business only. This notion that somebody has a RIGHT to know anything about a person's past is BS, and a recent development in modern culture. Once upon a time, being able to relocate and reinvent one's self was considered an inalienable right, especially in the New World, especially in America. Asking too many questions was not only considered rude, but dangerous. Not anymore, thanks to the internet age, and the shortsightedness of the younger generations, or whatever, I dunno, heck, I am not a social scientist, ha!
So, what to do?
Well, even if I had the full plan already laid out (which I do), the first thing I would do is forget about sharing it with anybody. Ever. The only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them is dead. Dead, and without any electronic devices to store clues, intended, or otherwise...
I guess I am rambling a bit. Sorry, but my own plan is a work in progress, lol.
The first step, of course, is to purge the internet of every possible clue as to who we once were. Somewhere, that data may still be archived, but eventually, most stuff will disappear. It is also important to remember that unless we are important, nobody really cares enough about us to lift a finger to dig into anything more than Google. They will ask if they suspect something, and our reactions will decide whether they leave it be, or dig even deeper.
The second step, is to decide early on to NOT post new clues, no matter how lonely, or sad, we are living off the social media grid. Start practicing self-control. Any pics I posted after starting my own journey were heavily filtered and were never full face pics. Not a perfect solution, but enough to reduce risk. I don't allow pics of myself to be taken anywhere now if I have a choice. I don't do selfies. Ever. I pass it off as modesty. Believe me, that is hard, I loooove how I look now, lol. I will also have my face remodeled, and no, I will not allow the surgeon to post pics. And yes, I will relocate immediately. My deep stealth plan includes a one-way permeable barrier. I will be able to revisit those I love, but they will not know where I have been, nor if, or when, I will pop back for a visit. Once established, this will be reasonable easy to maintain. If I were an internationally-wanted felon, this would not work. But for a woman that just wants her privacy, it is very doable. But it will take discipline. Real discipline. If you are chatty and inclined to over-share, you may want to reconsider the soft-stealth option, or just being out and being done with it, I dunno..
And there is another rub. On occasion, some trans-cop/homophobe will see that I am tall, and will start asking questions in real life, as if it is any of his/her business who, or what, I may or may not be. Transpeople or other LGBT individuals can be the absolute worst about this, actually, they 'see' trans everywhere and start blabbing. Think about it, have you ever done such a thing? Yeah, me too. Tall women get the 'is that really a dude?' question with alarming regularity now that trans life is sooo much in the public eye. This is a very unfortunate blowback to the forward progress for trans-awareness in our culture. But, false positives are also a shield for true positives, depending on how one reacts. How do cis women act when accused of being trans? Act like that. You have to believe your cover story so deeply that you don't get rattled by near-misses (or slip-ups in your own conversations). Easier said than done, I know, but remember the Shakespearian observation "I believe the lady protesteth too much", or whatever he said, lol. Stay cool, never let them see you sweat.
If you want to know how to remain deep stealth, you have to model your security on those whose lives depend on secrecy. Witness protection protocols are a good place to start. There are lots of resources for 'wanna-be' secret agents floating around, these are useful for considering the methods and personal costs involved in disappearing and reinventing yourself. Go slow, think it through, and for goodness sake, keep it all to yourself!
For most people, a soft-stealth approach will do just fine. Most people really don't care about what other people are doing enough to look beyond their 'likes' total on Facebook. At the moment, I am living soft-stealth, my family and half a dozen old friends know my history, as do my doctors, my ex-bf, and probably a few other people that were told without my permission, but my new friends and neighbors do not know anything at all. But, that said, I am always planning my 'perfect solution' and angling my future in that direction. Yes, it is highly involved, and expensive, and possibly not fool-proof. But I believe it to be my right to live as I wish, without explaining anything to anybody, and eventually, I plan to 'make it so'.
So, yes, to answer the OP's question; I am worried about facial recognition software and the possible future implications of technology making any kind of anonymity for ANYBODY impossible. Every human should be concerned that each and every thing they have said, will say, have done, will do, and so on, may become part of their permanent record, somewhere, somehow, and that such information may someday be used against them. Think Orwell's "1984". First it may be trans and gays and porn stars that are at risk, but eventually, the risk will spread to ALL people, everywhere. Somehow, I find a modicum of comfort in that fact, lol. Oh, and of course, there already exists software that can analyze prose and gather together all the written words published online, into one nice set, no matter where it was posted, no matter how clever the alias.
What do we do, then?
Well, I can't speak for you, but I will do whatever I can to maintain my present privacy, within reason, for now. I will then assume a MUCH more stringent code of conduct that allows me full security in real life, perhaps at the cost of having no online life, which is okay with me. And I will try to grow enough as a person to feel it would be okay if I were outed someday, since that seems likely at some point, anyway, and just live my life the best I can in the meantime, day by day, and enjoy the true pleasures of being my authentic self, without worrying about the other shoe dropping at any given moment.
I once considered starting a website for deep-stealth wannabe's, then I realized how ridiculously counter-productive that would be. The less you tell, the less you share, the less you CARE, the greater the odds of being successful at breaking free from your past and living to your full potential.
To those that share my need for living as if the past wasn't as it was, you have my respect and genuine hope for your success.
To those that live out and proud, you have my deepest respect and genuine admiration. You are warriors and warrioresses, and all oppressed peoples owe you a debt of gratitude.
To those that live somewhere in between, probably the vast majority of the community, you have my full support and admiration, too. We all just want to be our true selves. And you folks with little or no agenda are what we all wish we could be someday, in a better world. Good for you!
