Before I started working at Anonyome Labs, I hadn’t heard of MySudo before. Why would I need multiple email addresses and phone numbers? After all, I have nothing to hide, and I like to be a “whole person” in both my public and private life. This is what we all strive for, isn’t it? Authenticity? A few years ago, I spent some time cleaning up my info (and that of my family) from online contact information sites and thought that would be enough.
However, what I soon came to realize is that in life I choose my moments of vulnerability, and who shares those moments with me. Not everyone gets to see my tears, anger, or joy. These subconscious human choices doesn’t make the public me less authentic, it just protects me a bit. It’s a small act of choice and control that decides that everyone doesn’t get to see my whole range of emotions just because I have them.
It’s simply the same with privacy. I can have a public face, I can be known in various communities, I can be “me”, but giving some of myself doesn’t have to mean giving all of myself. This is where MySudo comes in.
I have a lot of commitments, and I’ve taken to using MySudo to make sure that things going out and coming in are controlled. I can keep my public face without giving all the private information attached to my phone number. I don’t have to reveal my public face if I choose not to. Here’s how I use MySudo.
Work Sudo: This one has all my work colleagues on it. It’s mostly filled with encrypted messages, because we’re all in-network. If you don’t have your friends on MySudo, you should consider inviting them, because the increased privacy for conversations means a lot. It replaces a lot of my work messaging in a secure way, and I use it daily. My email address doesn’t see much action, mostly test emails. This browser gets the oddest assortment of use, including random articles colleagues send me.
Music Sudo: I’m the section leader for one ensemble and a member of multiple other ensembles, so music gets its own Sudo. It sees a few texts and a few emails each week. I answer calls from all area codes for this one. I don’t use my browser much.
Editing Sudo: I’m the newsletter editor and a board member for the Utah chapter of an international organization, so this is basically the Sudo that allows people to complain to me. I don’t answer calls to this Sudo unless they are Utah numbers, and even then, I let them go to voicemail a lot. This phone number is published in various places, which means I don’t know who will be calling me. It’s great to have a separate number to prevent contamination of my cell phone number or a Sudo number that I always answer. The email doesn’t get any use, as I have an organization-provided email.
Public Sudo: This is the Sudo info that I give to work peers and work-related organizations that I have a genuine interest in. I keep notifications on for this Sudo and pay close attention to what comes to it. As I build my name publicly, this is the Sudo that allows me to do it. This is also the only Sudo that has my real name as a detail or in the email address. My browser for this has all testing/QA searches and tabs.
Subscriptions Sudo: Notifications are OFF for this one. Everywhere that asks for an email or phone number gets this one, and I deliberately let this one fill up with stuff so I have plenty to test with. This browser is what I use for shopping searches.
Selling Sudo: If I’m selling stuff on Craigslist or KSL, or if I have need of a temporary phone number, this is the one I use. I LOVE MySudo’s ability to get rid of a number or email quickly and easily, and that’s extra security with this one. I turn on notifications only when I have something active going on.
Because I joined the privacy game later than some, I haven’t moved over all my friend communications to MySudo. Part of me is honestly just lazy. However, the stuff that I have migrated over is already making it easier to compartmentalize my life while keeping my data more secure, which also makes things very convenient for knowing what’s important in any given moment. That’s one of the great things about privacy. You may not get it to be perfect, but if you can just make a small step, that’s better than nothing. I’ll get around to relying 100% on MySudo at some point, but for now, I’ve covered the riskiest areas.
I use MySudo to organize my communications by engagement. It’s helped so far, and I’m actually more likely to answer a call or text when it comes through MySudo rather than my cell number. I can be true to myself and the people around me while exerting a little more control over who gets what information.
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