Why You’re Not As Anonymous In Online Games As You Think

Online gaming can seem pretty private and on-the-go, considering you can enter and leave multiplayer sessions anytime you want and employ an utterly random username that masks your real identity, but what if this isn’t all there is to it? 

Most gamers fail to realize that privacy in online gaming is determined by metrics that hide behind the curtain, and oftentimes, we fail to pick up on the cues that are seemingly in front of us. Similar to how you would pay little to no attention to someone calling you with no caller ID number on your phone, your anonymity when playing online games is determined by metrics that are hidden in plain sight. 

Let’s take a brief look at factors that you need to be wary of when playing online, so you understand the trails you leave behind as you spend your time in servers across the board.

Understanding Your Real Identity In Online Games

Giving your in-game character a fictional username and perhaps even slapping on a reliable VPN may seem adequate for one to keep their real profile hidden, but this is hardly scratching the surface of what’s actually going on with your data in online games.

Know this: Your in-game behavior is what’s being tracked by the game you’re playing. You could even say that online games aren’t just games anymore. Think of them as data-oriented platforms that analyze player behavior like there’s no tomorrow.

Patterns such as how you react to various stimuli in the game’s environment, voice or text chats, purchases and microtransactions, gameplay duration and frequency all contribute to creating your very own profile that game systems recognize and track.

And then comes account linking. You’ll often find yourself enticed to link accounts in-game, and that may include your phone number, Discord profile, or email address. Doing so gives the platform a clearer image of your profile, helping it get to know you better.

What Can You Do About Your Online Profile Being Tracked?

The real answer is that there’s pretty much nothing that can be done about game systems tracking your gameplay patterns. The purpose of this write-up is to create self-awareness and urge you to understand how online anonymity doesn’t exist in the online gaming world, not really. 

Best be more in the know and have a good grip of such systems, so you can start treating online games like a public digital space rather than an online session where you’re in control, when you’re truly not. 

Oh, and try not to link to other accounts on the same platform if it’s not necessary. The more the data you hide, the better.

Final Thoughts

While players remain anonymous to each other in online sessions, which should prevent you from encountering any real privacy invasion threats or anything of the sort, game systems, platform holders, payment processors, and even anti-cheat systems will know the ins and outs of your gaming profile, and there’s no changing that, not for now, at least.

The good news is, you are not in danger or at risk of having your personal data exposed by these authorities, but knowing what data to give away is still somewhat in your control. For instance, payments made through third-party gateways will store your financial metadata, remembering you for next time in the process.