SparkPeople's Internet Safety Tips

Things to Keep in Mind when Surfing the Web

-- By SparkPeople

The Message Boards and SparkPages are great places to find others with common interests and goals. SparkPeople's Community is very positive and you’re likely to develop great relationships with others who share common experiences and support during your ups and downs. Although it’s not always something we like to think about, it is important to remember some general safety tips when sharing information about yourself on the Internet.

Keep in mind that all public information you share on the SparkPeople website can be viewed by anyone with access to the Internet. This includes information that you might post on the message boards, in your message board profile or signature, on your SparkPage, or in your public journal entries. So if you're sharing personal information that you wouldn’t want everyone to see, you might want to think twice before posting it. For example, providing your full name and the city you live in would make it very easy for someone to locate you.
If your email address is through your employer, you might not want to post it unless you’re okay with people knowing where you work and you're prepared to receive a number of personal emails at that account.
When using the Internet to communicate with someone, there’s no way to know for sure that they are who they say they are. So keep this in mind if you’re setting up a meeting with another member to exercise, for example. Pick a public place where there are a lot of people around and arrange to meet there (at least in the beginning) instead of meeting privately or riding together.

These tips aren’t meant to scare you, but rather to ensure your safety as you use our site. There are many wonderful benefits to participating in our Community, and we want your experience to be as positive as possible!