Goddess Megan

One of the next most common “sex work advice” questions I get asked is, ‘how to remain safe online?’ Here are my suggestions!

1) Always, always use a pseudonym. Your legal name is not remotely necessary for anyone else to know. Some sites will require your legal name, but they will also keep them hidden. Double and triple check your settings for anything that may require your name (for payments/ID verification etc)

2) Have location turned off at all times when taking photos. You do not want your photos to be giving away your information. All photos contain digital information that can contain your whereabouts! Keep location off on your phone and in any app settings you come across.

3) Don’t link any social media unless you want them to be connected. I know this one sounds like a “duh” but it happens! Make sure your tumblr is completely unconnected to your personal twitter/instagram. Be careful using the same email to sign up for different platforms. Most platforms will have you searchable by email address or will use it to suggest followers.

4) If you choose not to show your face in pictures, remove all identifying tattoos/piercings/jewellery etc. Just because your face isn’t in an image, doesn’t mean you won’t be recognised! It can and has happened! I can pick out many of my fellow swers based on jewellery alone.

5) Lie about your location or keep it simple. If you live in a small town or city especially! The info of your city/state can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Nobody needs to be privvy to where you live.

6) Have a specific email under false name for all work related use. Like mentioned earlier, using the same email address for personal and work accounts can backfire easily. Keep all your work accounts seperate from your personal ones.

7) Do not send content/add to snap until payment is received. Many customers will ask to be given previews or will want their content before a payment is confirmed. You absolutely do not have to. Until a payment is 100% completed, you owe them no content. At all.

8) Do not send content in return for wishlist items until you have item. A very common mistake that swers make, both new and experienced ones, is to take the fact that someone has ordered you a gift as enough. It isn’t. A lot of sites will allow items to be cancelled and some sites (like amazon) have “buy elsewhere” options which can make items look purchased when they haven’t been. Don’t fall for it, if the customer is legitimate, they won’t mind the wait.

9) Do not compromise your rules for anyone. You are the only person in charge of what you will and will not do. Do not let someone twist your resolution and force you into something that you’re not comfortable with. You set your own rules, stick to them, change them only if and when you are comfortable doing so.

10) Your customers are not your friends. Some customers might be your regulars! You might talk to them often, you might know them quite well and you might get along with them nicely. That does not mean they are your friend. They are a customer who isn’t privvy to any extras, any personal information or anything else you don’t want to give.

Don’t allow your customers to cross any of your boundaries you have set. 

11) Lots of websites do not allow the sale/promotion of any sexual content. You need to do research on any website you are planning to use. Some payment processors will close your account potentially blocking your access to your funds. A list with information on them is available here, compiled by MissFreudianSlit.

In the wake of new laws more and more sites are closing their doors to anyone working in the sex industry. Do your research.

Your safety is paramount. Sex workers are always at risk, working online does not mean you are safe. Take all possible precautions to protect yourself.

Any sex workers are welcome to add their own online advice!

A few days ago, Sesta / Fosta passed, creating dismay and fear within the sex worker community. While it appears that phone sex operators, indie clip makers, and cam performers are not the target of the legislation, there are likely to be some changes for those providers too. Not just because the law is poorly written – and destined to hurt those they say they are protecting – but because the law is aimed at online platforms. Many sites are already taking action. Some are disappearing sections of the sites; some sites have entirely disappeared. And it is clear from the folks behind the law, that this is aimed not just at paid sexual encounters – but at sex itself.

This legislation was backed by what I can only call “sex hate” groups:

Expose Sex Ed Now, which advocates against comprehensive sex education, along with the National Decency Coalition, The Institute on Religion & Democracy, and Family Watch International, groups that lobby for the “traditional” family and who oppose abortion. Another signer, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formerly known as Morality in Media), has long led its own anti-sex work campaigns, blaming pornography for trafficking

And, yeah, based on those groups, you can see how easily this can slide from “paid for sex” to targeting any type of sex – from personal ads and casual encounters to LGBTQ and BDSM.

Hence there were good guys too:

FOSTA-SESTA’s opponents include the National Organization for Women, the ACLU, EFF, the Center for Democracy & Technology, national sex work right orgs, sex workers of all stripes, AIDS United, sex trafficking victims’ rights groups, a variety of tech groups, and more – including the Department of Justice.

Also against: Amnesty International, National Center for Lesbian Rights, The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), & the World Health Organization.

But not enough legislators listened to them – or to sex workers themselves.

Upon passage of the law, I posted a helpful thread on Twitter for clients. It reads as follows:

Please remember that your phone sex operators, clip girls, and other sex workers are humans too. While they are professionals, they may find themselves personally affected by recent, current events. With the current upset with SESTA & FOSTA there’s fear in the air…

Which means, be kind. Be generous. Ask how you can help. Tip - & tip again. And be prepared for some things, such as contact methods, to change.

There’s not just fear in the air - there’s a lot of work to do. Which means while they are performing that work, they cannot spend that time with clients. Or they may need to pay someone to do that tech stuff. Either way, it’s a pay cut.

So sending tips & tributes can mean the difference between that provider continuing to be your erotic entertainer - & quitting, giving up sex work. Compliments & “keep your chin up” statements are nice. But like “thoughts & prayers” they don’t address the real threat.

So step up. Be kind. And send payments.

At my Twitter account for phone sex providers, I’ve also been compiling and sharing tips for sex workers as well, signal boosting what I can. (Currently, *knocks wood* that account remains without Twitter shadowban troubles.) Among them, a few concrete tips for how to handle keeping up with the news. I am going to rephrase them – and add a few more tips – specifically for fans, followers, and clients of adult services.

#1 Make a list of your favorite provider Twitter accounts – & follow them, so even if they are shadowbanned you can see their pages. Also on that list, include URL to the Twitter page - so you can find them, even when they are shadowbanned & do not show up in searches (either by name or hashtag). 

Note: If you are not comfortable following sex workers on Twitter from your mainstream account that family, friends, & co-workers know, make a second “adult” Twitter profile. If you’re especially concerned about making a horrible mistake, there’s no need to use or add to your Twitter app; just make the account as a “just in case” secret account. 

Additionally, create bookmarks of these account pages.

#2 As I’ve long been preaching, bookmark and make a list of provider websites so that if they (or you!) are deleted from Twitter or other platforms you have a method of connecting.

#3 If your provider offers a newsletter, subscribe to it. If they sell their email contact info, purchase it. This way, if they switch platforms, services, or terms, you’ll know about it and have a method for contacting them.

#4 Keep a list of trusted publications & resources (i.e. organizations, not persons) which you can count on for ongoing news. A few places I recommend are:

survivorsagainstsesta.org titsandsass.com aclu.org eff.org

#5 Signal boost the issue itself. This is a rights issue – a human rights issue and one of censorship, violating Free Speech. Share information on the issue – including from mainstream accounts.  And keep doing so. Including the links included in this post. And this post itself! 

For those unwilling to talk about sex positivity, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) offers practical coverage of this abomination: Disaster For Online Communities, How Congress Censored The Internet.

#6 Remember too, that your provider may not be expressing their concern. After all, one of the hallmarks of a great provider is that they provide a feeling of escape for clients - not necessarily for themselves. So, as I began this post with, be sure to send your favorite providers tips & tributes.

I hope this helps you remain in contact with your favorite adult entertainers, performers, and providers – as well as find some new ones!

Best wishes,