Buzz
Facebook is nearly the go-to platform for connecting, sharing life events, making new friends, and staying in touch with old ones. However, there are times when you may want to enjoy the benefits of Facebook without revealing your preferences, comments, or posts to everyone, or even anyone, while still maintaining a "real" appearance. To achieve this, you need a "stand-in"—a fake or anonymous Facebook account with enough friends and activity to appear convincing.
Steps
Create an identity
Choose a name. Your stand-in name can be anything you want. You can blend in with a common name like Trang Nguyễn or stand out with a more unusual one like Aloysius Cornwisky. Just keep in mind that the more unusual the name, the harder it is to appear "real". After all, Aloysius hasn’t been one of the top 1000 names chosen at any given time over the last 50 years!
- Whatever your choice, there are no restrictions on name duplication.
Create an email account with your new name. Set up an anonymous account using services like Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail. These are completely free. Additionally, it takes a court order to verify the true identity behind the fake name.
Add images from your life. Everyone has a name, but pictures tell the story. As the saying goes: "Either you have pictures, or the story is not real."
- Avoid using images from Google, online image libraries, or any other public websites – with Google Images, tracking them down is easy. To see if an image you use is traceable, go to images.google.com and drag your image into the search box. If the image is online, Google Images will find it.
- Some viable sources for images include dating sites like Zoosk or Match.com, Flickr, Tumblr, and even the social media site "other" - Myspace.
- Screenshots from newly uploaded YouTube videos are harder to track down with Google Images. Search for the keyword of the image you're looking for on YouTube (or another video-sharing site), then select "upload date" under the filters. Finding related videos might be challenging, but the resulting images will be harder to spot (unless it’s the video thumbnail).
- Avoid using images from other Facebook accounts since Facebook's facial recognition algorithm could accidentally tag someone else’s photo, exposing your trick. This might force you to abandon not just your fake account but your real account as well!
- If you're in your late teens or early twenties, Vampire Freaks is a website full of images, but these can still be found through Google Images.
- Once you find a profile picture, make sure you have other images of that person for later use. If you plan to use multiple pictures of different people for your "you", pay attention to details like nose shape, lips, skin color, hairstyle, height, weight, eye color, and many other attributes.
- Many people use childhood pictures, or even images of cats, favorite sports teams, or bushes for their Facebook profiles – there's no strict requirement to use someone's face in every photo on your profile.
Build the profile
Create your alternate life. When building a stand-in profile, you'll need a place or community to "live".
- Your stand-in can live in the same city as you or on the other side of the world!
- Find a local high school, middle school, or university, and add them to your profile.
- Choose several different options for each interest category. For music, pick bands that fit the character style you're creating.
Create a different version of yourself! Talk about yourself, but remember that this is not about the "real" you—you're creating a different persona. You can be younger or older. You can even be a different gender!
- The more details you add, the more convincing the fake account will be. Just be careful to "perform" the role you’re playing.
Add friends. Search for interesting people who seem to live in the same area as your stand-in. If they have a lot of friends, that’s even better. The goal here is to build a "friend network", and by finding people with a large friend list, you will achieve two things:
- First, if their friend list is long, they won't know everyone on it personally. Find their main interests, and when you send a friend request, say something like: "Hey, do you remember me? We met at the concert last week." They’ll assume you met and accept the request.
- Second, if they have so many friends, you’ll quickly gain mutual friends— even if those friends aren't as popular. You could say: "Hey, remember me? I was with Mai at the concert last week."
- Friend both genders. This will help you create a more well-rounded profile.
- Don’t send friend requests to people you know! If too many people call you fake, ignore it and move on. Keep adding friends and get to know them through chatting and messaging.
Update regularly. Occasionally update your profile picture and cover photo to ensure you’ve attended events in the "neighborhood" of your stand-in.
- Create accounts on Twitter, Yelp, and Instagram, and “check-in” at different locations around the city. By keeping your account updated, you’ll create the impression that you’re real.
