18 comments
juicy1 | 15-07-2014 18:49
I understand your concerns but I think you're being just a bit paranoid. No one can see your data if you don't want them to, just make it a private profile and don't add friends. You can also just lie about the data you don't want seen. Like your birthday, city, etc.
I'd venture to say no one here cares which gender or age you are.
Enjoy your day
I'd venture to say no one here cares which gender or age you are.
Enjoy your day
Joeyy | 15-07-2014 18:52
I'm sorry you're worried about security issues. If it's any reassurance, I've been a member for almost eight years and I've never had a company call me as a result of profile information on LetsSingIt, nor anyone find me on Facebook without me actually giving them the link to my page (though if they did, ignoring them should solve that problem 
).
There is a birthday notification feature for LSI friends, which I think is nice given that most people aren't the best at remembering birthdays. Personally I think it would be a shame if it disappeared.
Like Joe (juicy) says, you can always choose to lie on your profile and only divulge your real information privately to members you trust.
).There is a birthday notification feature for LSI friends, which I think is nice given that most people aren't the best at remembering birthdays. Personally I think it would be a shame if it disappeared.
Like Joe (juicy) says, you can always choose to lie on your profile and only divulge your real information privately to members you trust.
Captain_Keeta | 15-07-2014 18:55
This is a friendly community. 
Nothing to be worried about.
Nothing to be worried about.
Joeyy | 15-07-2014 18:55
In a bid to put your mind at ease, I Googled my profile information - my first name, birth date, age, and city and, as you can see, nothing appeared in the results that gives away my identity.
Captain_Keeta | 15-07-2014 19:02
That's a good way of showing it Joeyy!
Cheater138 | 15-07-2014 19:02
As everyone else has said, you can simply put false information in the fields that you don't want to share. I also believe something like "..." or "***" will work in place of actual information if you would rather not put anything there. There is unfortunately no way around selecting a gender, if you want to fill out the rest of the profile you have to pick one or the other.
But I would also recommend setting your privacy to high, so only those that you add as friends can see whatever information you provide.
But I would also recommend setting your privacy to high, so only those that you add as friends can see whatever information you provide.
Juliet86 | 15-07-2014 19:02
You have a good point. I agree that we should be able to leave some areas blank. Although I don't think giving out your birth date is any danger, as long as you don't put your surname and/or exact location. You can put a space for city and it will accept that. Without city or surname, no one should be able to find you.
PracticePractic | 15-07-2014 19:06
Thanks everyone for advice and good thoughts... I'll give those suggestions a try now... and see what happens!
Joeyy | 15-07-2014 19:10
Perhaps you could call yourself a name relating to cheese. I think that would help.
Captain_Keeta | 15-07-2014 19:22
"Feta Cheddar" 
PracticePractic | 15-07-2014 22:57
Thanks for idea Captain KeetaCaptain_Keeta | 15-07-2014 22:57
No problem.
Joeyy | 15-07-2014 23:10
Your profile picture is cheese. My work here is done.
Captain_Keeta | 15-07-2014 23:11
Life is good Joeyy, life is good.
PracticePractic | 15-11-2014 15:53
Hallo Ray....
I hope someone can fix my double posting here and in your "New "Add Comment" -form" thread to decrease memory usage on your site.
Upon recommendation (Joey--thanks) posted this in the old Registration question thread as it is a part of registration process.
Sorry to beat a dead horse (not a particularly animal friendly line---apologies to those offended) but my early posting about your site's requirement/ use of Birth dates to register has always worried me and I knew I have some appropriate technical articles etc to share, but this just came across my desk today (and its a recent, November 2014 article) so even though its not from a computer magazine, etc I thought I'd share it with you.
Link for whole article
After you read the above snippet from the article, some comments:
I do appreciate the birthdates (many are public, others hidden, i.e. private, unless you are a friend--but that is easy to get and view--saw someone here with 800 (!) friends) as I like to try to figure out astrology for everyone.... so maybe instead of a birthdate you can substitute a "astrology" symbol (listing the date range for those not familiar) i.e. this LSI member is an "Aries: March 21 to April 19" birthdate.
Many here do share freely their real names/addresses and private history with the public and each other. Its very good and trusting friendships that have developed here. (I already know some of the hometowns of people here just in their conversations, where they lived, moved from etc... remember everyone... postings here are "forever" not temporary! I may be overly cautious, after reading too many articles like this, but others are too trusting... the real expression of this site and what you do here Ray is probably closer to the middle.
To help you in thinking what can be done about these problems, some friendly suggestions!
1. As for me the advice I got from others here was to fudge/change my birthdate to something else and I did that, but again I hate lying like that when others tell their dates... Would prefer an astrology symbol to click on instead of a birthdate.
2. and as for the year of birth and any limitations on letting underage people sign up for the site, you can simply transform the "year" of birth question into "by checking this box you certify you are at least 13 years of age" (or whatever the current minimum is on web to sign up as a member of web sites.
Thanks again for providing a Thread to express our opinions....
Thanks again for a wonderful web site---working to try to help your advertising revenue---I'm on the site more times than I appear in my history, I just don't "Sign in" unless I'm posting or waiting for a reply to a post. That way I know your economic model for the site is working by displaying the ads, and I try to click on a few here and there to support your site. Hope that is the proper way to do it. I really do limit my online presence so its a wonderful site you've created here that I have chosen to become a member of so just trying to help!
Beste wensen.
Practice.
I hope someone can fix my double posting here and in your "New "Add Comment" -form" thread to decrease memory usage on your site.
Upon recommendation (Joey--thanks) posted this in the old Registration question thread as it is a part of registration process.
Sorry to beat a dead horse (not a particularly animal friendly line---apologies to those offended) but my early posting about your site's requirement/ use of Birth dates to register has always worried me and I knew I have some appropriate technical articles etc to share, but this just came across my desk today (and its a recent, November 2014 article) so even though its not from a computer magazine, etc I thought I'd share it with you.
Link for whole article
Birth date
With your name, address and birth date in hand, scammers may be able to buy your Social Security number on websites that normally sell them to businesses conducting background checks. If they can't, just by knowing your birth date and hometown, scammers can often guess most, if not all, the digits of your Social Security number. Some businesses do need your birth date to verify your identity — health care providers and credit card companies, for instance — but most others do not. So think twice before providing it to merchants who might be vulnerable to a data breach by hackers. Forgo the birthday freebies that some businesses offer. And never post your birth date on social media sites or on any other public websites.
With your name, address and birth date in hand, scammers may be able to buy your Social Security number on websites that normally sell them to businesses conducting background checks. If they can't, just by knowing your birth date and hometown, scammers can often guess most, if not all, the digits of your Social Security number. Some businesses do need your birth date to verify your identity — health care providers and credit card companies, for instance — but most others do not. So think twice before providing it to merchants who might be vulnerable to a data breach by hackers. Forgo the birthday freebies that some businesses offer. And never post your birth date on social media sites or on any other public websites.
After you read the above snippet from the article, some comments:
I do appreciate the birthdates (many are public, others hidden, i.e. private, unless you are a friend--but that is easy to get and view--saw someone here with 800 (!) friends) as I like to try to figure out astrology for everyone.... so maybe instead of a birthdate you can substitute a "astrology" symbol (listing the date range for those not familiar) i.e. this LSI member is an "Aries: March 21 to April 19" birthdate.
Many here do share freely their real names/addresses and private history with the public and each other. Its very good and trusting friendships that have developed here. (I already know some of the hometowns of people here just in their conversations, where they lived, moved from etc... remember everyone... postings here are "forever" not temporary! I may be overly cautious, after reading too many articles like this, but others are too trusting... the real expression of this site and what you do here Ray is probably closer to the middle.
To help you in thinking what can be done about these problems, some friendly suggestions!
1. As for me the advice I got from others here was to fudge/change my birthdate to something else and I did that, but again I hate lying like that when others tell their dates... Would prefer an astrology symbol to click on instead of a birthdate.
2. and as for the year of birth and any limitations on letting underage people sign up for the site, you can simply transform the "year" of birth question into "by checking this box you certify you are at least 13 years of age" (or whatever the current minimum is on web to sign up as a member of web sites.
Thanks again for providing a Thread to express our opinions....
Thanks again for a wonderful web site---working to try to help your advertising revenue---I'm on the site more times than I appear in my history, I just don't "Sign in" unless I'm posting or waiting for a reply to a post. That way I know your economic model for the site is working by displaying the ads, and I try to click on a few here and there to support your site. Hope that is the proper way to do it. I really do limit my online presence so its a wonderful site you've created here that I have chosen to become a member of so just trying to help!
Beste wensen.
Practice.
FireWaterBurn6 | 15-11-2014 22:27
I think you are over thinking this entire thing by a pretty huge margin. Just make a fake birthday. You can either change the month or day slightly or make yourself 100 years old, it really doesn't matter. I don't think anyone cares about birthdays on here and if someone was snooping on you then fake birthday would fool them anyway.
I feel like most of that post is like a Powerpoint slideshow I would have seen in 3rd grade in some Introduction To The Internet class presentation by the computer teacher.
I feel like most of that post is like a Powerpoint slideshow I would have seen in 3rd grade in some Introduction To The Internet class presentation by the computer teacher.
JDolla | 15-11-2014 23:04
along with every girl your age you talk to online is a 40 year old man. even the ones you know in real life
PracticePractic | 16-11-2014 00:57
LOL Sorry about that FWB6 Guess you found me out.....been there and done that for the 3rd grade (and most others) computer classes...
I know I can fake it up... but that leaves everyone else vulnerable.. Just trying to be helpful here to others in LSI--- you can ignore my post, but I hope Ray or others get concerned and maybe do some other action... that's all.. I'm ok with your opinion of how I presented it.. You're 100% correct!
I know I can fake it up... but that leaves everyone else vulnerable.. Just trying to be helpful here to others in LSI--- you can ignore my post, but I hope Ray or others get concerned and maybe do some other action... that's all.. I'm ok with your opinion of how I presented it.. You're 100% correct!
guest
Read more:
I tried before and again to fill out my "profile" but unlike other sites.. this one presents me with some problems maybe that should be shared with those who operate the site....
I tried to just indicate my gender (male) and location (I usually just say "East Coast" nothing more specific as this is the internet open to everyone.. and I never ever list my birthdate (see below for why)..
But unlike other sites that let you pick and choose which "profile" items to fill out, this Lets Sing It site won't even let me just say "male" without listing all the other profile information as to birth date and city location within the US...saying to me in red type... cannot save cannot go on until the boxes and pull down menus have been completely filled in....
I'm also having trouble with your request for an accurate birthdate... in just the past few days I've received and or made calls to or from a bank and a health organization and all they ask me for is my name and birthdate.... that is their security! Then my entire account history is open to whomever is there on the phone....
Of course viewers to your site (friendly and "other" types) through my profile that forces us to list these items, will have the city listed (of course that gets the state as well by the time zone)-- I'm in and all you need is a carelessly referenced twitter/facebook news feed and they got your name and exact location home address etc... (usually even the IP address can be obtained by those with skills while you are "listed online" for forum type websites..)
So what I've seen other sites do to handle this problem of declaring full birthdate open to all is to use instead the real reason why others say it.. which is for astrological signs (I'm certain no one here is sending birthday congratulations in any large amount to all those on their birthdays.... and of course you want to be sure maybe that everyone is over 12 or 18 which the "year" only would be sufficient to declare that fact...
(Of course many sites/google+ etc I forget which ones , ask you this information to sign up..... and say they respect your privacy and will not display that.... giving you a profile and you can choose to enter as few or as little information as you want to... usually I just enter the year and the program is very forgiving and just shows my year or my age in years but not the exact birthdate that pishing and other hackers are "trolling" its called or looking for on these sites....
I do see and applaud your listing of Privacy levels of friends only/Letssingit members/ or everyone to see your profile... but again its either a all or nothing listing as I've encountered some that are anonymous with no information at all not even male/female or approx. age... (who here is willing to ask a female their age.... don't try it not even in jest or on the web!)
Ok just a few suggestions for others to take up the discussion here... I don't mean to upset the apple cart on my first week here.. but meanwhile I'll join in the conversations and write here but will keep my profile empty until some of these other problems are figured out by the higher moderators/owners here...
Thanks again for reading this from a newbie!