Forum Privacy Reassurance Needed

[Zee09]

A reoccurring theme here needs to be addressed. Mr. Willson can you clarify the security and privacy of PMs here and possibly a link to The XenForo policy on privacy?
Many thanks...

 

[mclasser]

When using anything on the internet, assume there is zero privacy.

 

[Astro14]

I’ll tag @wwillson on this - but let me assure you, with certainty, that moderators and admins cannot see/access/read any “conversation” AKA PM between members. We’ve shared that before, but I’ll reiterate it here.

 

[Zee09]

I’ll tag @wwillson on this - but let me assure you, with certainty, that moderators and admins cannot see/access/read any “conversation” AKA PM between members. We’ve shared that before, but I’ll reiterate it here.

Thanks but we already talked and this is a lead in.

 

[Zee09]

I’ll tag @wwillson on this - but let me assure you, with certainty, that moderators and admins cannot see/access/read any “conversation” AKA PM between members. We’ve shared that before, but I’ll reiterate it here.

Just a tidbit that may be the subject of concern....

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/how-private-are-private-messages.202266/

 

[kschachn]

Why would you publicly ask a question such as this other than to draw attention to yourself? If it really is a personal concern then PM the moderator and include specifics rather than a vague and sensational "reoccurring theme here needs to be addressed".

 

[Hall]

FWIW, they're "Conversations", not "Private messages".

 

[Astro14]

FWIW, they're "Conversations", not "Private messages".

The label does not define the permission or confidentiality of a conversation.

My post above is absolutely true.

Even as an administrator I cannot see your conversation, unless you choose to invite me into that conversation, or commit an egregious violation of privacy by copying and publicly posting it.

That latter action has earned many folks a permanent ban.

 

[Astro14]

Just a tidbit that may be the subject of concern....

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/how-private-are-private-messages.202266/

In your link the consensus is this: a sleazy site owner can avoid the front end, and scour the database directly to see them.

So, let me again assure you that:

1. Our site owner is not sleazy.
2. We don’t do that.
3. Our permission sets do not allow direct viewing.

I dislike the direction this thread has taken, because it impugns the integrity of our site owner, who has set up Xenforo to preserve the privacy of members and who has a long-established history of severely punishing those members who disrespect the privacy of others.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

If you're concerned about privacy, you should not be using any device on the internet for any purpose whatsoever, nor sharing any personal details. As government spends money to provide internet access, guess what comes with owning the infrastructure? Access to every single data packet that transitions its networks. ZERO privacy, of any transaction.

I believe the latest Google algorithm can determine who you are, without logging in, within like 10 or so search queries. I can't find the link, but by now Google already has the answer to that question.

https://news.yahoo.com/government-secretly-orders-google-track-151000879.html

 

[Astro14]

So, I’m locking this, to avoid the uninformed, and frankly, off topic, speculation that is already starting to get posted.

This was a BITOG question, not a discussion on how other fora operate, or what being on the internet entails.

 

[wwillson]

@Astro14 is correct, Xenforo never allows anyone to read anyone else's PMs, even Super Admins can't. I am the only member that has access to the database. I do not look in the database to read PMs. The only time I would ever look for PMs in the database is if BITOG were compelled (legal term) to do so. We have never been compelled to do so.