Emily Duprie
Personal safety is often overlooked in ways we can’t imagine in the age of the Internet. Not only must we protect ourselves while out in public, it’s also important to be mindful of what you’re posting on the Internet, as you never know who could be digitally watching you.
Taking action to establish online security is as important as looking after yourself out in the open. In addition to that, it is essential to properly protect your home, too. The Pew Research Center uncovered that property crime is the most common type of felony in the US. Posting where you live and what valuables are in your home is only helping plan someone’s robbery. There’s no need to go on full bunker lock-down, however, some of these suggestions listed below could be helpful.
TikTok user @jadeesavv is a private investigator who mainly posts about two of her hobbies—makeup and solving crime. In a few of her latest uploads, she shares tips on personal safety, from using reliable door stops and carrying self-defense equipment to proper maintenance of one’s social media accounts. Jade uses TikTok to spread awareness about personal safety among her followers. Nearly 95k people follow her account. Look below to find her suggestions and take some notes, screenshots, whatever—you might learn something useful!
Here’s 14 ways a private investigator says you can improve your personal safety!
@jadeesavv Pla stop doing theae things and be safe! #privateinvestigator #privateinvestigation #safetytips
♬ Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) [2018 Remaster] – Kate Bush
1.
It is a door wedge. These are perfect for if you’re traveling, especially if you’re a female traveling alone. It has an alarm on it. So, you wedge it in the door. If somebody opens the door, the pedal goes down and sets an alarm off. You’re alarmed that somebody is trying to enter the hotel room or the Airbnb that you’re in, or your home. And these are absolutely great, you can buy these in packs of like 2, 4, or whatever. Here’s a little photo of what that looks like in the door in case anybody needs the visual.
2.
I hope the moms don’t come for me for this one, but stop posting your kids’ school online. Just in general, it’s not safe. But piggybacking off of what I just said, if I’ve gone to your work and you’re not there, and I know that you pick up your kid from school and I know where your kid goes to school, my next stop is your kid’s school. You’re quite literally leaving a footprint, a pattern on the internet for people to find you and your kids.
3.
Stop tagging yourself in places when you’re still there. Save the photo or the video, post it after you’ve left. I can’t explain how many times I’ve been sitting outside of somebody’s house. I can’t figure out why they’re not there. Where are they at? Go to Instagram. They’ve tagged themselves at the café across the street, and sure enough, there they are. It’s not safe to do. When you are out, stop leaving a footprint of where people can find you. Piggybacking off of that, don’t tag places that you frequent. Don’t tag your gym, don’t tag the coffee shop that you go to every Tuesday at 2:00 PM. People can start understanding your patterns and your habits, and that’s not good. You don’t want people who don’t know you to start to know you.
4.
When you’re going outta town for a week, don’t post about it on social media. Don’t tell the internet that your house is gonna be unsupervised for seven whole days while you’re on vacation. It’s very much giving Home Alone. It’s very much giving McCauley Culkin. You’re giving people an invitation to break into your home.
5.
If you’re walking through a parking lot, please don’t be looking down at your phone. Please, please, please make sure that you’re aware of your surroundings. That’s so, so important, especially when you’re in big parking lots like a mall or Target or something like that. Always make sure that you have both hands free and just don’t be distracted when you’re in a parking lot. If you ever feel like someone is following you, drive straight to the police station. Don’t go near your neighborhood. Don’t go to your mom’s house. Go straight to the police station. It’ll spook whoever’s following you, and if not, at least you’re at the police.
6.
Stop posting where you work on Facebook. Your aunt doesn’t need to know you just got hired at the bank. Just call her and tell her that. If you’re out at the bar and somebody thinks you’re really cute, they find out your name, they find your social media, they don’t know your address, but they know where you work. Now they can sit outside of your work and wait for you to come out. They can lurk in the distance and they can follow you home. And now they do know where you live.
7.
Having one of these birdy alarms is great. You can attach it to your key chain. If you feel like you’re in danger and you’re in a public place, you hit the alarm. It makes a scene, everybody’s looking, and it really can save your life.
8.
It may sound silly to some, but please lock your garage door. Please, it’s another entrance into your home. Please make sure your garage door is locked.
9.
I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this but, unfortunately, I do. Stop leaving your blinds open. Close your blinds. When I go out on surveillance, I can see everything inside of your house. And I zoom in on my little camera and I can see what you’re watching on TV. I can see everything. It’s like a gold mine. Stop leaving your blinds open.
10.
Don’t forget to lock your windows. We have a tendency to open our windows and then we’ll close them and walk away. We forget to lock them. This leaves yourself really vulnerable for if people are walking around trying to look for open windows.
11.
I saw some comments saying, “I don’t have a lock on my garage door” or “I’m a college student, what do you suggest for safety?”
A tool like this is great. Essentially it’s a door stopper. You put it underneath the doorknob, and if somebody tries to open the door, it stops the door and doesn’t allow anybody in. This is great even if you have a lock on your door. I love to use these on my front door as well, because you can never be too careful in this world. Here’s a little diagram on how it works. You can see it has a stopper and it’s sitting underneath the doorknob so nobody can open the door.
12.
For my girlies, anything that looks inconspicuous but can be used as a weapon, I absolutely love.
This looks like a glittery lipstick tube, but it actually has a flashlight and a little zapper. It’s multipurpose and it’s great because it’s inconspicuous and nobody would really know you had it on you. And I know that not everybody in every state is allowed to have these, but if you are, these are great to have.
13.
A tactical pen is always a good idea. It’s quite literally a pen you can write with, but it also has multipurpose. It has a sharp end that can break glass. It has a flashlight and other uses as well.
14.
This is another great option, especially if you’re traveling. It’s very compact, yet very effective. And it’s again, just a kind of another variation of a door stopper.
The majority of commenters appreciated Jade’s advice. Some even shared their own personal stories!
Others shared their own personal safety tips:
