Protecting One’s Identity as a VTuber
One of the cool things about VTubing is the ability to create meaningful content and interact with those who consume it pseudonymously. This allows the VTuber to set clear boundaries between their personal and public personas and lives. However, there are those who seek to unmask or “Doxx” VTubers for various reasons, be it unhealthy parasocial obsessions, political disagreements, “Griefing”, Internet Notoriety, among other reasons. Being Doxxxed isn’t just inconvenient, it can place someone in real physical danger. Currently, the greatest threat to VTubers is SWATing, where the harasser calls 9-1-1 with a false report designed to initiate a High Intensity Police Response, such as claiming that they are the person being harassed and that they have taken hostages, but there are other dangers, such as parasocially-obsessed fans stalking the VTuber in real life, and those who hate the VTuber getting them fired from the IRL job through false reports to their employer.
There are multiple ways to obfuscate one’s Identity in order to protect it. One of the most effective is to form a Business Entity, such as an LLC, and conducting business as the VTuber under the business entity. This allows the VTuber, as the Business Entity, to sign contracts, and to register and assign copyrights and trademarks as the Business Entity. However, most jurisdictions require the Managing Member of the Entity to be publicly disclosed through their State Corporation Commission or Secretary of State’s office, meaning that a dedicated Doxxer can still unmask the VTuber’s identity. There are exceptions to this, notably Wyoming and Delaware, that allow the formation of Anonymous LLCs through a Registered Agent. In these cases, we would advise clients speak to a Wyoming or Delaware attorney for more information.
Another way to protect one’s private information is to get a P.O. Box. Some Post Office locations, and some businesses that offer Post Office Box services such as The UPS Store, can provide a P.O. Box that will accept packages on your behalf. If you use these services, we advise opening packages at the store – Dedicated Doxxers have used AirTags or gifted Electronics with GPS devices to doxx the home addresses of Internet Personalities in order to later SWAT them – this was a common tactic among rivals during the peak of Internet Bloodsports.
Another simple way to prevent Doxxing is to use separate email addresses for personal & VTubing accounts and to not use personal accounts for VTubing purposes. Email address reuse is one of the easiest ways to get Doxxed – once someone has figured out that you have used a Personal Email and it gets leaked, they often can suss out old Social Media profiles such as Facebook profiles in order to determine one’s identity. Additionally, maintaining separate accounts for Discord, YouTube, Steam, and other Social Media, and keeping personal accounts off-stream is another step for preventing Doxxing. The most common way VTubers accidentally doxx themselves, opening them up to further doxxing, is through Discord Notifications from their personal Discord accounts going off and becoming visible during a stream.
Once your real identity is revealed, you can never be anonymous again – the Internet unfortunately never forgets. However, even then, you can take prudent steps to make it harder to be found. Although the most dedicated Doxxers will still be able to find you, the average Doxxer only puts in about 5 minutes of research before giving up, making it valuable to still take steps to protect your identity anyway.
If you need assistance with protecting your identity as a VTuber, or have other concerns in regard to your VTubing career such as help understanding a contract, please feel free to contact us for a consultation.